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What Makes a Good Web Design?
How do you know when you see a good design and does it really effect amount of blog traffic as site gets?
As with many things, there are good and bad designs. Pretty much everyone can distinguish a good one from a bad one when asked about it. I’m sure you’ve visited a blog or two and thought to yourself “Oh my god, this looks really bad” and vice versa, you’ve probably seen a few blogs and said ‘“WOW – this is incredible”.
However, the question now is:
How do you know the difference, based on what you liked or disliked about the design of that blog?
Think of it the in the same manner as you would compare clothes.
Think about it….
How do you make a decision when you buy clothes? In most cases you just like the way it looks, there is something to it. It can be the print on a shirt, color of a dress, or jeans with an eye-catching design pattern.
If you would ask the opinion of a clothing designer or a random customer about a specific piece of clothing, I bet you’ll get two completely different answers.
Fact: This is similar when it comes to web design.
There is no ‘secret sauce’ design formula that works for every audience, regardless what your blog is about – every audience has different preferences when it comes to design.
Your blog’s design connects people to your page, creating an interaction between your product or service, and influences your blog traffic.
What’s that you say, it influences my blog traffic?
Yes!
Typically a blog with a great design increases blog traffic site. One quick look can catch someone’s attention and turn them into a customer, or make them click away.
Your blog’s design needs that extra ‘thing’ to make it special and increase the level of engagement and interaction with your audience.
Do you see where we’re going with this?
…let’s jump right in.
Make a Great First Impression
The time for people to decide whether they like your design can be just a matter of seconds.
Believe it or not, design can be a critical factor for a visitor to keep browsing or leave your blog. You’ll have to make it count!
An eye-catching design will then catch the attention of your visitor and most likely retain them.
How to Make a Great First Impression?
A picture or illustration with strong visuals tends to grab one's attention fast. It has to be sharp and clear as to what you are showcasing and most importantly, it has to be memorable!
There is more…
What people look at first when they visit your website will be explained in the last section. For now, let’s focus on the story of your design and emotions that it may trigger when you show your brand's identity.
We are all humans, as every person is unique so are our preferences. Some people may love your design while others don’t even flinch seeing it. One thing is for sure, we prefer human-friendly design over a very stiff and boring design.
What is ‘human-friendly’…
..people don’t want to spend time on your website figuring out where to click and what to do. It has to be clear and simple – show them what to do next.
Put yourself in their shoes: Aim to focus your design on the activities of your visitors and how they anticipate your website to work. In other words, optimize the user experience!
Don’t over complicate things: a simple, authentic design is often perceived as the best.
Human emotions are directly related to your blog’s design. At the point of decision, emotions are very important for choosing: “Do I stay or leave this website?”. Obviously, we must address emotions and how we can influence them.
In order to let your design play a part in this, play around and test different images, colors, shapes, sizes, fonts, 3D, responsiveness, logo, etc. All these different aspects have an influence on the perception of your visitors when they enter your website.
Most importantly…
…when you have a sexy design that’s engaging and interacting with your visitors, people will stay on your website longer. Google likes that. You basically increase blog traffic for free by doing so.
First Impression Techniques
You want your design to trigger that special ‘wow factor’ – that special ‘thing’ why people stay and to increase blog traffic fast!
Let’s take a look at some important elements that you have to consider implementing when building a website.
Keep in mind that your design should be in line with your audience.
Learn who your visitors, study them and use this information to your advantage. Be ready to look at your website through their eyes.
1. Font Styles
Font styles are an important aspect of SEO. With Google Fonts you can choose a font type that’s SEO friendly and positively influence user experience.
Check out Google’s gallery with different fonts and choose a style that suits your blog best.
2. Images
Strong visuals are a perfect way to draw one’s attention. Eye-catching images, galleries or illustrations are a great way to show your product, service or to glue your visitors to your blog.
Best is to use images or illustrations related to your niche. If you can afford it, hire a designer.
Don’t worry if you can’t afford a designer! Unsplash and Kaboompics are great sources to find awesome high-quality stock pictures. The disadvantage is that other websites/blogs might be using the same images.
The footer of your blog is where visitors usually hover over to find your contact details, company details or other important information.
Less is more.
Keep the footer simple and clear. Make it easy for visitors to find the information they’re looking for.
4. Call to Action Button
A call to action button is a great way to engage with customers, make a sale or establish an email list. A great call to action strategy to build an email list is to make a unique proposal.
Check out this example on the homepage of Backlinko:
Create an offer that is relevant to your audience. As you can see in the example, it’s a very simple yet obvious design, a lot of space, and a “Sign Up” box you can’t miss due to the combination of colors.
5. Space
Space is extremely important when it comes to web design. Why?
Readability.
It’s increasingly more common to use more space to navigate through a website and between lines of text. Consistency is essential in design in regards to space.
Take a look at the evolution of Amazon’s website!:
2017:
Notice the difference in space! The 1999 version looks so ‘busy’ and distracting. You’ve got no idea where to look in comparison with the 2017 design.
The most important in regards to navigation is simplicity.
Notice the difference above, how easy it is to navigate on the home page of Amazon. There are just a few menu options such as deals, sign up, shopping cart, departments and obviously the search function.
Does that mean I’ll get more readers for my blog?
Yes. The easier you make it for visitors to navigate through your site, the longer they’ll stay on your site – increasing your blog traffic & ranking!
Visitors should be able to reach any page or piece of information on your blog in max 3 clicks!
7. Who Are You?
Literally, every blogger should have a short story about him/herself. It brings personality to your blog, especially if you upload a picture(s) too!
Don’t write down your life’s story covering a full page but rather a few simple sentences to give your audience an idea who you are, what you did or do.
It’s like giving your blog a face people can remember!
8. Contact Information
Just make sure it’s easy to find.
Personal information, physical address, or any other form of social proof increases trustworthiness and legitimacy.
Extra tip: To make it a little harder to crawlers and bots searching the web for contact information, consider not writing your email address in full. Instead of test@gmail.com, use test (at) gmail (dot) com.
9. Search Box
Especially when you own a blog with a large archive of articles and posts, you want to have a “search function” available.
It can be so frustrating to be unable to retrieve or find a particular post you’re looking for.
Let’s take a closer look at some examples in the final section!
Do You Know the True Power of Design?
Although every person has a different opinion when it comes to web design, we listed some noteworthy design styles. It might even inspire you to do better!
Check them out below!:
Bad usage of colors vs good usage:
Less is more:
Simplicity at its finest:
Design related to product or service:
These are just a few examples of unique designs, custom tailored to brand or a certain image the owner wants to bring forward.
Similar goes for travel blogs, fitness blogs, food blogs, etc. These blogs should all focus on their audience and choose a fitting design.
It's Time To Let Your Creativity Shine
Web designs for blogs are always changing. People come up with incredibly creative ideas and trigger others to do the same.
Here’s what you can do:
Dig deeper in order to pinpoint your audience’s preferences and what kind of design triggers them.
There’s always something new to learn from your audience and always room for improvement. Put yourself in their shoes and look through their eyes at your own blog.
Does the design make sense? Is there something you might need to change, if so, what?
At the end of the day, the design can really make or break your blog performance and a crucial factor for your blog traffic.
So, put your thinking cap on and get designing!
What's Next?
How important do you think the design is to your blog traffic? Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts.
Maybe you still have questions about design, no problem!….
Click on the tile to read our comprehensive guide “Blog Design: Making a Good First Impression” or drop us a question in the comment box.
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