14 Jun Rebuilding Your Website? 3 Things to Keep in Mind…
Whether you’re rebuilding your website in-house, or using an agency to get the job done (by the way, we know some people who can help you out, if you’re looking!) – chances are, you’re faced with a lot of options and decisions that can get overwhelming at times. But, regardless of which picture you use for your home page or what color your nav bar is, here are a few overarching priorities you should use to keep your site looking great, and your users coming back.
Speed and Navigation Are Key
If it’s been said once, it’s been said a million times – today’s user has an incredibly short attention span. In fact, data shows that on average, users expect a site to load in 2 seconds or less, and if your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, you’ve lost 50% of your audience. So while it may be tempting to load up your site with lots of ‘bells and whistles’ – think Java Script-heavy plug ins, or large videos – keep in mind that a simple site that loads quickly is always preferable over a flashy, slow site. In the same vein, keep in mind that users have the entire internet at their disposal to find the information they’re looking for, so a great way to keep them coming back to your site is to make sure the information is easily found. Avoid ‘hamburger’ nav bars that hide pages, unnecessary subpages, and any kind of ‘fluff’ content that buries what they’re looking for.
Typography Has a Place
It may be tempting to get overly creative with your typography and create graphics using unique typefaces. However, the point of a website is to be useful. It does need to look good, but in this case, legibility wins out over style. Keep the number of typefaces to a minimum (2 coordinating typefaces keeps the site from looking both too boring and too overdone) and try to focus on clean, neat sans-serif fonts. If you’re thinking of creating graphics using more intricate typefaces, proceed with caution. Using graphics as page headers or to make key text stand out may seem like a good idea, but it can kill your SEO, as crawlers won’t pick up on text stored in images. If you do decide to go the graphic route, be sure to repeat any key text in the body copy so that Google can find your site and serve it to the people who are looking for you.
Beware of Trends
2016 has brought some interesting and exciting web design trends. And if you have the budget, or the know-how to redesign a site every 6-12 months, go ahead and use as many as you like in your design! However, just like with clothing trends, if you’re not looking to spend an exorbitant amount of money every year to stay current, it’s best to go for a more ‘classic, timeless’ style. The terms classic and timeless may seem strange in the context of something as new as web design, but you can’t go wrong with a combination of simple design, quality images, and a focus on useability.
If you’re looking to rebuild or redesign your website, let Idea Associates help! Contact us today to get started!
“website” (CC BY 2.0) by medithIT
