Building your first website will be very exciting but you may also feel a bit anxious due to your lack of experience. Keeping the design functional and knowing what your audience is looking for will help you create an impressive website that will boost your online reputation.
Characteristics of Successful Websites
Successful websites, regardless of the industry, tend to share a few similar characteristics.
For a start, the design is created keeping the audiences preferences in mind. An ecommerce website, for example, should offer easy checkout and emphasis on the products. A social network needs to prioritize communication and the easy sharing of information.
Good web designs have clear structure and hierarchy of information. The navigation is comprehensive enough, yet easy to use. The page structure is one of the elements determining for the usability of the website. You can learn web design and internet marketing tips that you can incorporate in your project planning phase.
Less is Always More
Many beginners in the niche of web design and development commit the mistake of trying to achieve too much.
Some of the best website designs are simple and minimalist. If you want to add functionalities, pick the ones that will bring something extra to the audiences experience. Adding too much for the sake of having a dynamic website will actually interfere with its user-friendliness.
The same rule applies to design and graphics. Put emphasis on a few impressive and modern elements rather than on many scattered features that fail impressing. And finally save a screenshot so you can remember. Learning from your first attempts can help you grow a lot in the future.
Focus on Content
In the world of web development, content has started playing a massive role in the success of a website.
Solid content impresses the audience and it also works for better search engine optimization (SEO). You should start working on the content plan while your website is being developed. See what the competition is doing, get inspired and choose unique content that will help you stand out.
Think about the audiences needs. Specialization is a good idea because it will help you create a particular niche. Though the audience you will be reaching is going to be smaller, this audience will be much more loyal and easier to please.
Boost Your Websites Popularity
The website design that you choose should be easy to popularize. Internet marketing is one of the best possibilities you have in terms of building brand awareness and increasing recognition. Make it easy to do online promotion.
Incorporate social media sharing possibilities in the design of each page. By making content sharing so simple, you will be encouraging the audience to do promotion instead of you. Add at least the most basic and popular social media buttons to get started.
Visuals and multimedia that are easy to share should also be a part of the design. The audience today is looking for much more than text-based content. Videos can easily go viral, so think about this kind of content, as well.
Finally, your website should be optimized for mobile devices. Choose responsive design one that changes in accordance to the screen it is being viewed on. The number of people using smartphones and tablets to view online content is growing all the time. Think about this audience, if you want to be successful.
Your first website will be an exciting experiment. Pay attention to the details, think about the audience and learn from your mistakes. The ability to make corrections on the go is one of the most beneficial aspects of website development.
