Good website web design is often neglected. Sometimes a business sees web design as secondary to the rest of its brand, other times it may ignore the proper principles of website and online store web design and claim that it is not important.
We always choose audits when we start a client relationship. Most audits show that the businesses we work with are not making the most of the WordPress and Shopify platforms. They rely too much on plugins and ignore some key design principles.
At Webness, we audit WordPress and Shopify sites with our 10 Laws and Principles of Good Website and Online Store Web Design. Below we will tell you in small detail. We look at what they mean to you, and their importance in gaining traction, catching up with the competition and achieving success with the WordPress and Shopify platforms.
1. Consider the usability and accessibility of your website
Your website may look good enough to attract users quickly, but if it’s difficult to use, doesn’t focus on the needs of the user and doesn’t provide usability to a wide range of people, then it will turn them away just as quickly as and if a well-built web design is lacking. Our audits focus on whether your customers can achieve the end goal of the website and whether you are meeting their needs.
This is an area not to be underestimated. The last thing you need is for your users to get lost and think too much about how to navigate your site. Usability (customer experience mixed with user experience) is what ultimately decides whether a website succeeds or fails at the very beginning. So this law is in our mind from beginning to end.
In reality, accessibility is a much deeper topic and we only guess the important part for you. Answer one of the most important questions – Can your target audience access what they need as quickly and easily as possible?
Our initial review of usability and accessibility exists so that we can make actionable changes that drive results.
2. Focus on mobile first
Mobile usability is a huge part of UX design and has been for years; the majority of Google searches worldwide come from mobile devices. Our initial focus on usability includes mobile devices for this reason, our new look evaluates your site based on your target market.
If your website only works on desktops and doesn’t adapt to mobile devices, then you’re effectively cutting your potential customer base in half. By investing in responsive device design, you can ensure that your website will work on any device, anywhere.
The temptation for many agencies and designers is to develop based on the screen they are looking at. This is almost always a desktop or laptop computer. However, the temptation must be resisted and going back to law number one, the focus must be on what is best for the consumer.
3. Keep things simple
As a general rule, we are against bloating a website with unnecessary plugins and overly redundant elements. Keeping things simple not only brings usability benefits but also reinforces the purpose of your website.
It’s better to have a user who knows what they’re doing than a user who’s initially impressed but ends up getting confused when navigating. Or worse, a user who is confused by their first impression.
When someone wants to make the choice to inquire or buy from you, but finds it difficult to take the next step because it’s not intuitive, then a significant opportunity for simplification is being missed.
Reducing unnecessary plugins and unnecessary design elements (such as animations) will improve site speed. This is a fundamental law of simplicity in web design. We’re not aiming for a boring experience, but unnecessary isn’t necessary either.
4. Remember the theory of colours and images
You want your website colours to reinforce your brand message and hit the right emotional points, while also ensuring that it keeps your website readable. Looking at contrast, complement and tone are important, but so is the type of images your website contains.
Images should fall into a visual hierarchy that makes sense. The visual hierarchy should arrange the elements of your website in order of importance. This is determined by size, style, colour, image type, etc. The main aspect you want to achieve when looking at a visual hierarchy is a focal point – this is where the essential information or target point you want your customers to see is.
Additionally, connecting with your audience through the use of imagery and colour is a powerful communication tool. This will help them feel at ease and give them the feeling that each page is part of the main one. During our website audits, we compare the basic design principles of color theory and images to see if improvements can be made. Colours, images, and graphics should be there to enhance the user experience, not distract from it.
As well as a very important point we mentioned above – each subpage should use an identical template created for it, this will create a feeling of one complete project and won’t confuse your customers that they might be on a different one than your website.
5. Do not forget about good strata optimization
A good web presence isn’t just what you see. Image stacking and optimization, HTML, JavaScript and CSS minification, hosting setup optimization and fewer plugins benefit your website platform by reducing load times and improving user experience.
We use our technical expertise to review the backend and technical architecture of a website. Through an in-depth technical audit, we can identify key bugs, vulnerabilities and performance issues. That way, we can put together an action plan to fix them, speed up your site, and ensure the challenges don’t recur over time.
