There is more to creating a good web design than just putting things in the right place. Rules matter like the use of white space and the rule of quarters, but even surgical precision can fall flat if there is no depth and context to the design.
Some tips that may help you find the ‘X’ factor to wow your visitors are given below:
• Remember, you are designing for a human
It would indeed be a great world where robots did all the menial work, but for now, it is humans who use the net and humans who visit your site. Designing for members of the species Homo sapiens translates to an easy to use interface that focuses on people’s actions. Your website design needs to meld with the expectations of your customers. You cannot keep your user guessing about what he is supposed to do next.
Make sure the ‘call to action’ buttons are right up front and users can see these buttons. Keep your design layout consistent so that users know where they are and where they need to go next. If this doesn’t happen, the user is most likely to find the exit and leave your site never to come back.
• Have heart
Surgical precision will only take your design so far. For a popular website, it is important that the design has a soul and an emotional depth. Use specific fonts, shapes, icons, and even images and photographs to convey the crux of your messages. If you are able to excite your user’s imagination and connect on an emotional level with the consumer then you have a greater chance of retaining your visitors.
Let’s look at Apple for a second. The company spends a lot of time on their website making it look sleek and sexy – exactly the kind of attributes we associate with an Apple product. Even before the customer has bought a product he knows that he is making the right choice by opting for the coolest gadget there is. That is how factoring in emotions can work for your website design and influence your customer’s mindset.
The idea behind website designing should never be just to create something that looks good, but also to create a brand connection. So, forget the design nazis and think like a user – it is easily the best way to design a winning website.