What Makes a Good Website Design?

Are you getting ready to produce a website for your business? Planning and developing a web design project is a huge task and requires a lot of thought, organisation, and dedication. If you're ready to embark on that task, then one of the first things that you need to consider is: what makes a good web design?

This is a complicated question and much more complex than you would originally anticipate. That's why we're going to dissect it in detail and make sure that you understand a good web design when you see one!

Key Characteristics of Good Web Design

When it comes to web design there are undoubtedly key elements that you want to try to include. However, these are going to change from project to project, depending on the particular web design needs of the client.

So, we're going to run through some of the universal elements and characteristics of a good website and web design. Follow along to learn about what exactly makes a web design stand above the rest!

‍

Simplicity

The first step to a good web design is keeping it simple. A lot of businesses make the mistake of thinking that flashy designs with bells and whistles will help them stand out from the crowd. But in reality, this can overwhelm and frustrate your users.

When you visit a website, you want to be able to find what you're looking for quickly and easily. It doesn't make sense to be bombarded with too much information or fancy graphics that take forever to load. In order for a web design to be effective, it must strike a balance between being visually appealing and user-friendly.

‍

Functionality

Another important characteristic of a good web design is functionality. An easy-to-navigate, easy-to-use web design goes hand-in-hand with simplicity. All the elements on the page should work properly and load quickly.

Users should be able to find what they're looking for without any trouble. The last thing you want is for users to click away from your site because it's too confusing or frustrating to use.

‍

Responsiveness

It is more important than ever for websites to be responsive in today's world. This means that they should adjust and resize correctly, no matter what device they're being viewed on. It is essential that your website is accessible and usable on all screen sizes and mobile apps with the growing popularity of mobile devices.

The design of a good website should be responsive and look great on any device, including laptops, tablets, and smartphone mobile apps.

‍

Optimisation for Search Engines

A good web design will also be SEO friendly. This means that it will be designed in a way that helps your website rank higher in the results pages of search engines. There are a lot of different factors that go into this, but some things to keep in mind are: using proper tags, including keywords, and having a fast-loading site.

The better your web design is for SEO, the more likely users are to find your website when they're searching for something online.

‍

User-Friendly Platform

Ensure that your web design is user-friendly at all times. Frustrating visitors by providing them with a bad web experience is no way to grow your business. If your website is difficult to navigate or use, people will click away and find a better option.

You should design your website so that users can easily understand it. It should be easy to find all the important information, and it should be easy to use.

‍

Branded

A great website will further the branding objectives of the company. In other words, the website should be consistent with the company's overall branding strategy.

This includes elements like the company's logo, colour scheme, and overall messaging. A branded website will help users to remember your company and what it has to offer.

Some companies make the mistake of thinking that their website doesn't need to be branded because it's not the focus of their business. But in reality, your website is a powerful marketing tool that can help to further your company's branding objectives.

‍

Good Content

No website is complete without good content. This means blog content, on-page copy, and any image and video content that you have.

It is important that your content is well-written, accurate, and informative. In order for your website to rank higher in search engine results pages, it should also be keyword-optimised.

And finally, your content should be updated regularly. This will help to keep users engaged and coming back for more.

‍

Regular Updates From Web Designer

Web designers should be updated regularly; they should never be complete. This is important for two reasons. First, it will help to keep your website looking fresh and modern.

As a result, your website will always be up-to-date with the latest information. Your blog, for example, should be updated regularly if you have one.

Maintaining the appearance of your website requires regular updating.

‍

Call to Action

Your user has landed on the page--now what? Your goal is to convert them into paying customers. The call to action should be incorporated into your web design.

Users are encouraged to take a specific action with a call to action. This could be something like:

"Sign up for our newsletter"

"Download our e-book"

"Buy now"

Your call to action should be clear and visible, and it should be easy for users to take the action that you want them to.

The better your call to action is, the more likely users are to take it. This is crucial to the planning process of any good web design.

