As a website designer, you are always trying to keep up with the latest trends and styles. The internet changes quickly, and what is considered new and interesting one day could easily be old or played out the next.
These simple and timeless tips don’t go out of style. Implement these easy tricks in any website you build for an overall better user experience.
Less Is More
A cluttered website drives users away and it hard to find information. Websites that use complicated menus, annoying pop ups, or have too much text on one page are not user-friendly. With the overabundance of content available on the web, if a user does not like your website or finds it hard to use, they will quickly give up and go elsewhere.
A minimalist approach is best for today’s consumers. Simple, cleanly organized drop down menus allow users to find the page they’re looking for quickly and efficiently. Pages should not be cluttered with too many pictures, and text should be broken up into easily digestible short paragraphs.
Although it can be tempting to show off your web design skills with a flashy webpage, an overproduced page will distract your visitors from what’s really important – your message.
Embed Social Media
When it comes to spreading the news, Facebook and Twitter are king. If you want people to talk about and share your website, be sure to embed a “share to Facebook” function in each page.
The embed function has multiple uses. First of all, allowing users to share your pages easily and efficiently encourages them to show other people your site – basically, free advertising. Second of all, because Facebook is a sharing hub, many more people may reach your page via the Facebook link.
Some websites require that users “sign in via Facebook”. This allows you to access some information on their Facebook page, which can help to gather information on your demographics, but many users do not want to grant this level of access, and a request to sign in may send them to an alternate source.
Keep It Consistent
Make sure your website will be consistently accessible. Do anything you can to avoid problems that will cause excessive downtime, such as server crashes or overloads. If you own a server, make sure there is no chance of it being compromised by a power outage or similar events.
Setbacks like these will frustrate users and cause them to go elsewhere. Online, a short amount of downtime feels like an eternity, and in the lightning-fast world of the internet, few people are willing to wait.
Investing in a power supply that can’t be interrupted will keep your website up and running through any event. This could be the key to saving important data in an emergency.