Everyone wants to make a good and lasting first impression. Your website, in most cases, is your company’s first impression on potential clients. If your website is poorly designed or loads slowly, you could lose the interest of your viewers.
A well-designed website is going to keep a customer on the page, while a poorly designed site will lead to high bounce rates. In this blog, you will learn about some of the latest design trends in website design that you could then potentially include in your website redesign to help boost traffic.
White Space
White space on a website can be done in many different ways. It helps to give the eyes “room to breathe” if you will and helps to make a page look less cluttered. While it is good to have this white space, you also don’t want to overuse it with too much open and unused space.
An area many companies use white space in on their site is at the top of the homepage, the first thing a client will see. This gives off a clean look and makes the company look professional.
Via Mike BarnesVia AIDAD
Minimalist Design
Minimalist design goes hand-in-hand with white space. Typically, minimalistic design is just that – minimal design elements on the page to create a very simple and professional look. This design style tends to not be too flashy and displays the content of the page in a very professional manner.
Via Mike Barnes
Mix of Graphics and Photography
Another popular design trend is mixing graphic design with photography. This is typically done to bring the viewer’s attention to a particular spot on the page. It can be as simple as a different colored box being an offset frame around an image or text, or it can be as whimsical as a stroke of paint across the lower section of an image to bridge the gap between white space and the photo.
Via MithumVia Anton Siribaddana
Overlapping Layers
This design trend is similar to the mixing of graphics and photos and can be used together in many cases. Overlapping layers is most commonly used with text over images. But it can also be used to draw attention to an area on the page or to give depth to elements that would otherwise look flat. Giving depth helps to break up the page and add dimension.
Via Slaviana
Many of the design trends we mentioned could potentially be used together. Having some overlapping imagery when people arrive at your homepage while also allowing for good white space around it. Perhaps you have an image with an offset block which would also include overlapping layers. The possibilities are endless!
Have a website built that gets the job done, but want more? Have you thought about hiring a company to do a redesign? Your website may be “getting the job done” but what if it could bring in more traffic and possibly more leads?
Contact the professionals at Salt Rank today to help you with your website redesign and get back in style with the latest design trends.
You know that you need a strong presence online, and that presence doesn’t start with social media, or a Google My Business Listing, it begins with a website. Building a website requires time and effort, but you are busy running and growing your business, and you need someone to take over the creation and maintenance of your website. You need a web design services company!
What web design services involve
While you know you need a web design service, you aren’t quite sure what web design services involve. Generally speaking, web design services include everything that you need to make a web site online like
• Branding
• Logo design
• Color palettes
• Typography
• Hosting
• Graphic design
• WordPress Installation & Customization
• Web Page Design
• Basic Search
Engine Optimization
• Submission to
Google and other search engines.
• Integration with
Google Analytics or other web analytics
Why is having a web design service important?
Having a well-defined and organic presence on the internet
is essential for every business as it helps to build trust with your customers
and can be used to generate leads.
Having a well-designed and mobile-friendly website will help
• Your ideal
customers or leads to find your company
• Increase and maintain your customer base
• Customers to
contact your business with ease
• Build trust with
potential customers
• Give you a
platform to own your own media
• Help you capture
and convert leads
What to Look for In a Web Design Services Company
Choosing the right web design service company requires you to find a wholistic company that can meet all the requirements you have for your website.
Take a moment to think about what those requirements may be. Start with the goal of your website and then work backward. Think about what features you will require, and which features are nice-to-have and which are necessary to the functioning of your business?
Here are some sample questions that will help you choose the right web design service company.
Do you already have these things, or do you need them?
• A domain name
• Webhosting
• Content
Management System (WordPress, Shopify, etc.)
• E-mail addresses
(POP3/Webmail)
• Database
If you don’t have any of the above components for your
website, you may need to opt for a full-service package with a web design
company.
What functionality do you need for your website?
• Do you have a
preferred programming language you want to use?
• How much
bandwidth do you expect to use?
• How much disk
space do you need?
Answering these questions will also help you determine how
much you will pay or need to pay monthly for web design and maintenance.
Now that you know what your needs are, you can start looking for a web design company to help you execute your plans!
What questions to ask of a web design company
When you approach a web design company ask them the following questions to see if they are the right for for you and your business.
• How fast are their connections?
• Do they have a back-up and disaster recovery systems in place to protect your data?
• Do they require you to make payments in advance or are fees monthly?
• What is their customer support like?
• Do they have a reasonable response rate?
• Is their staff knowledgeable?
• Can you access your website at any time via an online website manager or an account control panel?
• Are online support manuals and tutorials available for you?
Now that you you have all the information to find the right web development company, you may be wondering about the team of people you will be working with.
Quick Outline of a Web Services Team
Account Manager – This is the person who you liaise with regularly and communicate your website needs to.
Graphic Designer – The graphic designer will create any
logos and graphics that will be on your website.
Web Designer – The graphic designer and web designer may be
the same person, and they oversee creating the Photoshop layout in HTML, CSS,
and other web languages.
Developer – After the HTML code is deployed, the developer
will connect the database with your website.
SEO Manager – This person will optimize your website so you
can be found on search engines. If you also sign-up for an SEO package, blog
posts are included in this person’s role.
Database Administrator – If you have an extensive database,
this person will handle all your data.
