Don’t you hate cluttered text, crowded with unwanted images and disorganization on a website?
Poor design is easily identified when we’re simply just “turned off”.
You don’t know what to look at first, headings aren’t consistent, and the layout is unpleasing.
There’s proof that users form an opinion about your website in only 0.05 seconds. That’s basically a “blink” of an eye — and a user will determine whether they love it or hate it.
When I approach any new design, or even a redesign, there are really 3 main principles I use to ensure the website will be attractive and aesthetically pleasing to browse.
Let’s talk about them.
1. More White Space
If you haven’t figured it out by now, you definitely will over time — I love white space.
I believe it’s the key factor in letting your design “breathe” and allow users to more easily focus on one thing at a time.
Can you overdo it with white space? Sure, if you feel like you’re scrolling far too much before you see any new information, it’s probably too much.
Or if it appears everything is isolated and “floating” on their own with no association to the headings/images close by — also another sign that it’s probably too much.
I believe there’s a fine balance in white space, copy, and images, and each should cohesively work together to not take up any more real estate than another.
2. Small paragraphs
Huge, long paragraphs of copy can be overwhelming to look at as a user. They can feel daunting and just way too much to read at once.
But if you suddenly break that copy into multiple paragraphs, with more line breaks, it suddenly is more pleasing and easy to read.
When laying out your copy on a website, aim for 2-3 sentences maximum in a paragraph. Utilize additional formatting like bullets and subheadings to help enhance the readability of your copy.
More line breaks and subheadings that are properly styled help a reader to scan the information much quicker, rather than jump ship.
An added tip is to usually not span your text across the entire screen at full-width — keeping the line length shorter for blog posts helps eye fatigue and easier to read.
3. Consistency in Layout
Creating a layout for your website that is consistent in design helps create easier predictability for users that are navigating your website.
It’s good practice to create similar layouts for similar pages. For example, if you have multiple Service pages — use the same layout for each one to create the cohesiveness in understanding how these pages are related.
If you visit my website service pages, you’ll find many similarities in their design. You’ll notice, with a few minor differences, that:
Page headers are the same.
Page layouts are the same.
Colors are the same.
Fonts are the same.
This consistency on your website is not just important for predictability in navigating your site, but also in representing your brand. Execute your style guide on every page you create, which means use the same fonts, colors and sizing.
Your website is your living brand, and everything on it should represent you and your business.
Putting it together
If you hold those three main principles in mind, you’ll notice on poor websites that they usually fail at least one of them (usually more).
And websites that are designed well will follow them all.
It’s all about breathing room, easy readability, and consistency.
They’re simple concepts that, when applied well, can improve your web design tremendously.
Get in touch if you’re interested in taking your website to another level.
Thanks for reading!
