Whilst making a website look visually pleasing is important, there’s a little bit more to creating a good site than just making sure it’s pretty. A website has to be functional, simple, easy to navigate and not too stuffed with detail that it loads too slowly as well. In this article we’re going to look at a few of the best websites out there and explain why they are so well received. So if you’re thinking of setting up a website for your business or improving your already existing one, you’ll know what to look for from professional designers.
Apple
From its products and software to its website and adverts, everything about Apple is decidedly sleek and relatively simple in design. They keep an almost minimalist approach without being too simple and lacking in detail. The Apple website’s main website colours of white, black, light grey and dark grey allow their products, which are getting increasingly more colourful in the last few years, to stand out in ways a more complex website wouldn’t allow.
It’s not just visual design you need to think about when creating a website either, the written content needs careful consideration as well – and Apple nails this. Their use of very short copy and full stops has made them instantly recognisable, meaning subtle parodies and copycats are easy to spot.
The website uses incredibly high-quality images that move and animate as you scroll down through all the information, but it also gives you the option to head straight to the buy page and compare different products with ease. Apple set a high standard in keeping a brand consistent across all platforms.
Instagram and Other Social Media
There’s a reason that Instagram is one of the most used platforms in the world. Its simple reliance on users to add all sorts of images means that depending on who and what interests you follow, the algorithm will show you more and more of what it thinks you like.
It’s a reminder of how important designing a website for a mobile device is, and depending on the site or businesses intent – it may be even more important to design the site for mobile than it is for desktop. Though functioning on all platforms is important, you can clearly see that Instagram prioritises its mobile features when viewing it on desktop mode, the same is also becoming true for Facebook.
Not only are visual platforms like Instagram, Pinterest and other social media sites important to look at to analyse why so many people use them but these sites can actually be a great place to find examples, inspiration and even designers for your website.
How to Find a Good Web Designer
It should be fairly straightforward to find a good web designer, if you’re looking for someone local, whether an independent freelancer or digital marketing agency, you can simply type in something like web design Essex and you should get a variety of suggestions in your area.
Agencies and businesses use keywords and phrases in their websites to help them appear higher on search engine results. This is something that a marketing agency can also help with and add to your website if needed.
Most web designers will have a portfolio that you should be able to easily access, this will help you decide if their approach is the style you’re looking for.
Things to Consider
When thinking about what you want your business website to look like, you need to think like you’re a customer. Hiring the expertise of marketing professionals can help you do this – or they can do it for you, as they do it every day for multiple businesses.
It also depends what you are selling or providing, if you are a fully e-commerce site you’ll need to make it as easy as possible for customers to find and buy what they’re looking for, whilst also providing all the details they’ll need before they make a purchase. High quality images of the product (like Apple have) will help too. If you are selling a service, be sure to include all the details of that service on site, with examples if possible.
Using the above advice to make sure you have a good website will pay off considerably.
