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10 Web Design Tips That Work: How to Make a Website That Works

In the digital-first world of today, a brand’s website is an important part of its identity. People will first go to the website to find out more about any brand or company. In this case, it’s important to build your website according to rules for website design so that you don’t have any problems. A seamless user journey comes from proper website design techniques and principles. So, the first step to a successful brand is to design and build a website with the right sections by using the best tips and tricks for website design. Markustudio is a freelance web designer in Manchester that offers services in web design, logo branding, print, SEO, and digital design.

Most of the time, brands have seen that problems with web design, such as a bad layout, bad aesthetics, confusing navigation, and slow loading time, can cause a high bounce rate and almost no traffic.

The Internet is full of web design principles checklist. It’s hard for a designer to know what to do and what not to do. Any designer or developer who knows how to make a website is worth a lot. It looks good on the resume.

Here is a list of important web design ideas and tips that will help designers and brands improve the performance of their websites. Please keep reading to learn how to make a good website layout: –

1. Layout: This one should be important to you. It is the key to making a website popular and successful. Understand what the client or brand wants, plan and make a wireframe, and then do other important things like design, extensions, and buttons that can be shared. Many experts say that the grid is the best way to design a website that works well.

2. Colors: Use colors in the best way possible. Do your research, look for ideas, and choose the colors for your website carefully. One of the most important rules of website design is that every site should have the right color scheme. The colors should go well with the product that will be shown.

For example, a website for kids should have bright colors, while a website for adults should have more muted colors. The goal is to keep things in check.

3. Typography: The goal of any good website design is to make the text easy for users to read. So, the font you choose for the website is also an important thing to think about. It seems like a simple rule of design, but a nice font that is easy to read can change the whole look of your website. Users like simple fonts. Check the latest trends and what your target group likes. Even though you might like Calibri light or Times New Roman, your users might not.

4. Get rid of clutter. One of the most important rules of web design is to get rid of as much clutter as possible. The user interface should be smooth and free of bugs. Image sizes should be optimized so that the website is less crowded. Cut down the size of the pictures so they take up less space and bandwidth. You should get rid of any plugins that you don’t need. When there are too many of them, it takes a lot longer for a website to load. One of the best HTML web design rules is to get rid of extra characters and codes from a website. It makes speed a lot better. Choosing the right web host for your site is important because not all of them work the same way. Before you choose one, do a lot of research! Getting a good web host that fits the design of your site is definitely a good investment. Don’t forget that you shouldn’t waste the money you’ve worked hard for.

5. Images & Videos: Use images and videos that are unique, colorful, and of high quality on your website. Low-resolution, blurry photos and videos can make you look like a very unprofessional person. There are a lot of places online where you can find stock photos and videos to use on your website. Also, make sure that the amount of text, pictures, and videos on your site is just right. Too much of anything can take people’s attention away. It can get in the way of how web design works.

6. White space: It’s just as important to use white space on your website well as it is to use the right amount of pepper in a dish. These empty spots on a website are often overlooked or ignored by designers, but they are very important for a good design. Negative space, or white space, can make a big difference in how easy something is to read and how easy it is to get around. If the empty spaces aren’t used well, users are more likely to leave your site without trying the CTA you want them to (call to action).

7. Responsive layout: In the last ten years, the world as a whole has seen a huge shift toward using mobile phones. And more and more people will use cell phones in the years to come. Because of this, you need to make sure your website is responsive. When you’re looking for really good examples of web design, you should always choose a layout that works on all devices.

With a responsive layout, the website will automatically change to fit the device being used to view it. If your website isn’t responsive, users will see a page that is cut off, incomplete, messy, and not very appealing.

8. Navigation: Make it easier to get around by adding key parts like a blog, contact page, testimonials, frequently asked questions, share buttons, and reviews. The bars and buttons should be put in a way that makes them easy to see and use. Like, the website’s menu bar should ideally be placed across the top of each page. Every page should have links to the home page and a footer with important information.

9.Testing: For a website design to work well, it must always be tested well. One should know how to make a website’s user experience better, and this can be done by testing it thoroughly for bugs and other problems. The designing and building of a website do not guarantee that it will work well.

Tests give you confidence that a site will run without any major problems.

10. Clients and Feedback: Last but not least, web design principles are based on what the client wants and what they have to say about it.
Since it’s not your own website, you should include them in every step of the process, from planning and designing the wireframe to making changes after the site has been built. Adding and changing things on a website can make a big difference in how well it works.

