The internet is the new town square and we all need to know how to use it properly. When you think about it, there's no better place than the World Wide Web where people can share information freely with everyone else. And that's what websites do - they provide information on everything from politics to food recipes to music videos. But how does one create a website that stands out among millions of other sites online?
There are many tips available online but not every tip is valid. Some guides may be outdated and some simply don't work because they're based off old ideas. It doesn't matter if you have years of experience designing websites, these basic rules will help guide you through the world of building beautiful websites. Here are seven guidelines to follow when creating a modern website.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has been a hot topic over the past few months as search engines like Google have introduced major changes to their algorithms. The main takeaway is that now more than ever before users expect to see relevant results when searching for something specific. If your site isn't optimized correctly then it won’t rank high enough in the SERPs (search engine result pages). You'll also find that visitors aren't coming back to visit again so your business needs to invest time into optimizing your site accordingly.
If you want to keep up with current trends regarding SEO then check out our article detailing the top 3 ways to optimize your website today.
When starting out, it's important to remember that there are five core components which must always exist on any quality website. These include:
1. A compelling headline 2. An attractive visual style 3. Clear navigation 4. Excellent content 5. Easy user access
These 5 points should be present on every page of your website to ensure that visitors feel comfortable navigating your site without having to look too far ahead.
In order to create a good looking website, you need to understand what works and what doesn't. In this section, I've outlined the 5 types of elements found within a standard webpage along with examples of each type of element. This way you can develop a clear understanding of exactly what goes into making a great website.
Headline
Your title tag is arguably the most important part of your entire website, especially since it appears directly above your URL in bold text. Your headline should contain keywords related to your niche, but try to avoid being overly promotional. Instead, focus on providing value to your audience while staying away from anything that sounds spammy. Be sure to add alt tags to images to improve accessibility.
Images
Pictures tell stories. They're engaging and easy to digest, even if you haven't seen them before! Images are often used to illustrate quotes, headlines, and articles. As such, image optimization is crucial to ensuring that users get the most benefit from your website. Use descriptive alt attributes whenever possible and resize images appropriately.
Navigation
While the primary function of your website is to inform, it's still vital to maintain a sense of continuity between sections. While consistency in color, font size, spacing, etc., might seem simple, it serves to attract readership and build trust. Users who navigate your site intuitively will appreciate the effort put forth by your team.
Content
Good content is king. No matter what industry you operate in, you cannot succeed unless you offer valuable resources to your customers. Content is written both for the reader and search bots alike, therefore you should strive to produce original, informative material that provides value to your target market.
User Accessibility
A common mistake made by novice designers is forgetting about user accessibility. One of the first things that visitors notice upon landing on your site is the overall appearance. Is it visually appealing? Does the header appear large enough? Are images spaced evenly throughout the body copy? Each of these questions should be answered positively to guarantee an enjoyable browsing experience.
Now that you have a grasp on what makes a successful website, let us take a quick step back and discuss the basics behind the creation of any website. There are typically 5 stages involved in the development of a website. We'll break down each stage below and highlight its importance.
Research & Planning: Researching your audience will allow you to determine what goals you wish to achieve and what topics they would like to explore further. Once you identify those interests, create bullet point lists outlining the various aspects of your research. After compiling several drafts, choose one to start working on.
Design Considerations: Now comes the fun stuff. Design considerations involve brainstorming different layouts and styles until you come across a winning concept. Choose a theme that appeals to your target demographic and stick with it.
Development: Next up is the actual coding stage where you write HTML code and CSS files. At this stage, it's imperative to test your final product thoroughly before releasing it live. Also, make sure that all functionality is included, including mobile compatibility.
Testing: Finally, testing involves checking for bugs and errors and updating your website accordingly. Test multiple browsers and devices to verify that the final version looks just right.
It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to build a solid website, especially if you're operating outside your comfort zone. However, once you begin implementing these basic concepts, you'll soon discover that building a website is easier than you thought.
Have you built your own website yet? Tell us about it in the comments below.
1) Balance
Web design has become more complicated over time, but it still boils down to balance. Everything in life should be kept in proportion, whether it's the headstone under which someone lies buried or the size of an object compared to its surroundings. The same goes for web design.
Keep your design balanced by making sure every element falls within certain parameters. A simple line between text and background will look much nicer than if the lines are too close together.
