Universal web design principles for effective conversions

As the proverb says, the first impression is the last impression, the same way a good website creates a good impression of any company first. A good website design, speaks volumes about the professionalism of a company as it carries all the information about the products and services.

Some designing enthusiasts design their website on won whereas some go for professional help. Though they happen to shell out a few extra bucks the outcome is really worth. It’s not just about a fancy looking website, but also it acts as a tool for a call to action.

“A good website is just more than pretty pictures.”

A website must be designed keeping in mind the company, the products, and services it offers, its objectives and getting visitors to go through the content and get into action. Half of the conversion happens by looking into the company’s web design as per the data. This means one needs to understand consumer behavior and their psychology, as human brain processes visual information quickly.

VISUAL STEPS ALSO CALLED VISUAL HIERARCHY

When we take the visual steps we allow the visitors to identify the most important elements on the web page without even reading the content. Because seeing is after all believing. And we can actually make a customer stick their eyes on the website by making it more visually rich. If the website is rich only content wise but not visually, getting your desired return on investment becomes difficult. If there are multiple icons showing a different call to action, then the most important one should be emphasized with a bold color, large button or a catchy icon. First make the objective clear, what you are offering, and then try to lead the user to the desired objective.

For example, the website of Domino’s pizza has mouthwatering images of their delicacies. The latest offering will be highlighted with a CTA-order now, so from a single glance, the user will know what to have and what to skip. So this is how their objective of conversion form just a visit to the website is achieved.
There are 6 steps to visual hierarchy:

PAGE SCANNING:

This word applies to a quick eye scan of the web page. When a website is heavy and lengthy on content then a prospective customer would immediately look for the keywords or catchy words at the corners or on the top of the web page.

Hence, following an “F” pattern of aligning the text i.e. keywords or call to action words is a good idea. As per the customer behavior, they look for keywords on the left side of the heading or some catchy information in the first few sentences of the web page.

For layouts with less material to read, like the landing page of the company’ website, following a “Z” pattern would do the magic.

THE“Z” PATTERN OF PAGE DESIGNING:

In this pattern of designing, the most important information or image that would attract the customers is placed at the corners and the rest content is added along the top and bottom.
A hero’s image or anything that is visually appealing and would attract the customer’s attention should be placed at the corners that connect diagonally.

SIZE:

Generally, people tend to read catchier and bigger elements on the first page itself. So the first page is very important. It should be made to look bigger, by emphasizing the content.

Including good infographics, bold catchy colors and images relevant to the company’s service should be added. All this is good enough to get the reader’s attention. The image should be ideally put up as the largest element on the page. Following a branding of colors (visual identity) by creating one’s own signature color of the company is also a good idea to attract customer attention.

TYPEFACE WEIGHT AND PAIRING:

The kind of font used is also a very important element in website building. This adds to the beauty of the website and compels the reader to go through the site’s offerings. Generally, bold type font is used to emphasize certain phrases. There are a variety of fonts available to choose from. Aligning and spacing is also a very important aspect. One can also beautify the content by using Italian bold effect and highlighting the important points by underlining.

HEADINGS AND SUBHEADING:

The proper use of catchy headings and subheadings in an article that is rich and heavy in content will add to the visual hierarchy. There are different header options available, like H1, H2, and H3. These headers highlight important information to visitors.

DIRECTIONALITY:

The human brain is used to a typical reading pattern. A pattern that is arranged in a grid or vertical or horizontal lines.

Arranging a few texts in a semicircular or diagonal way would automatically catch the attention of the reader.

SPACE AND TEXTURE:

To get people to take action one need not always use a bold and bigger font. There is no need an approach to out there to get them into action. The desired action can be achieved by putting more space around the text to make it stand out.

A good combination of typeface, point size, color tint, weight, letter weight, line spacing and logical distribution of the text spread enhances the texture of the page and gives it a good layout. Some important information could be to add the text in a colored or shaded box to catch the attention.

WHITE SPACE AND CLEAN DESIGN:

Good clean space and leaving more white space in and around the page would give the page a clutter-free look. In this way, the visitors would locate what they exactly want. The reduced clutter gives a professional look. A more simplified layout look and white space around happen to increase the conversion rates.
White space with bold colored images and the background makes the text more readable, thus resulting in more conversions.

FOCUS AND ATTENTION:

If there is a lot of content on the page, then a grid system would help keep the page look clean and organized. Grids with multiple columns are a good idea to keep the information more organized and structured. That has a visual appeal too.

TYPEFACES:

A few decades ago when web design was just a new kid in the market, people had very few webs safe fonts to apply. Today these web safe fonts are available in abundance. But this doesn’t mean that you have to apply the available fonts all on the same page. A signature style of font usage works well for conversions as it attracts the customer’s attention.

COLORS:

Creating a brand color or an identity is a good choice, instead of using all the colors. Color branding makes the company website standout. The same color can be used to make announcements, making canva images, flyers, etc, to define the company style.

IMAGES:

Infographics and images that push the brand style of the company should be used. The graphics and images and videos used should be in accordance with the company image and objects and motives.

SOME OTHER RULES FOR EFFECTIVE WEB DESIGN ARE:

• The Golden Ratio
• Rule of the Thirds
• Hicks Law
• Fitts Law
• Occam’s Razor Pareto Principle

CONCLUSION:

Web design needs to define the style, nature, and objective of the company. It should be compelling and a visual treat to the customers who visit the website. Half of the conversion takes place at the first page itself. This is what compels the user whether to opt or reject the company’s services

Seeking professional help is always a good idea while creating a website of the company. An appealing user-friendly web design gets more conversions than a normal one. A web designing company will follow the principles when building your website thus giving you the desirted ROI.