Having a website is essential for any business looking to establish itself in the market. It serves as a platform for potential customers to learn about your services and easily contact you. A thoughtful website design not only enhances user experience, but also increases conversions and improves your Google ranking.

Overall Layout

Before diving into website design, it’s crucial to have a plan. Researching design elements from other websites can help you create a blueprint for your own. While you can be unique and creative, certain design elements have proven to make a great first impression:

• Keep it simple and minimalistic.
• Utilize plenty of whitespace.
• Consider grid-based designs.
• Incorporate relevant photos and graphics that align with your brand.

Regardless of your chosen layout, ensure that visitor behavior is guided by the design. If you want them to focus on a specific form, make it easily visible and accessible.

Color Scheme

The color scheme you choose should align with your company’s brand. When selecting colors, start by determining which ones will be dominant. Then, use a secondary color palette to create eye-catching buttons or forms. Consider using complementary colors (colors opposite on the color wheel) for your dominant and secondary color scheme.

Font

Fonts play a crucial role in providing a visual guide for users. When choosing fonts, consider the following:

• Ensure readability by using a font size of at least 16 pixels.
• Use complementary fonts for headings or accents.
• Maintain good contrast between the text and background color (e.g., black on white or white on black).
• To break up blocks of text, consider using a mix of serif and sans-serif fonts. This helps differentiate headers from paragraphs.

Navigation

Once you have established the overall layout, color scheme, and fonts, it’s time to focus on navigation. Avoid using excessive animated or hover effects, as they can make navigation difficult for some users. Navigational elements should be strategically placed in the header, body, and footer of your website to provide visitors with information quickly. The menu bar, typically located in the body, can utilize design methods like the hamburger menu to save space and hide navigation options off-site.

Content

With the foundational elements in place, it’s time to add content. Ensure that your content is relevant to the services you provide and easy for visitors to understand. Aim for concise, trustworthy information that showcases your experience and expertise. Utilize organizational methods such as lists and display text to help readers digest important information. This is also where you can implement SEO tactics to optimize your content for search engines.

Mobile Website

While your website may look amazing on desktop or laptop screens, it’s crucial to create a mobile-friendly version. Since most website traffic comes from mobile devices, Google considers the quality of your mobile site when ranking pages. Ensure that your website is responsive and optimized for mobile devices to maintain a strong online presence.