A website’s appearance and functionality should be considered when designing it. A site’s usability and performance will be enhanced by integrating these elements. 

The usability of your website includes features such as an easy-to-navigate interface, appropriate graphics and images, well-written and well-placed text, and a suitable color scheme. The performance of your site has to do with its speed, ranking, searchability, and ability to capture your audience. 

Visual elements

The following is an overview of the elements to keep in mind when designing your website to ensure it does what you want it to do. There are tips and tricks in each section to get you started. 

Written copy

Text and appearance go hand in hand with your website. For your design to be cohesive and balanced, you should have your content writers and designers work together. Use text blocks to create chunks of text that complement your graphics and images.

• Fonts

The font you choose should complement your overall design. To reinforce the overall tone of your website, your font should coordinate with your color scheme, graphics, and images. You can find the perfect font match by using tools like Canva’s Font Combinator. PageCloud, for instance, includes a wide variety of font pairings within their app.

• Colors

When designing a website, color is one of the most important aspects to consider. Consider that there are many misconceptions about color psychology, so it’s more important to choose colors that complement your website’s overall vibe and design. 

Consider your brand and the messages you wish to convey to your audience as you choose your color scheme.

• Layout

Your choice of content arrangement will profoundly affect your site’s usability and functionality. Layouts can be chosen in any way you like, however, there are some basic principles to keep in mind. Make sure you consider the needs of your target audience and avoid using an overly stimulating layout that could detract from your message. 

• Shapes

Graphic elements can contribute to the site’s overall appearance by seamlessly integrating text and images. Your site visitors can be directed to your site’s overall flow by using an appealing combination of colors and shapes.

• Spacing

To create visually appealing, easy-to-navigate websites, spacing is crucial. It appears in every aspect of your design at some point. Using whitespace appropriately is crucial to creating a design that perfectly balances text, photos, and graphics. You can make your website easier to navigate by keeping your spacing consistent. Website designers are increasingly using whitespace as a design element.

• Images & Icons

In just a few seconds, stunning designs convey a lot of information. Strong images and icons help achieve this. 

Your message should be strengthened by images and icons that support it. Just search for stock images or icons on Google to find thousands of options.

• Videos

In recent years, designers have become increasingly interested in integrating videos into their designs. Videos can be used effectively to help users understand a message that can’t be properly conveyed through text or images. If your restaurant has a TV screen, please remember that visitors’ eyes will be drawn to the moving images. Ensure your videos don’t take away from or compete with other elements.

Functional elements

When designing a website, these functional elements must be considered. For your website to rank highly on search engines and provide the best possible experience to your visitors, it must function properly. 

• Navigation

One of the main factors that determine the performance of your website is its navigation. Navigation can serve multiple purposes: introducing your site to first-time visitors, making it easy for returning visitors to access your pages and enhancing the overall experience for all visitors. Here are some navigation best practices. 

• User Interactions

   

Depending on their device, users can interact with your site in many ways (scrolling, clicking, typing, etc.). Great website design makes it easy for users to feel like they are in control. For example: 

• Auto-playing audio or video is not a good idea
• Underline only clickable text
• Ensure that all forms are mobile-friendly
• Avoid pop-ups 
• Avoid scroll-jacking

• Animations

There are plenty of web animation techniques that can help you grab your visitors’ attention as well as allow them to interact with your website by giving feedback. Visitors to your site can be kept engaged by adding “like” buttons or forms. To avoid developer intervention, keep your animations simple if you’re new to website design.

• Speed

A slow website is not good for business. An inordinate amount of time spent waiting for a page to load can quickly discourage visitors from staying or returning to your site. It doesn’t matter how beautiful your website is, if it doesn’t load fast, it won’t rank well in Google (i.e. will not be seen in search results). 

There is no guarantee that top site builders will compress your content for faster loading times. When choosing a site builder, research which works best for the type of content that you will have on your website. PageCloud, for instance, optimizes your images to ensure faster loading times for sites with large and/or multiple images.

• Site structure

The structure of a website affects both user experience (UX) and search engine optimization (SEO). You should ensure that your users can easily navigate through your website without encountering structural problems. If users are having difficulty navigating your site, chances are crawlers are too. 

An automated program that searches your website and determines its functionality is called a crawler (or bot). Poor navigation negatively impacts user experience and rankings.

• Cross-browser & cross-device compatibility

Ideally, a great design should look good across all devices and browsers (yes, even Internet Explorer). You can make the tedious process of cross-browser testing easier with a cross-browser testing tool when you’re building your site from scratch. However, if you are using a website building platform, cross-browser testing is typically handled by the company’s development team, so you can concentrate on design.