The average website visitor spends about 15 seconds before they move on. During that powerful 15 seconds, they are quickly skimming your website to see if it is user-friendly, suited to their needs, and visually impressive. If the answer is no to any of those questions- they browse on. Your web design plays an instrumental role in determining your bounce rate, so pay attention to the following web design tips to help build a website that attracts your targeted audience.
1.) Mobile Friendly and Responsive
Speaking of a high bounce rate, if your website is not properly optimized for mobile browsing you can count on your bounce rate jumping through the roof. Over 80% of internet users access the internet from mobile devices and over 70% of all web traffic originates from mobile devices. It’s no surprise then that one of the top web design tips for 2020 is to create a responsive and mobile-optimized web design.
It’s not enough anymore to cater to browser-based traffic, you need to optimize your website to fit the needs of every single browser out there whether they are on an iPad, smartphone, or laptop. Chances are mobile traffic will only increase over the rest of this decade so proper mobile optimization is vital to effective web design.
2.) Simple Navigation
Internet users are not sophisticated. If they were, they would be coding and creating website design. Some web designers assume the modern world is ready to adapt to them, but your average consumer is not.
Simple navigation that is intuitive and sleek is the best way to attract and keep the attention of your target audience.
It isn’t much of a web design secret tip, but judging by the complexity of some websites out there it needs to be. Strong architecture and clear navigational paths will help you keep customers on your website, while slow and illogical navigation paths will send them straight to your competitor.
3.) Improve Page Speed
Speaking of slow, a slow homepage will also send website visitors to the next search result. Consumers want information, and they want it now. If your website takes longer than three seconds to load, over 50% of mobile site visitors will abandon it.
Remember, almost everyone is now using mobile browsers to access the internet, which means this is one of the biggest web design homepage tips. Test your website loading times and then improve them to earn more attention within your marketplace. As an aside, Google also analyzes page speed as part of its SEO algorithm, so if you want to perform in the SERPs pay attention to these web design tips & tricks.
4.) Create a Static Navigation
Want to know one of the most frustrating navigation features on a website? A disappearing navigation bar. In a world of mobile devices that limit screen size, it is very common for a user to scroll down while using a navigation bar. If doing so causes it to disappear then you have set up a frustrating situation for a website visitor that will likely result in a bounce.
Given how easy this web design tip is to fix, you would think it would be less of a problem, but it has still made the top web design tips and tricks list because it is so common. Static navigation is one of the best tools to utilize while optimizing your website for mobile access.
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5.) Create a User-Friendly Website Navigation
When web visitors land on your website the logical next step should be clear. If you own a brick-and-mortar business, no one stands at the front door and contemplates how to get in. The same should be true of your homepage if you follow web design homepage tips that focus on the basics.
Think of your website as your front door, and make it very easy to see where the handle is and where the goods are located within your shop. Creating user-friendly website navigation will earn you customers that browse longer and a stronger SEO performance making this tip double as one of the best practice SEO web design tips.
6.) Use Images That Are Suitable for Your Target Audience
The internet and image search have made it easy to plug images in within seconds, but just because you can access hundreds of photos quickly doesn’t mean you should use them. Images need to be carefully chosen with the same level of analysis you would give your content, web design colors, and product placements.
A good photo can quickly hook browsers, while obvious stock photos will make your website appear less professional and authoritative. Choose wisely and consider color tips for web design to make sure that each image positively impacts the overall effect of your web design.
7.) Fill Your Home Page with Lots of Useful Design
When it comes to UX web design tips, the very best may be that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. If a web design element has nothing to add to your website or your product, then you should pass on it.
Good web designers have a variety of tools at their fingertips that they can use based on current web page design tips. Excellent web designers choose to use only the tools that add value to a website.
8.) Add Whitespace to Let Your Website Breathe
This leads us to our next one of the big web design freelance tips that center around the idea that less is more. Your web design should not be overcrowded or so graphically complex that users are squinting to try to dissect it while browsing on a smartphone.
Whitespace is not a sign of a weak designer, it is the sign of a strong web designer who understands the way the mind interprets visual cues. Give your website visitors time to digest the information and graphics on your website by incorporating whitespace that allows their minds to effectively take a breath.
9.) Optimize for Mobile Devices
Mobile optimization is key to success regardless of where in the world you live. Statista brings up the valid point that emerging markets and financially strapped consumers skipped laptop adoption altogether and jumped right into more affordable mobile smartphones and/or tablets.
Likely, the next generation of consumers will not even know what a standalone desktop and/or laptop looks like. If you want your web design to create a successful marketplace, you need to pay attention to the top web page design tips and optimize for mobile use. There is simply no future for a website that doesn’t heed the warning signs.
10.) Optimize Images
An optimized website is not enough if images are still taking over 3-5 seconds to load. Think about social media websites like Facebook or Instagram. No one is going to sit and wait for their feed to load, and that same need for instant gratification carries over when the same browsers land on your website and expect to see all of the content right away.
A slow-loading image is an instant sign of weakness and will spur most web visitors to browse other websites in its place.
What Do The Top Web Design Tips Mean for You?
There are three main takeaways that all web designers would be smart to heed from the above list of the top web design tips and tricks. First of all, mobile usage matters. Cater to mobile users and you will propel your website into the next century, continue to ignore them and you will be a casualty of the future.
Second, user-friendly navigation matters. Swift, clear, and easy-to-follow architecture will encourage users to stick around for a few minutes and see what you have to offer. Anything less than that will hurt your website conversion rates severely.
Third, even with the best web design tips for small businesses in your hand, proper web design is a tricky business. That is why it is wise to allow a professional company to handle your web design like Noble Webworks. We have offered web design for the past 20 years and utilize some of the best web design tips, tricks, & techniques to create high-performing websites for our small business customers. Contact us today to learn how Noble Webworks can do this for your business as well.
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