Compartmentalizing your design helps keep things organized and makes them easier to read. It also keeps your site looking cleaner because each section doesn't have as many distractions.
Pick two or three base colors at most for your design. Using only black, gray, blue, red, yellow and green won't give your site any variety.
Try to make the graphics go well together. If you choose several different images, try to group them into similar categories so visitors don't get confused when trying to find something specific.
Improve your website’s typography. Use bolder fonts to draw attention to important sections.
Make elements stand out by adding white space around them. This gives your page a lot more visual appeal and allows readers to easily scan through it without getting lost.
Use negative margins for headlines and subheadings instead of positive ones. This way, headlines are closer to the main content, giving them less competition for attention.
Avoid creating lots of empty pages on your site. Visitors may not even realize they've gone past some critical point until they're halfway through reading.
If you want to add extra depth to your pages, consider including a navigation bar. Adding links to different areas of your site increases traffic and gets your site noticed by search engines.
The Internet is one big place where you’re bound to run into someone who knows what they're doing with their own site. You might be tempted to follow suit and create something similar, but there's a lot that goes into creating an effective website—and it all starts with how you lay it out before you even start designing the actual content.
With so many different platforms available these days, from social media sites like Facebook and Instagram to blogging services like Medium and Tumblr, building a strong presence on any of them has never been easier. But as easy as it is to get started online, making sure that your website looks great isn't always straightforward. In fact, it can often seem more complicated than just slapping up some text and images, which makes it hard to know where to begin when it comes time to actually build something. If this sounds familiar, don't worry! We've got you covered. To help you navigate the waters of website creation, we'll share seven tips and tricks you need to keep in mind if you want your website to look its absolute best.
If you'd like to learn more about website design basics, check out our guide to the five most important things you need to remember when designing a new website today. And if you'd rather see examples of beautiful websites instead of reading through lengthy explanations, head over to our collection of the 50 Best Websites Ever Made.
No matter which platform you use, whether it’s Wordpress, Squarespace, or Wix, a basic home page will serve as your first impression of whatever company you represent. It also serves as a gateway for potential customers to find out more about what you offer, so it’s important to give visitors everything they could possibly need right away. This means getting rid of unnecessary distractions while still keeping your primary information visible at all times (not to mention giving yourself room to grow).
Keep your design balanced. Compartmentalizing your design by using grids. Pick two or three base colors at most for your design. Try to make the graphics go well together. Improve your website’s typography. Make elements stand out by adding white space around them. Use contrast between light and dark shades to draw attention to certain parts of your site. Always think about hierarchy – What does each element contribute to the overall message of your site? Make sure that those messages are clear, consistent, and memorable.
It may feel daunting to set off down the road of redesigning your website after years of neglect, but if you take care of the little details now, you won’t regret it later. The number one thing people complain about when it comes to their website is poor navigation. A clean user experience doesn’t mean sacrificing functionality, though, so here are some simple ways to ensure that both work well together:
Ensure that links within your pages function properly. Don’t rely solely on hover effects to highlight buttons. Instead, include enough visual clues to let users know what they’ll click on next. For example, a button that says “Buy Now” shouldn’t require clicking twice to complete the purchase process.
Reduce clutter wherever possible. When you have too much going on, it becomes difficult to tell what exactly is happening on screen at once. Focus on only including necessary functions and organizing all other items neatly behind them.
Add descriptive alt tags to your images. Using appropriate keywords helps search engines understand what the picture represents without having to guess. Search engine optimization experts recommend using around 100 characters per image, and then repeating the keyword phrase throughout the description of the image itself.
Create a responsive homepage that works across devices. Most modern browsers allow users to zoom in, scroll horizontally, and view multiple windows simultaneously, which gives us greater flexibility when trying to fit everything onto a single webpage. As such, it’s vital that your site adapts accordingly, ensuring that no part of your interface falls apart when viewed on smaller screens.
Search engine algorithms change constantly, so it’s essential to stay ahead of the curve by updating your website regularly. One way to do that is to pay close attention to your SEO strategy. Here are four steps you can take right now to boost your rankings:
Make sure that you have relevant title tags and headlines. These elements play an integral role in determining how Google ranks your webpages. Make sure that your titles contain keywords related to your field. Your headline tag should describe the main point of your article or video in fewer than 70 words.
