You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create an eye-catching and functional website. User-friendly software is more accessible than ever, so creating beautiful website layouts designed to drive traffic doesn’t take much time or effort.

But even if you have the right tools at your disposal, what’s the next step for ensuring your website design is optimal?

We’ve compiled a list of web design best practices that’ll help your site stand out.

Simple Navigation
No matter how strong your brand is, people won’t stick around your website if it’s cluttered, confusing or difficult to read. So above everything else, you should prioritize a user-friendly website experience so your visitors can easily find what they are looking for.

The first thing to consider when taking simple navigation into account is to implement a concise navigation bar. By limiting the number of decisions your visitors have to make, you’re more likely to lead to action (more choices often lead to more decisions to make, which leads to visitors leaving your site). Once your navigation bar is in order, you can implement similar principles into your webpage design. Use category icons to organize different parts of your site, and consider other popular tactics like a mega menu and side navigation.

Conversely, it’s also important to avoid the pitfalls that plague less-than-optimal websites. Stay away from homepage slideshows and other “carousel” style sliders. While these were once a popular design choice, they have fallen out of favor since visitors oftentimes only see the first slide (especially on mobile) and other messages and calls-to-action get lost. Clunky tabs and expandable boxes of content are also ineffective since users prefer to scan and scroll rather than click to reveal something.

Compelling, Easy-to-Read Content
If simple navigation is your #1 priority when designing a website, then you’ll have no choice but to stick to easily digestible web copy. The two go hand-in-hand, especially when you consider the “8-second rule” – a digital marketing theory that represents the average time a consumer spends reading and email or website. If you’re not catching eyes right away, they will move on.

Because of this, your web copy should focus primarily on large, benefit-driven headlines so visitors know exactly what you’re offering. Try to think of common questions your average customer might have and create informative content focused on those answers while being as concise as possible (use bullet points and small paragraphs to break up copy into easily digestible segments).

Additionally, effective web copy increases your site’s search engine rankings. Use free keyword finders to find popular words and phrases and use SEO (search engine optimization) to help boost your profile. Align your content with specific search intent (informational, commercial or transactional) so you can cater to all types of website visitors.

Striking Visuals
The overarching theme of improving your website with optimal design these days is minimalism. Audiences are drawn to clean spaces where the most important information is unmistakable, and one of the easiest ways to accomplish this visual contrast is with effective use of white space (a.k.a. negative space). By creating a visual barrier between copy, images and navigation, your website will be well balanced with a natural flow that’s inviting to the viewer.

If whitespace is used effectively, the other colors on your page are bound to pop, so make sure you evoke color strategically. Here’s a basic guideline for associating color with emotion:

• Red – Energized, excited, strong, loving
• Orange – Successful, confident, sociable, brave
• Yellow – Cheerful, creative, happy, warm
• Green – Healing, natural, quality, fresh
• Blue – Trustworthy, competent, peaceful, loyal
• Purple – Ambitious, luxurious, spiritual, royal
• Pink – Compassionate, sophisticated, sincere, sweet
• Brown – Trustworthy, dependable, rugged, simple
• Black – Sophisticated, formal, secure, bold
• White – Innocent, honest, simple, clean

Even though you have all these color options at your disposal, be sure not to overdo it with clashing colors. Pick a scheme that fits with your brand and don’t go overboard. (Remember: less is more!)

When it comes to images, opt for clear, high-quality and, if possible, original photos and artwork. Commonly used stock photos are a deterrent to website visitors, and images of your workplace and/or employees is a great way to humanize your brand.

Stay True to Your Brand
All the tips we outlined above will fall flat without a clear vision of what your brand can offer prospective customers, so it’s essential to weave in your company’s mission statement and core values into the website’s design. Make sure your logo is front and center and remove all guesswork for the visitor by crafting clear headlines and calls to action (“Place an order,” “View more products,” etc.).

Contact information should also be easily accessible. In addition to your physical address, email and phone number, you should include clickable icons to your social media pages. Make it clear that no matter what their preference method of communication is or how they wish to consume content, you’ll be there.

Do you have any experience implementing these tips into your website design? We’d love to hear from you. Join our community on Facebook to learn from and network with your peers.

Sources: “27 Research-Back Web Design Tips: How to Design a Website That Works.” Crestodina, Andy. Orbit Media Studios.

“13 tips to make you a better web designer.” Cardello, Jeff. May 10, 2021. Webflow.