A fast website sends strong signals of trust to your target market, while a slower load time causes users to leave at some point. Google, as a perfect example, regularly updates its statistics around this and is quite strict in its approach to site speed. As of 2019, they recommend a 2-second load time for an average site.
6. Consistency, consistency and more consistency
A memorable website always with consistent page design (of course we guessed this in the previous point, but how can I not create a special point for something so important!). Achieving a consistent design is difficult, as business goals alone can throw off a page or two and ruin the consistency of the entire site. To achieve consistency, you need to take care of the small things: text size, font, use of headings, type of images, page structure, SAME COLOR SCHEME, etc.
Every page doesn’t have to be the same, but if each page is consistent on a few key elements, it feels like a complete package. Instead of feeling like every page is a new website. For example, we manage to achieve a consistent design by using web design mockups, which allow us to show how your site will look, as well as provide space to edit and standardize fonts, colours, etc.
The tendency in Bulgaria not to pay much attention to design is a bad thing and it plays a bad joke on the online business. If you open 8 out of 10 online stores or websites that are outdated, template-based or inconsistent in design (uses a different font, too many colours, different sizes of headings and paragraphs, not to mention spacing) It’s time to change that!
In the “modern web” there must be an acceptance of evolutionary design and development.
7. Refine your navigation
The structure of your website and its pages should follow a logical hierarchy to direct users exactly where you want them to go.
Website navigation is a multifaceted process, but its focus is simply to ensure that your visitors don’t get confused. Look at your sitemap and calculate how many clicks it takes a user to reach the pages they need to reach. Remember that the navigation that makes sense to you (someone who understands your business well) will not be the same navigation that your customers will take. Asking if certain pages should exist and refining your use of calls to action helps streamline your navigation, which is a desirable end result.
Having navigation that streamlines your website without erasing the most important content is essential to achieving high results. Not all pages need to be in the main navigation. It’s worth considering secondary or bottom menus to store unimportant content that needs to be accessible.
8. Improve typography
Typography is a specific complex area of design, but to summarize, you want text that is easy to read. You can consider a font that reinforces your brand message and philosophy. Just remember that the most important aspect from the user’s point of view is its readability.
Illegible or annoying fonts can cause users to close the page, resulting in negative effects on your SEO and conversions. Make sure the font sizes are consistent across pages too – font changes and inconsistencies look unprofessional and can detract from an otherwise good website design.
9. Pay attention to the use of white space
White space is why some websites look “clean and simple”. Spacing between images, buttons, and anything with a strong visual is important to make sure the page doesn’t look cluttered.
White space, also known as negative space, is important for emphasizing focal points on a page. If an object has more white space around it, then it is placed higher in the page’s visual hierarchy.
Information-heavy pages can often be cluttered, so breaking things up, reducing text and adding white space can change a website from an unreadable mess to a readable and organized place that guides users.
You don’t want to overdo the white space though. We use our knowledge of web design and WordPress as well as Shopify to strike a balance in these situations and not clutter the pages and designs.
10. Use columns in web design
Columns and grids help keep your website well-structured. They can be used in both the initial design and planning stages, allowing you to see the whole picture and facilitate a structure that is both eye-catching and fluidly navigable.
The columns in the design reinforce the “clean” aesthetic we discussed earlier, blending with white space with measured columns. We prefer a development like Bootstrap to help the grid system when designing. This works well when a developer has to work on building a website with a pre-made design.
Columns or so-called grids, which are a major part of our website or website creation process, are used in the planning stages. They help inform the placement of elements on the page and a basic idea of user flow. Interactive web designs give our clients a realistic visualization for a project; they allow them to see the layout, display order and overall user experience of the website. This is an early stage that allows us to avoid key mistakes and ensure what the user will actually see and that they will like what they see.
And does your website follow the 10 laws we listed?
If your website needs a thorough WordPress and Shopify audit, we can help. We have a proven track record of improving clients’ websites, achieving their desired success and growing their businesses.
Contact our friendly and experienced team today to find out more.
