Website design can be tricky, and designers and developers have to take many things into account when they design a site; this is inclusive of visual appearance, to how the website works- functional design. In this article, we have prepared a guide that will simplify the task of web design.

Here we will list the main principles, heuristics, and approaches that will help create a great user experience for your site:

Information Structure:

This aspect is all about organizing information in a clear and straightforward way, that makes sense. This organization should have a clear purpose, that is, helping users to navigate through a complex set of information. Good information architecture will create a hierarchy that will align with user expectations, they don’t happen by chance and are a result of thorough research and testing.

Global Navigation:

Navigation is the central element of usability. It won’t matter how good your site is if the user can’t find his way around it. Navigation is essential for your website design, and it will be useful to your users if you follow the principles of simplicity, clarity, and consistency. When designing the navigation make sure that the pattern matches the user needs; always prioritize the navigation options, make it visible, and communicate the current location.

Linking and Navigation Options:

These are the critical factors in the whole navigation process that directly affect the user’s journey on your website. When you design these factors, you must recognize the difference between the internal and external links, change the color of the links that were visited, review all the links.

Back Button:

When designing a website, the “back” button is one of the most popular UI controls in the browser, so you must ensure that the switch works according to user expectations. When a user enters a page through a link and clicks the back button he expects to go back to the page where he originally came from, so you must avoid any situation where clicking again will bring the user to the top of the initial page, instead of where they had left off. If the user loses his spot, he will be forced to go through content he has already seen, and this can be quite frustrating.

You can make use of breadcrumbs; they are a set of contextual links that function as a navigation tool on websites.

Designing Individual Pages

Content Strategy:

When it comes to website design, the most critical part is to focus on the map and the page goals. Understand the objective of the page and write the content accordingly. Some tips that you must follow when putting together content are:

• Prevent information overload
• Avoid jargon
• Avoid ALL-CAPS

Page Structure:

A page that is appropriately structured will result in a transparent user interface element that is located in the layout. There is no one size fits all approach, but there are a few guidelines that will help you build a solid structure:

• Make the structure predictable
• Use a layout grid
• Use a low fidelity wireframe to cut out the clutter

Visual Hierarchy:

People mostly scan a web page and read everything on there. If a visitor wants to find content or complete a task, they have to browse until they see where they need to go. As a designer, you can guide them on where they need to go. A proper hierarchy will include:

• Natural scanning patterns
• Prioritizing important elements visually
• Creating mockups to clarify the visual hierarchy

In the end, all the points listed above are a skeleton of a successful website design. You can follow the principles and witness growth in your site traffic.