How SaltRank works to create you the perfect website
Step 1 – Identify Your goals
We work with you to find out your goals and help you to
determine what the purpose of your website should be. We have worked with
various industries from senior living to fashion and have experience in
creating B2B websites and B2C websites that convert
Step 2 – Define the Scope
Once we know what your goals are for your website, we can
determine the scope of the project and create a realistic time lien for you
based on your budget.
Step 3 – Create Your Sitemap and Wireframe
With a well-defined scope, we can start creating a sitemap
and define all the content and graphics that will need to be featured.
Step 4 – Create Your Content
We will start creating the content for each individual page
outlined in our sitemap and utilize SEO best practices on each page.
Step 5 – Test and Launch Your Site
This is the fun part; we will test your website to make sure
it all works properly for your visitor. We will invite search engines to crawl
your site so it can rank on Google, Bing, and other search engines.
Once everything works properly, we can also help you launch
your website on your social channels and through paid advertising.
Step 6 – Maintain Your Website
We will continually monitor and maintain your website as web
standards change. If you need to make updates to your website or expand your
database, we will always be there to help.
.
Use this information to choose the right web design services company. If you are looking for a consultation on building your perfect website, give us a call for a free 30-minute consultation today!
Are you losing your customers to a bad website design?
Over 85% of customers say they will never return to a website because of poor user experience. The majority of your customers expect fast load times, stunning design, and an easy to navigate website. If you are looking for website design services Kansas, then consider these conversion boosting trends you can bring to the design team today to boost conversions.
Stunning Visuals and Layout
Web users want to be wowed with crisp, well-done visuals, but the truly savvy user wants something a little different. Consider adding elements like bold typefaces that establish a strong brand identity right off the bat. Use a ‘Z’ pattern and diagonal designs to guide your customer’s eyes to the important elements on your page. Don’t be afraid to use asymmetrical layouts when using a Z pattern.
Having stunning visuals with strong CTAs will not only help you keep your user on your website longer, but it will help you boost your conversion rate.
Responsive Content
Gone are the days we design for only desktop and mobile. Many people are viewing content on their smartwatches or navigating the web via voice search. To boost your conversions consider working with website design services in Kansas to create content that resonates with your target market and can be accessed through any device or medium. Not only will your user thank you for your content first approach by staying longer, but Google and other search engines will also reward you by having your content be delivered to your ideal market.
Video and GIFs
They say a picture tells 1000 words, but a video tells 10,000. You are leaving your brand story to chance without video on your website. Human’s attention is easy grabbed by other human faces and fast-moving objects. It is engrained in our psychology to pay attention to these things. To take advantage of human evolution, you can use dynamic video backgrounds to communicate your brand story and capture attention. If you are targeting a younger demographic, consider using GIFS on your website to communicate complex emotions through pop culture references. Having these elements can entice your web visitors to engage with your brand and consume more content.
Personalization
Probably the biggest trend for web design that you need to be watching this year. Many website design services Kansas now have the technology to implement true personalization that helps to convert visitors into subscribers or buyers. When we talk about personalization, we don’t mean simple things like a user’s first name. We are talking about location-based personalization and implementing machine learning and predictive analytics to make recommendations on the next blog post to read or the lipstick color that will look best on a consumer’s skin.
In the future, brands will be able to deliver offers that are based on the weather in a person’s location or if their sport’s team in winning of losing in the playoffs. Personalization will be about catering to the user’s interests and addressing where they are in the buyer’s journey. When people feel that they are being heard and take care of they are more likely to convert into users and buyers.
Consistent Header and Footer
Providing your user with a consistent experience is essential to building trust and therefore boosting conversions. Having a unique and persistent element like a header and a footer will help to orient the user when navigating through your website. Not only that but users expect to see a header and footer with the information they are looking for such as location, FAQs and social media icons.
Micro-commitment forms
A major breakthrough for lead form conversions has been multi-step forms. The reason that multi-step forms are so effective is because they only ask for micro-commitments. Users find massive, multi-field forms to be intimidating and find the ease of multi-step forms to be interactive, engaging, and fun.
Optimizing User Experience
Not only will poor usability turn off your users, but it will also affect your search ranking. When designing your website make sure that the user experience is top of mind to ensure that your conversions are high. Here are a few things that you need to consider when improving your user experience:
Website speed: In 2018, Google announced that site speed would be an important ranking factor. Most users expect a page to load in less than three seconds. Optimizing all the elements on your page like photos, javascript and animations will be critical for reducing your speed load time, pleasing customers, and ranking well on Google.
Mobile Friendly: While you should be still creating content first as emerging technologies take hold, you still need to make sure that your website is mobile-friendly. Google has continued to indicate that they will be prioritizing mobile indexing and many consumers are searching for and making product purchases with their mobile phones.
Personalized, Smart content: Remember, a personalized experience will increase engagement and overall conversions. Until machine learning and AI becomes widely available and accessible, you can effectively use pixeled data and cookies to help you personalize your user’s experience.
Minimalism: Make sure that you are employing plenty of white space to let your user’s eyes rest. Use other techniques like contrast and bold typography to make the user experience as seamless as possible.
Accessibility: Ensure that all your photos have alt tags and closed captions for your photos and videos to make your website accessible for users with disabilities. Don’t forget to incorporate keyboard navigation, HTML tags, ARIA tags, and title tags as well. Not only should you do this for the good of your user experience, but you can open yourself to lawsuits if you don’t keep accessibility in mind.
Now that you know the top website design trends that will help you boost conversions you can find the best website design services Kansas offers to help you implement them.