Top 6 Website Accessibility Tips

1. Opt for an accessibility-friendly content management system.

You can build your website with the aid of a variety of content management systems. Although there are many additional possibilities, popular examples include Drupal and WordPress.

Make sure you select an accessible theme or template after selecting a CMS that meets your needs. For information on accessibility and suggestions for developing accessible content and layouts for that theme, refer to the theme’s documentation. When choosing modules, plugins, or widgets, be sure to adhere to the same rules.

Make sure that components that create content are supported, such as video players and editing toolbars. For instance, headers and accessible tables should be available in editing toolbars, and closed captioning should be available in video players. Additionally, the CMS administrative tools (such those for writing blog posts or leaving comments) have to be available.

2. Use headings effectively to arrange the content’s structure.

The header structure can be used by screen reader users to traverse text. The content of your website will be properly arranged and understandable to screen readers if headers (h1>, h2>, etc.) are used correctly and strategically.

Make careful you use CSS to distinguish presentation from structure and to keep heads in the proper sequence (Cascading Style Sheets). Choose a header only if it visually appeals to you rather than styling your text with a new CSS class to avoid confusing screen reader users.

examples of how to utilize headings correctly:

  • The page’s main title should be formatted as h1>. The title of the website and the titles of individual pages should be the only things you use a “h1” for.
  • To organize and highlight the structure of your information, use headings.
  • Avoid skipping heading levels (such as moving from a h1 to a h3) as screen reader users may assume that there is no content.

3. Include appropriate alt text when adding images.

So that screen reader users can comprehend the message that is being sent by the usage of images on the page, alt text should be provided for all images. This is especially crucial for photos that provide information (such as infographics). When writing the alt text, it should include the message you want the image to express, and if the image has text, the text should be included in the alt as well.

The only exception to this rule is when an image is used only for decoration; in this situation, the alt text can be kept empty (link is external) so that the screen reader user is not diverted from the page’s more significant information.

If a link’s only content is an image, the screen reader will read the file name if no alt text is included. When using images as links, make sure to always include alt text.

4. Give each of your links a name that is distinct and informative.

Use wording that accurately conveys where the link will lead when you include links in your article. It is not deemed descriptive to use “click here,” therefore it is inefficient for screen reader users.

Visually impaired people can use their screen readers to search for links in the same way that sighted users do. Screen reader users frequently fail to see the link in the context of the rest of the page as a result. Using descriptive language effectively allows the user of a screen reader to understand the context of links.

Since screen reader users frequently utilize the first letter of the link to search the links list, the link’s most distinctive content should be displayed first.

If you are directing people to a website titled “About Us,” for instance:

  • Avoid using the phrase “Click here to read about our company.”
  • Say, “Read About Us to discover more about our organization,” instead.

5. Use color with caution.

Red-green color deficiency, the most prevalent type, affects about 8% of the general population. These people won’t be able to understand your message if you only use these colors (particularly to highlight required fields in a form).

When used to distinguish and arrange your material, color has a significant positive impact on other populations of individuals with disabilities, notably users with learning problems.

Utilize color, but also other visual cues like an asterisk or question mark to appease both groups. Ensure that you visually separate content chunks from one another as well (such as whitespace or borders).

In order to make your page as visually accessible as possible to those with limited vision or different degrees of color blindness, you can test color contrast using a variety of techniques.

6. Provide accessibility for dynamic material.

Screen readers might not be aware when content changes dynamically (that is, without refreshing the website). This includes popups, lightboxes, in-page updates, screen overlays, and modal dialogs. Page overlays may entrap keyboard-only users. Users of magnification software could have their focus focused on the incorrect area of the page.

Making these features available is simple. ARIA roles and alerts as well as front-end development frameworks that promote accessibility are options.

Make sure that any video players you employ can be operated with a keyboard and that they don’t automatically start playing (non-consensual sound). Also required are transcript choices for hearing-impaired viewers and closed captioning for all videos.

Ensure that each image on your slideshow-containing website includes alt text and can be accessed using the keyboard. Make careful to test for accessibility if you are utilizing any special widgets (such a calendar picker or drag-and-drops).

Markustudio a freelance web designer in Manchester providing web design, logo branding, print, SEO and digital design services. If you are interested in any help when it comes Web Design & Development. Feel free to Contact Us. 

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