6 tips for a better website
With the growing interest in social media and digital content, website design and optimization is becoming increasingly important. Just as the decoration of the cafes and shops we enter affects our perceptions, web design is an important factor that we can use to influence users’ perspective. You can apply the six elements we are going to talk about in this article in order to increase your quality score, rank higher in search engines, and keep customers on your page.
6 elements to consider in order to make your website better:
- colors
- photo
- Consistency between pages
- Compatibility with various devices (mobile phone response)
- Page speed
- Easy navigation system
1. Colors
It has been scientifically proven that colors activate many emotions and feelings in the human brain. Given this information, choosing the right color scale when designing a website will be a simple and important step to influence the target audience and thus spend more time on the website. Since the meanings of colors for individuals can differ between cultures, keeping in mind the target audience and choosing colors accordingly will increase your productivity. When choosing colors, you can also make use of ready-made color palettes that are available online.
Many companies, including big ones like McDonald’s, Apple, and Coca Cola, use color to activate customers’ emotions. For example, many food and beverage companies prefer the color red because it evokes feelings such as excitement and hunger. As the color blue is associated with efficiency, clarity, and freedom, it is used in the logos and websites of many technology companies such as Facebook, Samsung, HP, and Intel.
62-90% of consumers’ first impressions are based solely on color choices. This means that finding the right color scheme for your site is a business decision, not just an aesthetic one. Source: Emerald
Another area to consider in the use of color is the content written on the page. Creating a contrast between the background color and the text color i.e. creating “white space/negative space” increases the readability of the page. Users prefer black more because it is the color we are used to reading and is the least tiring on the eyes. Keeping colors like yellow, orange, and green to a minimum in on-page articles and sharing articles with darker colors like black and navy blue will also help users perceive the site more professionally.
2. Pictures
Photos, illustrations, videos and other images are indispensable parts of websites. The use of images that summarize the message to be presented in writing and draw attention to its important points will increase the efficiency of the users of the site. For this reason, it is very important that all images used are related to the content of the article and that the message to be conveyed is understood. High resolution images should be used for a more professional look. Unnecessary video and images should be avoided so as not to slow down the loading speed of the site.
3. Consistency between pages
The overall look of the website should be consistent with itself. The fact that features such as backgrounds, color scales, and fonts are the same or consistent across all pages are factors that positively affect user experience. It is very important to keep the design of your site simple and to ensure that each page has similar structures, if not the same.
If you want to use different fonts, you have to make sure that they fit together. Since non-repetitive text may be difficult for some users to read, easy-to-read and more common fonts (Helvetica, Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana, Courier New, etc.) should be used.
4. Hardware compatibility
It is crucial that the websites are mobile friendly so that the content on the website can be viewed from different devices without any issues. Considering that the use of mobile devices has overtaken the use of desktop computers, we can say that creating a responsive site has become a necessity to create a site that is easy to use. You can find our article on device compatibility here.
5. Page speed
One of the most important factors causing users to leave websites is slow loading speed. A good page load speed increases both user engagement and sales. The ideal speed is 4 to 6 seconds. Slow loading speed lowers your search engine rankings. You can easily see your site speed with PageSpeed Insights tool.
6. Easy navigation system
Users can easily find the information they are looking for if and only with the easy to use navigation system on the site. A simple navigation system will increase the time spent on the site. Having a search button at the top of the page is very important for users to find what they are looking for. Especially on websites with many categories or menu items, it is preferable to use drop-down lists, that is, “drop-down” lists.
Another important factor in terms of users’ experience is access to the required information within 3 clicks. Creating an easy navigation system is essential for the Three Click Rule to be valid. In addition, breadcrumbs, a secondary navigation system that shows users where they are on a page, are ideal for improving user experience.
In our opinion, one of the prerequisites for any website is blogging. On the one hand, you can generate traffic to the site by doing content marketing, and on the other hand, you can increase the user experience by making sure that the user has an idea of your brand. Blogging will drive leads to your site and will be an important investment in your site in the long run. As you can see, you can improve your website with small touches. By following the recommendations we gave you, you will rank higher in the search engines and have a website that is easy to use.