Experienced webmasters know that the success and effectiveness of a site is largely due not only to technical capabilities, but also to its visual part - design. It has been proven that a site with insufficient quality design has low statistics (high bounce rate, low time spent on the site, low number of page views, low CTR ).

What is a good design then? And what does “good” mean when it comes to website design? What needs to be done so that the site design is thoughtful, competent and efficiently fulfills its purpose?

Let's take a look at 10 factors of professional web design that will help a website acquire aesthetics, ease of perception, attractiveness, and subsequent effectiveness.

Factor One: Target

The main task of web design is to arouse the user's interest and confidence in the information presented. To do this, first of all, you need to know and understand exactly the intent (intention) of the visitor: what is the site or a specific section for, if we are talking about a specific page of the site, what the visitor expects to receive from the site in the end. After all, he came for a solution to a specific problem, and not just nice to sit at the screen. A useful, simple and pleasant to use interface will leave a good impression on the user and will want to come back again.

But the main factor is content that suits the needs of the prospect. To establish communication with the user through content is the main goal of web design. It is wrong to consider web site design without its connection with the content.

At the same time, unique and high-quality content based on the study and analysis of user interests helps the site to take a leading position in the search results. Thus, high-quality design is one of the indicators of competent website development and ease of achieving the goal for the user.

Second factor: communication

The visitor who comes to the site wants to quickly get the necessary information, so professionals know that it should be presented clearly, structured and easy to read.

The effectiveness of information can be achieved by using headings, subheadings, highlighted words, bulleted lists, quotes. Sentences that are too long and complex are difficult to understand. When developing a website design, a professional always tries to present himself in the place of an ordinary user.

Too large text, without spaces between each paragraph, makes it very difficult to perceive the information, therefore, the user will simply leave your site without evaluating the content.

Complex navigation on the site, inconvenient location of information on the page also negatively affects. The simpler and clearer the structure, the more realistic the solution to the problems of the target audience.

Factor three: typographic

In simple terms, it is the use of easy-to-read fonts and an acceptable layout of the text on the page. A heading from a large font size, a different style of letters, a convenient location of the text will make the perception of the composition of the page quite interesting.

Knowing and understanding typography, it is possible to convey the idea of content not only through the content of the text, but also through its graphic design. But this does not mean at all that the use of fonts can be abused. It is appropriate to use 1-2 fonts, no more than 2-3 typefaces and apply them where appropriate.

Choose a clear and legible font, such as Aria l or Verdana , for body text. Typography is based on the study of the reader's perception of typing and has its own rules and regulations, the application of which will help to avoid common mistakes when creating web design.

Factor four: color

The color scheme of a page can also determine the emotional response to a site. According to research, the vast majority of people decide to buy a product within a minute and a half. Moreover, such a decision is mainly based on the perception of the color gamut that the user sees. Have you noticed that eco-products are marked in green, and luxury brands - in black?

Professionals are responsible for the combination of colors for the background or various elements of the site. The mutual combination of balance and harmony of colors, the use of a contrasting color for text or background greatly facilitates perception and reading. Different shades create a different feel, and by mastering color theory you can create a beautiful and effective color combination that will attract the visitor.

Factor five: image selection

Source: aif.ru

A professional web designer knows that sometimes only one image can replace text for a thousand words, and choosing the right image helps to influence the target audience and promotes brand promotion. Photography is a great tool to take your website out of the ordinary to first-class. One cannot ignore the use of infographics on the page, videos, illustrations and other techniques that may well bring more effect than even the most talentedly written text.

Factor Six: Site Navigation

Convenient navigation should be on any site. Confusing numerous transitions simply disorient the user and will not help him find the information he needs. Therefore, the navigation system is considered the main criterion for a convenient resource. For its effective work, menus, logos, icons, "bread crumbs", the site footer, clickable buttons are used.

There is also non-standard navigation based on complex techniques: 3 D images, 360-degree rotations, videos, etc. But, as a rule, such a site loses to clear and accessible for the user. There is the so-called “three clicks” rule, when a visitor finds the information he needs in three clicks. So he will be able to quickly achieve his goal and subsequently return to the resource.

Factor Seven: Modular Grid

Source: medium.com

This term means the scheme according to which all its elements and blocks are located on the site. A kind of framework that creates visual order and facilitates perception. Messy content creates a sloppy look and does not attract attention. The logical line of sections, columns, blocks is more user-friendly.

Whichever CMS or website builder you choose as a platform for your site - it will have a clear visual structure of the pages. It can be end-to-end (the same for all pages) or different for different types of pages. So for business sites and online stores, a structure with a "side-by-side" block to the right or left of the main content part is usually used. Blogs may not have end-to-end boxes and are usually limited to centered content.

Research has shown that most people pay attention to the top and left of the screen first. This means that it will be more profitable to submit information precisely in these positions. The grid helps to quickly develop a layout, saves time spent on its creation, simplifies the work of a whole team of website creators.

Factor Eight: Download Speed

When a site takes a long time to load, no one likes it. In addition to an attractive design, the site should also load quickly. Analysis by researchers showed that half of the users want the site to load within 3 seconds.

Visitors leave the page that takes a long time to load without waiting for the result. Therefore, professional SEO optimizers know that fast loading can be achieved by optimizing the size and scale of images, minimizing page length, and reducing graphic tools. The loaded elements also affect the download speed: counters, informers , music screensavers, etc.

Loading is important for the search engine as well, as it takes into account the loading speed of the site when promoting it. Fast-loading pages rank higher than slow-loading pages.

Factor nine: display in browsers

Very often, novice designers do not take into account the fact that their site is viewed by users from different browsers. This means that in every browser, the site may not work correctly or display ugly. The reason is that the HTML language is different.

Therefore, an experienced web designer will always check the page for cross-browser compatibility, that is, for its identical display in different browsers. To test the operation of the resource, there are many services with appropriate tests and settings.

Factor ten: adaptability

Source: uxpapa.ru

Our life has long been filled with different gadgets: mobile phones, tablets, TVs, laptops, computers. Each of them has a different screen size. Therefore, your site should be tailored for each of them. What is it for?

First, for the availability and correct display of your resource for any user on any device.

Secondly, the number of users of mobile devices has increased significantly, so they cannot be ignored and you need to provide an opportunity to conveniently use your resource. Mobile versions of websites exist, but they are significantly inferior to adaptive ones.

Thirdly, search engines have begun to actively promote sites that are adapted to mobile devices. The creation of a responsive website is done using certain technologies that will help display the website on different devices, regardless of the screen resolution.

Good web design differs from amateur web design in that it uses effective, functional principles to help make the site interesting, useful, attractive to visitors, and ranked high in search engine rankings.