Four Key Elements of Good Web Design
Starting a business? You need a website. A lot of people think this isn't necessary, but when all your competitors are counting on their websites to drive their bottom line, why shouldn't you?
You may have the best products or services in the world, but if not enough people know about them, you have a problem. A website is one of the best ways to advertise your business. Besides, being accessible to people wherever they are is advertisement itself.
Of course, you need a professional to design you an effective website. What exactly makes one?
1. Professional Design
Professional web design St. Louis is basic to any business website, and professional means clean. The colors used must be appropriate for the nature of the business. For example, muted shades are good for hospitals, airlines and universities, while bright and bold are good for toyshops, kindergartens and kids' boutiques. The standard font is Arial (or any plain font) and text color is black.
2. Quality Content
Time and again, people say content is king and that's only because there's no overemphasizing the point. No matter how nice your website looks, if your content is poor, you will derive any real value from it. Quality content is content that is relevant, fresh, interesting and structurally error-free (perfect grammar and spelling).
3. Ease of Use/Navigation
A business website's design should be logically simple or intuitive even. People should know exactly where they want to go when they need certain pieces of information from you. Your content must be logically arranged, as you visit website pages. This is the best way to make your website easy to use. If people are unable to navigate around your website with ease, they can't have a meaningful experience with it. That means they are not likely to become customers. Also make sure all links are working.
4. SEO
Search engine optimization is the process of making your website more visible when people go looking for information through the search engines. Again, of what use might your website be if not many people know about it? The fact that you have a website is already one step, but that doesn't end there. You have to make people know that your website exists. You have to let them know that your business exists. And that is only possible through SEO.
These are the four basic elements of good web design, but remember they can only get as good as the designer you decide to hire. There are many web designers out there, but don't feel pressured to choose. Do your research. Take your time. Make comparisons and ask your business associates for tips. Then you can make a smart decision.
