Transform Your Business with Web Design
Web design has come a long way since the first website in 1991. With over a billion sites online today, having a great website is crucial for your business. Simple SEO has contributed to hundreds of local businesses success through web design. If you’re ready to boost your business, you’re in the right place.
Why Web Design Matters for Your Business
Web design is all about planning and arranging content on a website to make it look good and work well providing a great user experience. It covers everything from colours and fonts to graphics and layout. A well-designed website can attract more customers and keep them engaged. In today’s digital age, “attention” is the primary currency so a strong and captivating online presence is key to success.
Web Design vs. Web Development: What You Need to Know
Web Design: Focuses on the look and feel of your site, the experience if you will. This is where we make it appealing to visitors.
Web Development: Ensures your site runs smoothly with stable coding and ongoing maintenance. This is where companies miss the mark and why we end up rebuilding a lot of websites that we work with.
Knowing the difference can help you understand what you need to create a site that not only looks good but also functions well for many years to come.
Get more info about WordPress Web Development by Simple SEO
Essential Tools for Web Design
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to upgrade your site, there are tools to fit your needs:
- Website Builders: Platforms like Wix and Squarespace are ok for a quick drag and drop landing page, but if you are creating a website where you want consistent and scaleable design, WordPress is our tool of choice. Our plugin stack provides the flexibility of no code design tools with the ability for advanced designers to hand code where necessary so we get the best of both worlds.
- WordPress Plugins: We use a few industry standard plugins to help manage the website design such as Bricks Builder, Automatic CSS, and Frames.
- Advanced Design Software: Tools like Photoshop or Figma allow for flexible and custom designs before development happens. We prefer to use Figma and with that, Frames for Figma is our go to starting place for Figma design templates.
Using the right tools can save you time and money while ensuring a professional look.
Key Design Principles to Attract Customers
- Balance: Keep your site visually appealing without overwhelming visitors.
- Contrast: Use bold elements to highlight key information.
- Emphasis: Make sure the most important parts of your site stand out.
- Movement: Guide visitors smoothly from one section to the next.
- Rhythm: Repeat elements to create a consistent, professional look.
- Hierarchy: Place crucial information where it’s easily seen.
- White Space: Keep your site clean and uncluttered.
- Unity: Ensure all elements work together for a cohesive experience.
These principles help create a site that not only looks good but also drives business results.
Smart Website Layouts
The layout is the foundation of your site. It determines how everything is arranged and affects usability and appearance. Use familiar, intuitive layouts to ensure visitors find what they need quickly and easily.
Enhance Functionality for Better User Experience
Navigation: Use clear menus to help visitors find their way around.
Speed: A fast site keeps visitors happy and engaged. Aim for load times under 3 seconds.
SEO: Optimize your site so it ranks well on search engines. More visibility means more customers.
UX: Make sure the site is easy and pleasant to use. Happy visitors are more likely to become customers.
Responsive Design: Ensure your site looks good on all devices, not just desktops. Most of your users will be on mobile devices and Google indexes and crawls websites using mobile so response design is important from the start of the design, not an afterthought.
Visual Elements that Impress
Header: Showcase your business name, logo, and navigation at the top.
Footer: Include contact info and important links at the bottom.
Color Scheme: Choose colors that reflect your brand and appeal to your audience.
Typography: Pick fonts that are readable and match your site’s style.
Background: Use images, videos, or colors that enhance your content without distracting from it.
Imagery and Animation: Make your site more engaging with quality images and subtle animations.
Keep Your Site Fresh and Relevant
Web design is always changing. Regularly update your site to fix bugs, add new content, and refresh the design. A current, well-maintained site can help keep visitors coming back and improve your search rankings.
Find Inspiration and Get Started With Simple SEO
Look for ideas on sites like Behance, Awwwards, and Pinterest for examples of great design. Ready to take your business to the next level? Contact us to start designing your site now and watch your business grow!