Website design can be fun and full of creative ways to make it unique and easy to use. Sometimes, business owners will hire a web designer to create the best website possible, but it can cost big bucks. Many small business owners find they are also handling the design end of things due to budget, and this can be daunting for those will little to no design experience. Don't let this stop you! We have a few tips to help you design the best website for your business, even if you aren't a designer.
Start the process by choosing the best color pallette for your brand. Make sure to incorporate these across all platforms, including your website. A good rule of thumb is to use two main brand colors, have 1 accent color for Call-to-Action buttons and other areas you want to draw attention, and 1 complimentary color. Check out our article on the psychology of color so the color palette you choose speaks for your business.
A website with too much content can deter some potential customers from your brand. Keep things simple and clean. Make information easy to find and see. Utilizing white space is a great way to draw a visitor's eye to Call-to-Action buttons or other areas of interest.
Choosing the right font is a must for website design. Keep the number of fonts you use to no more than 2. Also, make sure the fonts compliment each other, instead of clash. Once you choose your fonts, check out Website Setup for fonts that are safe for all browsers. It's also a good idea to leave Comic Sans out of your choice of fonts, unless your business is geared towards kids.
When using images, make sure you have high-resolution ones for your website. The best choice is to take your own high resolution photos. However, if you don't have a decent camera, there are many websites that offer free high resolution images in a variety of subjects. Websites like Freepik, Pixabay, and Unsplash have many amazing photos free to use.
We've mentioned before how a slow loading website can be detrimental to your business. Have you ever been to a website that took forever to load? You probably ended up leaving the webpage. Never forget to test out your website speed before deciding to publish it for public viewing. If you find your page is loading slowly, run tests to see where you can improve its speed. A website should load in no less than 2 seconds.
If you find you have just hit a wall in designing, start with something you absolutely like about your design. Try to build around that idea, word, or image. Look at Pinterest for ideas or look at a webpage you like and think about why you like it. You can even take some time away to work on another creative process, which can inspire or free your mind to get back on track.
As you can see, no matter how much experience you have at designing, we show you that it's completely possible to design a website on your own. So, get creative and start building the website of your dreams! If you have ever had designer's block, let us know in the comments how you overcame it.
