Modern websites benefit from clean, minimalistic designs. They don’t need all the bells and whistles that past websites have needed. Their goal is to deliver a great user experience that has as few distractions as possible.
Whether you are updating your site or building a new one, here are a few key elements that are needed for modern web design.
Strong Color Palette
The color scheme of your website is crucial. We recommend using both primary and secondary colors so that you have a variety of options for your marketing materials. At the same time, be subtle in your choices or your design could be distracting.
Modern websites typically have two or three colors in their major design elements. Consider some of the big sites like PayPal or Amazon. PayPal has a white background and blue accent colors, while Amazon has a white background and yellow accent colors. Simplifying your color palette makes your design look clean and uncluttered.
Lots of White Space
White space allows your design to breathe. Use white space between graphics, margins and paragraphs so that users can focus on what’s important. Keep in mind that white space is not empty space with a white background. You can use any color, texture or pattern to achieve this breathable space. As long as it defines margins and keeps things organized, you are using white space to your advantage.
Relevant Calls to Action
Modern websites are often conversion focused. To encourage visitors to convert, include specific, relevant calls to action on your website. Ideas include email subscription forms, free downloadable books and whitepapers, free consultations and more. Let visitors know what you want them to do, such as “Schedule your free estimate,” or “Download our latest ebook.” Include CTAs throughout your website: at the end of blog posts, in sidebars and on your resource pages.
Clean Backend Coding
What your users won’t see is the backend coding, but they will certainly feel it. The backend coding affects the functionality of your site. To ensure that your website runs flawlessly, you need coding that loads quickly and offers effective navigation. If your site doesn’t function as well as it could, talk to a skilled designer to find out what improvements can be made.
Putting the User First
Always design for the user first. Even though you may want your site to boost rankings and increase traffic, it needs to be relevant to your audience. Otherwise, you could end up delivering a poor user experience that will ultimately hurt your website. As long as you design for your audience first, they will use and enjoy your site, and Google will know this.
Fast Page Loading
Speed is a ranking factor and a design element that should not be overlooked. People don’t have the patience to wait for sites to load. If your pages are slow, people will bounce off your site and visit your competitors instead. To ensure that your site runs fast and efficient, optimize photos, enable compression, minimize HTTP requests and choose the proper hosting options.
By following our tips above, you can build a modern website that attracts new visitors, generates leads and converts prospects into customers. To build a better website that possesses these qualities, contact Magna Technology today.
