Web design is what allows you to connect with users. It is extremely important for the success of your website. You simply cannot afford to overlook web design Wirral. To take advantage of the principles of web design, you need to first have an understanding of how users think, interact, and behave. Remember, user habits online and in a store are the same. Visitors take a quick look at each page, scan through the text, and click the link that captures their interest. The truth is that large parts of the page are not even looked at by users. They are only searching for something useful or interesting. Users click as soon as they find something promising.

User Behaviour in a Nutshell

• Appreciation for credibility and quality.
• Tend to scan instead of read.
• Require instant gratification and are rather impatient.
• Optimal choices are not made.
• Are likely to follow their intuition.
• Need to have control.

How You Can Take Advantage of the Principles of Web Design

1. Never Make Users Think

When you work on web design Wirral, you need to focus on usability. The webpage has to be self-explanatory and obvious. You need to make sure that there are no question marks. Let users know what are the advantages, disadvantages, and alternatives. If the website architecture and navigation are not intuitive, users will have a lot of questions and it would make it difficult for them to understand how the website works. This is why you have to emphasise easily recognisable links, moderate visual clues, and a clear structure to help users navigate through the website and get from one point to the next. Users follow the F-pattern when exploring a website. The user should be able to easily search for the desired answer in an intuitive and simple way. Leave out the unnecessary question marks to keep users hooked. As a web designer, it is your job to get rid of all the question marks. Make the website as functional as possible so that users can browse through different options and find the service they desire. Users will have an easy time grasping the idea behind the website when you reduce their cognitive load.

2. Do Not Test Users’ Patience

You should always keep user requirements at a minimal no matter what you have to offer. There should be less action required for users to test the service. The first-time visitors would be likely to play with the service but would not fill long web forms for something they would never use. Do not force users into sharing their private information and let them explore the site. It is not reasonable for the business to force the users into providing their email address just so that they can test the features. Only when the users have tried the feature would they want to provide their email address. They need to first have an idea of what you have to offer. Offer a user-friendly service to visitors for nothing more than the chance for them to try and learn more about what you have to offer. Your goal as a web designer should be to remove all the barriers. Do not ask users to register or subscribe as it would only boost the bounce rate.

3. Effectively Manage User’s Attention

Websites tend to provide dynamic and static content. There are certain aspects of the user interface that would attract more attention than others. Images are known to be eye-catching as compared to text. They are attractive and easily stand out. Since our eyes are highly non-linear, we can instantly recognise motions, patterns, and edges. It is due to this reason that we find video advertisements to be distracting and outright annoying. However, from a marketing perspective, they help achieve users’ attention. This is why you need to focus on effectively managing users’ attention. Free is the only word that is directly visible to users. It is appealing, attractive, and yet calm. Hence, it is a good idea to leave subtle hints for the users to learn more about the free product. Visual elements can work to your advantage. They allow you to get users to look at specific areas.

4. Focus on Feature Exposure

Many people criticise modern web designs for following an approach that focuses on visually appealing and large buttons that have visual effects. However, from a web design perspective, they are not doing something wrong. On the contrary, they are just doing their job. Feature exposure tends to be extremely effective as it leads visitors to the website content in a more user-friendly and simple way. Clear site structure paired with visual appeal will let users clearly see the functions that are available.

5. Do Not Forget To Use Effective Writing

The internet is unique. It is different from print. This is why you have to adjust the writing style to match the browsing habits and preferences of users. Keep in mind that people would avoid reading promotional writing. Long text blocks that do not contain any keywords marked in bold or images and italics would be simply skipped. On the other hand, people will ignore exaggerated language. What you need to do is talk business by avoiding cute names and unfamiliar technical terms. For instance “sign up” is more effective than “start now” which is more effective than “explore what we have to offer”. Get directly to the point if you want users to take an interest. Leverage effective writing by doing the following.

• Use concise and short phrases.
• Have an easy to scan layout.
• Use objective and plain language.

6. Simplicity

When it comes to web design, you should always aim for simplicity. Users do not visit a site to admire its design. They only visit to look for the required information. This is why you need to focus on offering simplicity rather than complexity. The best design is one that does not contain advertisements and is just pure text. Clearly present the information you want visitors to read instead of overcrowding the website with useless content.

7. There Is Nothing Wrong with White Space

The importance of having some white space on the website cannot be stressed enough. It helps reduce the cognitive load and makes it easy for users to perceive the information that is presented to them. The first thing a visitor notices when first visiting your website is if the page can be easily scanned and if the content can be divided into digestible information. Avoid complex structures as they are hard to work with, analyse, scan, and read. Try to separate two design segments by incorporating some whitespace.

8. Use Visible Language for Effective Communication

To get users to take an instant interest in what you have to offer, you need to focus on using visible language. This can be achieved by the following.

• Organise: Offer a consistent and clear conceptual structure to users. Navigability, relationships, screen layout, and consistency are extremely important.
• Economise: You should try to get the most done with minimal visual elements and cues. You should focus on emphasis, distinctiveness, clarity, and simplicity.
• Communicate: The capabilities of the user should be matched through the presentation. The user interface has to have balanced texture, colour, multiple views, symbolism, typography, readability, and legibility if you want to effectively communicate with users. There should be no more than 18 words per line.

9. Utilise Conventions

Unlike what you might be misled into believing, conventional design of website elements does not make the website boring. Conventions tend to be rather useful as they help greatly reduce the learning curve and make it a lot easier for users to figure things out. You can gain the user’s trust and confidence with conventions. Make sure to meet user expectations by understanding what users expect from search placement, text structure, and site navigation. Only innovate if you know that you have a much better idea because conventions are just as effective.

10. Test Early and Test Often

Finally, to make your web design work, you need to test early and test often. The TETO principle is crucial to every web design project. It provides you with crucial insights that you can use to identify significant issues and problems with the website and the given layout. Never test too late and too little as it would prevent you from acting early to avoid potential customers from searching for an alternative. You need to regularly analyse the web design to find out what works and what does not. The following points should be considered.

• Testing a user is 100 percent better than testing no user.
• Testing tends to be an iterative process that allows you to not only test the site but also fix issues and test again.
• Useful results are guaranteed when you conduct usability tests.

Conclusion

The principles of web design as mentioned in this post will help you achieve the optimal web design for your website.

Web Design In Wirral

If you are interested in our web design in Wirral and would like to chat a member of our team about what we can do for your business, then send us an email to hello@ctrlaltcreate.co or call us on 0793 9006 826.