Web design is a hard art to master. Given how easily available the tools and knowledge needed to make a website now are, many people have sadly forgotten exactly how specialized this skill is. Anyone who wants to make a website can now do so with relative ease, but to do it well, you need a degree of skill and finesse.
When web designers turn to the easily available tools, especially if they lack the technical know-how to be able to extensively customize their websites, they tend to look just the same as several hundred, maybe even thousand, other websites made using the same template.
As a proud web designer, you will want your work to stand out from the rest of the crowd. However, actually achieving this is not so simple and it will require a careful and considered approach. The following web design tips should help you to produce websites which truly stand out from the crowd.
Pay Attention to Fonts
Typography is a very fascinating, and yet often overlooked, art form, much like web design itself. The fonts that you use on your website will make a big difference to how prominent different pieces of text are. Different fonts will also affect the readability of your website; clearly, you want it to be as easy to read as possible.
Just as you want to make sure to use clear and bold fonts in order to make headings prominent, there will also be occasions where you will want to use a subtler and perhaps more elegant font. Experiment with different typeface combinations and don’t be afraid to mix it up either.
Striking Splash Page
Some websites, when you first load them up, take you straight into the action. When you visit these websites, the first page you arrive at is part of the main website. However, for websites who want to make themselves really stand out in the memories of their visitors, designing a striking splash page – or index page – is an effective method.
Have a look at this page for Athletes USA. The hamburger menu (the three horizontal lines) in the top left opens up the navigation menu, while the majority of the page is given over to a very striking image. This is a much more memorable introduction to a website and shows that you care about your design.
Keep it Fresh
It is a good idea to give your website a periodical makeover. If you leave your website untouched from the moment you first launch it, it will soon become stale and visitors will lose interest. By updating your website’s look every now and then, you will not only remind people that you are still active, it will also prevent visitors from becoming bored with your site.
In order to truly excel at web design, designers need to stay up to date with the latest trends and practices. Websites that fall behind soon stand out for their missing features, which is not something that you want your website to become known for.
