Use Visual Layout to Make Your Website Clearer
In today’s world, a business needs a website to stay competitive. The better designed your site is, the more likely you are to keep people engaged and actually get them to look at and buy your product. The same principles apply to a blog as well, if you want people to interact with your articles, you will need a design that draws and keeps their attention. Use some of these design tips to market yourself and your website better.
Make Your Identity Clear
One flaw common on many websites is that the purpose of the business gets lost in a cloud of links, blog posts, and ads. You need your homepage to immediately communicate who you are and what you do while making it simple for your patrons to interact with it. Take, for example, this site about NFL betting odds. When you visit the site, you are met with an immediate impact from an image of a football player and bold letters that say things like “sportsbook” and “betting site.” You know immediately what the purpose of the site is the moment you’re on it, and without even having to scroll, there is a place for someone to sign up and get started with them. This is a great example to keep in mind when thinking about the design of your homepage or blog.
Use Color to Your Advantage
Color is one of the most powerful marketing tools in the toolbox of designers. While thinking about how you can arrange your website, begin to think about what message you are trying to get across. Study up on the psychology of color and how you can use it in your marketing.
For example, a website for a business that sells flowers probably shouldn’t be black or dark navy but should use lively green and vibrant colors instead. A blog about heavy metal bands, on the other hand, probably wants to avoid colors like pastel pink and yellow. You want people visiting your site to be brought into a mood that makes them want to use your product or read your posts — and color is the best way to do that.
Take Advantage of Negative Space
Just as you are trying to ensure that everything has a place on your website, be aware of the negative space, or the space that is not meant to be interacted with. Simply throwing pictures, ads, or articles on your page at random is not going to create a professional look.
While arranging two or more items on your site, take note of the space in between them. Remember that when two shapes are next to each other, a third shape is made in the gap, and that third shape can look odd and throw off the whole vibe of your site. Review this and some of these other principles of negative space and try to build your website while keeping these in mind.
Contrast Is Key
In the same vein as negative space, the idea of contrast is important as well. Contrast is essentially using different characteristics of two things to highlight one of them. For example, a large picture and a small picture next to each other communicate that whatever is in the large picture is more important than in the small one. You use the contrast of the size of the image to send a message.
You can use contrast to boost sales on your website by highlighting specific products, deals, or messages more than others. This principle can also be used to draw and keep the attention of potential customers.
Don’t be afraid to try something new and change up the design of your site until you find something you like.