Optimize your meta descriptions. Meta data appears below your videos or articles in search results, providing additional context about what you’ve posted. While this feature was originally designed to display snippets of text describing individual posts, it’s become increasingly common for businesses to add brief summaries to their entire website.
Use Schema markup. By implementing structured data, you can provide detailed instructions for machines to interpret specific aspects of your content, improving the speed and accuracy of searches.
Include links back to your website whenever applicable. Even if you’re not actively promoting your website, it’s crucial to show that you exist, since search engines consider external sources when ranking your pages.
What every website needs in 2022
A solid foundation can go far toward helping your website achieve success. Once you have a firm grasp on how to balance your design and implement proper site structure, you’re ready to focus on the fun stuff – crafting engaging copy and optimizing your website for the latest trends in digital marketing. With a few months dedicated to honing your skills, you’ll soon develop the confidence needed to bring your ideas to life.
1. Balance
Balance in terms of color schemes and layout can really help bring any page together as a whole. If everything looks too different from each other on a single page, then it won't feel cohesive.
For example, if you have a grey background with black text next to bright yellow text, then it will look like those words don't belong together. Similarly, having multiple shades of blue isn't going to work if you also use red. It just doesn't flow well. The same applies when it comes to fonts. Don't use more than four font sizes on a single webpage because it'll only confuse readers.
If you want to keep things consistent throughout your entire site, consider keeping a balance between the main colors used on your homepage and secondary ones used elsewhere. This helps give the impression that all your pages connect naturally without being forced. For instance, some websites try to link every section of their website through bolded links, which makes them look messy.
This may not seem important now since we live in an era where people expect visual aesthetics from websites, but it's still worth mentioning. There are several ways to achieve this goal though. One way would be to use a common colour scheme across the board so that visitors immediately know where they should focus their attention.
Another option is to add contrasting colours to certain sections of your webpages to highlight these specific parts while making others less noticeable. Some sites opt to stick with one hue while mixing up their text colour, such as this website which uses a purple theme.
Finally, you could change the overall tone of the webpage depending on whether it contains information about products or services. Using images instead of text works best here as long as you keep the image itself simple enough. A photo of a product that has been edited slightly to show off its quality is fine, however, it shouldn't contain excessive details.
How do you plan a new site without knowing what it will look like? Do you have an idea of how you want it to turn out but don't know where to start? Or maybe you're just starting from scratch and need some guidance on what's important when designing a website.
Even if you've never designed a website before, there are many ways you can create one that looks professional and works great. The key here is to follow these seven simple tips. If you stick with them, you'll be able to come up with a solid design within no time!
Planning should begin as soon as possible after deciding upon a name for your company. This helps avoid confusion later on down the road. Also, think about who would use your website and why they might visit it. Would you rather attract customers with a flashy logo than a boring brochure?
It may seem obvious, but choose a color scheme first (and stay consistent throughout). You can also decide whether you'd prefer a text-only page or something more interactive. Think about what kind of content you'd like visitors to see - photos, videos, infographics, news articles, etc.
Next comes choosing fonts and logos. Remember to keep everything straightforward so people can easily read and understand the information presented. Use bolder types of fonts for headers and subheaders while keeping body copy readable. Don't forget to include links and buttons too.
Finally, add images and other media files such as video clips. Be sure all content fits into your chosen template size.
Once you've decided on a theme, it's time to set up your site's frontend - this includes setting up navigation menus, selecting background image(s), picking a header graphic, creating different pages, etc. It doesn't take much effort, but it does require experience. A lot of sites get complicated because they haven't been built properly.
The back end consists of coding HTML code which contains instructions for browsers to render the site correctly. For example, the font styles used across the entire site must match exactly. There are actually several layers involved here including CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) for styling individual parts of the site, JavaScript for dynamic interactions, and server side languages like PHP and ASP.NET. All of this takes place behind the scenes.
A few years ago, websites were created mostly through templates. But now, we live in a world where anyone can build their own site, even if they only have access to free tools. So instead of going through the tedious task of making your own site completely customized, consider building a prototype version of your site and then fine tuning it once you have better ideas.
