Top 5 Principles of Good Web Design

So you finally got your business website up and running! Does it have these web design principles in place? We put together this guide so you can ensure your site’s not missing these important elements.

Okay be honest, your website’s probably a hot mess. Minimal content, buttons that don’t work, and links that go nowhere. Maybe you have pages that only work on mobile or desktop, or maybe you have site copy that looks like it was all written by an A.I. We’ve all been to that site. Don’t be that site. Here are our Top 5 Principles of Good Web Design!

1.) What is UX? (User Experience)

UX stands for user-experience. Usability and accessibility! What is the user journey like for your customers? Think of their path from start to finish. The goal is to funnel them to make a sale or conversion on your site. So, with that in mind - optimize the user journey for conversions. How do you do that? Get to know your audience and create a mobile-friendly design. Also, streamline your checkout process! Don’t make it hard for your customers to make a sale on your site. Optimize your site’s navigation and UI. What’s UI?

2.) UI (User Interface)

UI, is the interface a user interacts with on your website. Menus, search bars, buttons and more! Think of it as your website’s control panel.  The site’s overall navigation and structure are also important here! So, keywords, internal linking, and breadcrumbs are crucial. Also, a good UI helps Google understand what pages have value on your site compared to others, and in turn, helps with indexing.

3.) Visual Appeal

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Or do! I can’t be the only one who’s done this to find some success. Any good author or publisher should know which illustrations best convey the tone and emotion of their story - the same process here. It’s all art. Does your website have a cohesive theme and color palette? Are you using unique, high-quality images? This is your first impression! If users don’t like what they see, it’ll be on to the next.

4.) Responsive Design

Mobile, desktop, tablet, and more. People online are browsing on multiple devices and your website’s design should respond accordingly. Once a user lands on your site the goal is to get them moving down your sales funnel to make a conversion. However, nothing will stop that faster than an unresponsive site. Is your site optimized for mobile? Stop losing traffic! Contact Digital Valley 360 today!

5.) Website Performance

A fast site is a good site! Site speed and bounce rate are just some of the key performance indicators (KPIs) you should keep an eye on. Slow loading times are frustrating and often lead to users leaving the site altogether. A site optimized for good UX/UI should have quality images, but those images can hurt your site speed if not properly optimized. There are plenty of free site speed tools out there so take a peek, and boost your site’s performance.

‍Pro Tip: If you’ve made it this far in the post - here’s your gift! Good web design is good SEO and vice-versa. Of course, these efforts are independent. However, you can’t have a successful website without thinking of both. Don't pay for web design services if they're not offering built-in SEO in 2024.

At Digital Valley 360, we build websites with built-in SEO so you don't have to work backward or pay double. Put our team to work for your business today.