The amazing advancements in web design allow website owners to do anything they want with their websites. The customization options are endless, and websites fit with ease with any style and branding.
And yet, it takes some time to get around the tricks and techniques necessary to follow these trends. If you are also a website owner struggling to create a unique website, this is the right post for you.
Select Your Fonts Carefully
You may target a specific audience, but you cannot know exactly who is going to visit your website. Therefore, the content must be readable to any visitor, even if they are using a handheld device. This makes your choice of fonts one of the most important choices you’ll make altogether.
And yes, it is not like people will stick around for hours and read everything you want to share with them. Yet, your primary goal is to ensure they are properly informed and feel motivated to keep reading.
Stick To Subtle Textures And Patterns
One of the most common mistakes website owners make is using non-suitable backgrounds. A smart background choice, on the other hand, gives websites a specific flow and makes visitors remember what they’ve seen.
More often than rare, website owners stick to safe, subtle backgrounds; or a strong, bold tone that helps them stand out from the crowd. The trick is to strike the balance between subtle and bold and guide viewers to what matters – the content in that background.
While on the topic of backgrounds, keep the more and more popular CSS3 gradients in the loop. Thanks to Adobe Photoshop, web developers can reinvent the body of their entire website. They can even adjust the headers, footers, navigation bars, and all other elements.
Don’t Forget White Space
When we say white space, we mean the room you leave available between different elements on the page. It may be OK for some users to navigate a cramped layout, but most of them prefer short breaks to find what they are looking for.
Keep in mind that a large portion of your audience won’t be that savvy to figure out where particular things are. What is the easiest way to determine the white space you need?
We recommend conducting split A/B tests and asking users for firsthand feedback. Alternatively, try to navigate a page on your own and mark the potential issues and obstacles. You’ll be tempted to make the hero background as cluttered as possible but you should avoid it completely.
Make Galleries As Impressive As You Can
Can you imagine a website nowadays that does not have photos? Impressive galleries are what make websites stand out from the crowd. The bigger the photo and the better the quality, the more successful you will be in telling your story.
Quality imagery is a guarantee of professionalism. It can boost your reputation in no time, assuming you’ve aligned it with your brand and your style. Replace stock imagery with your pictures, and your website will look genuine and relatable. It will be pricy, but you will be surprised by how much visitors appreciate it.
Include Social Media
Informing customers about your presence on social media is almost as important as actually being on social media. For most people (especially younger audiences) this will be a preferred way to get in touch with you and learn about your brand.
In short, make sure you include icons and links to all your social media profiles. This will also insinuate that you follow technology trends and can provide loads of valuable content.
Make Colors And Contrasts Work In Your Favor
The palette choice should be based on your brand, so that deliberate visitors are not confused. At the same time, you can use color psychology to create memorable first impressions for your new visitors. Since there is no way of accurately guessing who these visitors are, use a restrained number of colors.
These colors should work well together, and complement the entire appearance of your website. The choice of colors is a personal one, but we recommend you work with warm and subtle tones that make visitors feel welcome.
Avoid Symmetry And Play With Grids
Not all of us have the necessary web design skills to experiment with our projects. Luckily, there are many simple ways to surpass the standard layout and come up with a website people will remember.
By this, we foremost mean adding grids. For starters, grids help you make efficient use of white space and avoid the usual symmetry approach. The website may not end up as organized as you want it to be, but it is the non-traditional layout that will make it unique. There may even be viewers who only come back because of the first impression, so make it a good one.
Use Graphics
Is there a better way to make your website fun and entertaining? Graphics are not just informative, but they also add character and motivate viewers to focus on the elements that are most important to them. If you use animated graphics, you will appear as someone who offers valuable insights; and also masters the topic they are interested in.
Mobile Optimization Is Key
It did not take long for mobile optimization to turn from a luxury into an absolute necessity. If you want your website to appear professional, you need to make sure it is responsive regardless of the device your visitors are using.
If this did not convince you, think of all the times you tried to navigate a website on your phone and could not get the full browser experience.
Visitors will have just about the same experience. Try over and over to get a grasp on your content, get frustrated, and move on. At some point, it will feel the effort is not worth it. Given that most people nowadays browse on their mobile devices, adjustment to different screen ration is a must.
Replace Standard Scrolling With Parallax Scrolling
Parallax scrolling is a special effect used to create the illusion that a website moves faster than its background. Most viewers perceive it as a kind of 3D effect that adds entertainment to the website and makes the design catchier to the eye.
Parallax scrolling does not simply replace standard scrolling. Faced with it, viewers feel compelled to move forward and discover more of what you have to offer to them.
Introduce Call-To-Action Buttons
With calls to action, you can help visitors navigate your website and get to the point where you want them to be. Before you introduce these buttons, keep in mind that visitors know what they want to achieve on your website, but may not be that sure how to get there.
Call-to-action buttons are great attention capturers. They lead viewers easily to their destination and improve how they feel about your website.
Last But Not Least, Videos!
We already discussed how great pictures are, but videos can make an even bigger difference. They are the ultimate way of setting your website apart from the crowd and showing what you stand for.
As social media showed us in recent years, viewers find videos catchier than written content or pictures. therefore, it is time to turn these into your key design element. Moreover, make sure quality videos are the first thing visitors see when they land on your homepage.