Your website is the pride and joy of your business. It’s your identity; your mark on the world. So, when you commission a new design from a marketing agency – no matter how reputable they are – it can be difficult to let go and accept change.
But being too attached to the past will only hinder the website design process. Trust us, we know.
As the late and great George Michael famously sang, ‘[You] gotta have faith, faith, faith’. And that’s really the best thing you can do. Have faith in the experts.
Before we dig into some website design tips and the value of flexibility, let’s take a look at the ins and outs of a typical design process.
The process starts with a team of experts who are experienced in creating beautiful, responsive and tailored websites. They’re the Fab Five of the website world and they’re fully prepared to uncover the mysteries behind good site design.
At the heart of every website makeover, this team will take your needs and key best practices into consideration to create something that both works and looks fantastic.
Ioana Negulescu, our senior graphic designer, had this to say:
‘With each website, we think of the following:
As you can see, there are varying perspectives, challenges and moving parts to the website design process. Although the website – as a product – is commissioned by you, it’s also for your prospective customers, your employees and Google, too.
So, what should and shouldn’t you do during the process? And how can you learn to let go?
Although you won’t be designing your website yourself, there are still some important tips you can take into consideration during the design process.
Did you know that 85 percent of adults believe that a company’s mobile website should be as good, if not better, than their desktop website?
Some design ideas might look nice, but would impact your website’s responsiveness, which is especially important for mobile.
For instance, requesting a full width website without white margins may work on certain screen resolutions, but it’ll become a jumbled mess on others. In this case, you might find that the images and background will be very wide, while the copy will be small and centred.
In this scenario, it’s better to focus on responsiveness and the user experience than the latest website design trends.
Granted, stock images have some appeal. They’re often free, they’re easy to source, and generally you can find an image that conveys what you want to say. In certain marketing activities, such as a quick social media message, they’re great.
But, for your website? They’re slow to load. They lack personality. And, let’s be truthful here, they’re really quite grating to look at.
At the very least, edit stock images to make them your own. Or, instead, use bespoke, unique illustrations. Depending on your needs, industry, and preferences, there are varying types of illustrations that you could use, such as geometric, playful, techy or abstract. There are a few benefits to using these instead of stock imagery:
Judgements on your website credibility are 75 percent based on your overall aesthetics. Although it may be the most obvious website design tip around, having a pretty website makes a huge difference to your user experience.
So, those brand guidelines you’ve been holding onto since 2006? Like a bad episode of Little Britain, they’re probably a bit outdated (and out of touch).
As an example, our Articulate website would have been a dull palette of dark red, grey and black if our design team hadn’t stepped in. Now, our website is beautifully vibrant and much truer to our brand and character.
It’s important you give your business the freedom to evolve with the times. Your chosen marketing agency will try their utmost to stick to your brand as much as possible, but some flexibility and trust is necessary along the way. After all, the most important thing is to provide the best experience to your website visitors.
Your business, your history, and your brand are integral for the website design process – they’re what make your business unique. That’s why they provide the best foundation for web designers to build upon.
But, too much input on your end could be damaging to your site’s overall aesthetic, page speed and user experience. Ultimately, this could reduce the number of conversions and leads coming through on your website.
With the right team of expert digital marketers and designers, you can have the confidence to let go of the website design process and love from afar. Don’t worry, you’ll always have the final say in any and every alteration.
We hope you found these website design tips useful. Now. Are you prepared to get going on your next website design?