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Web design has changed over the last few decades. What was once viewed as a quality website a decade ago might be viewed as subpar at best in today’s world. Web designers need to constantly educate themselves on the new trends in web design. Taking the time to understand how different aspects of website design can impact a business is very important. The following are characteristics of quality web design that you should keep an eye out for.
Mobile Compatibility
Around 50 to 55% of traffic comes from mobile devices. Not optimizing a website for quality user experience on mobile devices can completely alienate an entire segment of a company’s customer base. People tend to get frustrated when a website is not working well on their phones. An effective website should not require visitors to zoom in and out constantly simply to try to log in to a website or find specific information. Web design needs to cater to the mobile user experience as they account for over half of the traffic online today.
Keep The Design Relatively Simple
Good websites do not need many bells and whistles to be successful. A designer will want to create a website that impresses visitors but does not distract them from the reason they are there. Easily being able to navigate a website especially when purchasing products right off of the website will help increase conversions.
The checkout process should also be simple yet secure if selling anything directly from the website. The last thing any company wants is a data leak that leads to a number of customers ending their relationships with a business.
SEO Is Kept In Mind
Loading times truly matter when it comes to search engine optimization. You do not want to overload the homepage with videos and other graphics that will slow down loading times. People do not want to visit websites that take a few minutes to navigate when another would take 45 seconds. There are plenty of tools online that can allow a person or designer to check the loading times of the website. Pinterest is a great example as they cut their loading times by around 40% only to see signups increase by 15%.
Tagging is going to be important throughout the website as it helps search engines figure out what a page’s main focus is. Keyword research should be done before doing any tagging although this is going to be the job of an SEO rather than a web designer more often than not.
User-friendly websites are going to rank higher than those that are not. Google and other search engines want their users to have the best browsing experience possible. Websites that are a nightmare to use might still attract traffic but the average time a visitor spends on the site is likely going to be very low.
Visitors Should Know The Purpose Of A Page
A business should have a goal for each page of its website whether it is to educate, sell, or showcase its products. Functionality is key as visitors should not have to wonder what a particular page is as guessing games are not popular when people are trying to spend money. Keeping a navigation bar at the top of the website can allow a person to find what they are looking for. A search bar at the top of the page can be very useful for eCommerce businesses where people are coming for a particular product. Auto populating these products can allow for a seamless sale as sales can be lost when a visitor is having trouble finding a product.
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Personalized Content For eCommerce Websites
Personalized content is the most important for eCommerce websites as it can help populate products from a specific location or for specific interests. This will display products that a person might have put into their cart or viewed in the past. Seeing products that are frequently purchased together can also help increase revenue per sale. When a user logs onto a website, the content they see should also be custom. Driving sales is of paramount importance and custom content can make a customer feel valued as an individual rather than just another sale.
You Know It When You See It
Quality design is something that you can see and even those with the untrained eye understand. Huge companies have very easy-to-navigate websites as they understand the average consumer can lose interest very quickly. The website should engage a follower or instill confidence in a potential customer that this business knows what they are doing. Amazon is a great example
Quality web design might be difficult for a person to describe that isn’t a designer but they know it when they see it. People want websites that are easy to navigate and allow them to find what they are looking for. The website being user-friendly can be that first impression that a business wants to make on a potential customer.