‍

Links to Social

If you want to get the most out of your website, you should make sure that it is integrated with your social media channels. This means adding links to your social media profiles, as well as sharing buttons for your content.

Integrating your website with your social media channels will help you to build a more engaged audience. It will also make it easier for users to share your content with their followers.

If you're not taking advantage of social media, you're missing out on a big opportunity to grow your business.

‍

Easy to Manage Web Page

A good web design should be easy to manage. This is especially important if you plan on updating the website yourself or if you'll need to make changes in the future.

You want a design that's easy to update and doesn't require any coding knowledge. The last thing you want is to have to hire a professional web developer every time you need to make a small change on your website.

‍

User Interface Design

Even though we said that simplicity is key, that doesn't mean your website can't be visually appealing. A good web design will use colour, typography, and imagery in an aesthetically pleasing way. When done correctly, these elements can help to convey the message and brand of your business. User interface design is crucial to the success of your web page and to building website traffic over time.

It's important to strike a balance between using too many visual elements and not enough. You don't want your site to look cluttered or messy, but you also don't want it to look boring or bland. Finding the right balance is essential for a good web design. Find web designers that are willing to prioritise your user experience.

‍

How to Make Sure Your Web Design Has These Characteristics

Now that you know what makes for a great website, it's time to learn how you can implement them. Here are the steps that you need to take to integrate each of these powerful factors into your website or direct your web designers to do so.

‍

Create a Checklist

The first step is to create a checklist of all the elements that we discussed. This will help you to make sure that your website includes everything that it needs to be successful.

Your checklist should include:

• Content
• Regular updates
• A call to action
• Links to social media
• An easy-to-use CMS
• A visual appeal
• User interface optimisation
• Visual elements
• Search engine optimisation
• Graphic design
• Responsive design for multiple web browsers
• Functional elements
• Online store
• Functions properly
• Site content web pages
• Stock images
• Meets technical requirements
• Different pages for each service
• Branded visual elements

‍

Make sure that you go through each item on the list and check it off once you've added it to your website or it has been added by your chosen team of web designers. This will help you to stay organised and on track.

‍

Communicate Clearly What You Want

It is crucial that you communicate your vision for the website clearly to your web designer if you are working with one. Your business should reflect your design, not the other way around.

To avoid this, make sure that you provide your web designer with a detailed brief of what you're looking for. The more information you can give them, the better.

Include your brand colours, logos, and any other visual elements that you want to be included in the design. You should also provide them with examples of websites that you like. This will give them a good starting point for the design process.

‍

Work With Reputable Web Designers

You should choose a web designer who is reputable and has a good track record when you're looking for one. Some ‘professionals’ could try to exploit you when it comes to web design. 

Make sure you do your research before hiring anyone to avoid this. Read reviews, check out their portfolios, and only work with someone you can trust. You might want to gain some web design references from colleagues to help you find the best website development, partner.

You'll also probably want to avoid using a website builder or web design tools yourself. While this can be good for someone just starting out on a very low budget, using a website builder usually doesn't yield good results for someone without professional skills looking to get the most out of their digital marketing campaign for their particular website.

The web design industry surrounding software may try to convince you that you can do it all yourself in just a few seconds, but that is very rarely the case.

Hiring a reputable web designer is an investment, but it's one that will pay off in the long run.

‍

Key Takeaways

A great web design is essential for any business owners that want to be successful online.

Some of the key characteristics of a good web design include content, regular updates, an easy-to-use CMS, and a visual appeal.

To make sure your website has all of these factors, you need to create a checklist and communicate your vision to your web designer.

You should also make sure that you work with a reputable and trustworthy designer who has a good track record.

You can create a successful website by following these tips.

Contact Do Good Things for more info on your web design project. Whether you're looking for a web design company in Wellington company or New Zealand digital marketing agency, we're here to help you and your brand grow.

We've been working with many companies and designing a website that is responsive, functional and successful.