Website design is an integral part of any online campaign. Search engine optimization, or SEO, social media marketing, blogs and newsletters all are designed to drive viewers to a website. In most cases, that landing page is the website”™s home page.
Arguably, the most important consideration involving website design is the user experience. This entails how well the website meets the requirements of its viewers. According to Gabriel Ceslov, an award-winning graphic designer with many years of experience, the biggest challenge involves being able to successfully combine design and technology to communicate information.
“There are a lot of websites on the Internet that don”™t look like they were designed at all. They provide the information and try to put it all on the home page. The user will spend less than five seconds on your home page and if it”™s too complex, they will leave and go to a competitor.
“It is one of the toughest challenges of website design. It”™s also a major problem with mobile devices where you only have 5 inches to work with. You must prioritize.”
Website design also affects the outcome of every social media campaign. Since the goal of most social campaigns is to drive potential clients or followers to a website or landing page, it may wrongly be perceived as being unsuccessful despite driving a tremendous amount of relevant traffic if that website rapidly loses viewers and squanders their initial interest and excitement. Ultimately, you have a failed campaign. And since it”™s the end results that count, it”™s the social campaigns that often take the blame instead of the website or landing page. This is yet another reason why analytics and follow-up research on a campaign are so important.
Users must be able to easily navigate around a website. This means using pull-down menus instead of text that clutters the screen. It also means more white space on the page leading to greater appeal and usability.
Research is another important part of website development. To be successful, the following questions should be addressed:
Ӣ What appeals to the user?
Ӣ Are my text and images in line with my marketing?
Ӣ Do my colors convey my message?
Ӣ Are the graphics including my logo appealing? Do I have the right logo?
Ӣ Is the website easy to navigate? Can an 8-year-old go to my website and figure out how to navigate it?
Ӣ Is it ready for mobile?
Since color plays an integral part in the success of a website and can elicit subliminal and psychological reactions, I asked Ceslov to comment on its usage.
“Color is very important in how you convey the company image,” he said.
“A common fault of inexperienced designers is that they use a lot of colors. That”™s a big mistake; keep it simple. Traditional media design should not exceed more than three colors. Neither should website design, although some shades can be used in specific instances. For example, an ecommerce website with call-to-action buttons may be okay. Think of it as a fourth color ”“ such as in the use of a shopping cart. But, it depends on the website.
“My rule of thumb: Don”™t use more than three colors.”
Website design continues to evolve. If you have not updated your website for several years, it is something you should seriously consider ”“ particularly since it is most likely losing money it could instead be earning. Closely evaluating the amount of business your website has generated over a 12-month period and your conversion rate of traffic to customers should offer a good indication of its effectiveness. Providing improvements to a website that is even moderately effective can significantly enhance your business and the size of your following.
Since mobile websites have become an integral part of online activity and website design, a follow-up column will focus on mobile and responsive design.
Gabriel Ceslov is based in Ossining and can be reached at gabriel@gabrielceslov.com or gabrielceslov.com. Bruce Newman is vice president at The Productivity Institute LLC and a regular contributor to the Business Journal. He specializes in content creation and digital marketing. He can be reached at bnewman@prodinst.com.
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