In addition to having a beautiful looking site, you'll want to give users easy access to what they came for. That means putting the right things in the right places. Here are the five main components of any website:
1. Navigation menu
2. Header bar / Logo
3. Content area(s)
4. Footer
5. Search box
Each part serves a specific purpose. Let's look at each individually.
1. Navigation Menu: Your website's primary way of guiding users to various sections of the site. It should provide quick access to commonly visited areas and help prevent users from getting lost. Include both navigational items like tabs and dropdown lists, as well as search boxes.
You can find examples of how others have done theirs online. Just make sure yours stands out from the crowd.
2. Header Bar / Logos: These are usually placed above or below the fold depending on the type of site. They serve to grab attention and entice readers/viewers to click on through. Some great options include social sharing icons, a call to action button, and a prominent URL link.
Remember that not everyone has a huge monitor, and smaller screens often mean less room for pictures and large titles. Consider shrinking those things down until you reach a point where they aren't annoying anymore.
3. Content Area(s): Anything else that needs to be displayed on your site goes inside this section. Whether it's blog posts or product descriptions, this is where visitors can learn more about your business.
This could potentially become another major component of your website. Depending on its importance to your business, it could warrant its own dedicated spot in the header or footer.
4. Footer: Similar to the header, the footer provides essential details. Sometimes referred to as "banner" or "masthead", this is where copyright notices and contact info appear, along with links to related resources.
If you're selling anything, chances are you won't want potential buyers to leave immediately after visiting your site. In fact, you probably wouldn't mind if they got distracted by a cool cat photo on Instagram. To keep them engaged, add relevant calls to actions - i.e., subscribe to our newsletter, signup for email updates, download a whitepaper, etc.
5. Search Box: No matter what industry you're in, you always want people coming to your website to find whatever it is they're searching for. By placing a search bar prominently near the top of your homepage, you increase the likelihood of someone finding what they're looking for.
Also, it gives visitors a chance to explore more thoroughly since they can browse results based on keywords. You can either embed the search widget directly onto your homepage or display it elsewhere on the site (depending on preference). Either way, make sure it displays quickly and clearly so users can enter their query and instantly receive matching results.
Now that you have a clear sense of what makes a good website, let's talk about ways you can improve it further. As mentioned earlier, prototyping your site ahead of time allows you to test certain aspects and tweak them accordingly. Once you're happy with the result, you can move forward with finalizing your project. Some suggestions for improving your site include:
1. Using multiple backgrounds
Instead of relying solely on your default browser background, try experimenting with additional ones. Backgrounds provide visual interest and can help break up long blocks of text.
2. Adding a favicon
Favicons are small icons located next to bookmarks and shortcuts. When viewed full screen, they act as mini representations of your website. While not necessary, they add extra personality and intrigue. Plus, they're incredibly useful. Anyone trying to navigate to your site via bookmark knows what to expect.
3. Including SEO meta tags
SEO stands for search engine optimization. Meta tags are snippets of descriptive data inserted into the head of every webpage. Their purpose is to inform crawlers (aka bots) what the page is about. By inserting proper title tags and alt attributes, you ensure these robots' searches return accurate results.
4. Optimizing for mobile devices
Mobile browsing usage continues to grow rapidly. With smartphones becoming increasingly popular, optimizing your site for mobile viewing ensures maximum visibility. And remember, more traffic leads to more revenue.
There are plenty of apps available today that allow you to preview your site on various device sizes. Take advantage of these tools to optimize your site for optimal viewability.
5. Improving usability
As already discussed, user friendliness plays a big role in driving traffic to your site. Not only does it reduce bounce rates, but it can also boost conversions. One thing to keep in mind is that not everyone uses the same internet connection speeds, resolutions, or operating systems. Therefore, testing your site's performance on different platforms can tell you how well it functions under varying conditions.
6. Removing unnecessary clutter
While there are times when users really do benefit from seeing tons of distracting ads, there are also instances when they simply don't. If you run a restaurant, for instance, there isn't likely ever a reason to show off your freshly baked cupcakes. However, if you sell fashion accessories, it's quite alright to highlight your latest collection of chic handbags.
7. Making your site responsive
Responsive layouts adjust themselves automatically according to the device being used. Rather than forcing visitors to resize their window, they adapt to fit perfectly. Responsiveness is especially helpful when displaying your site on tablets and phones. This eliminates the hassle of resizing your site to accommodate tiny smartphone screens.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.