Designing a website is a lot more intricate than people think, and it’s just as easy to get it wrong as it is to get it right. There are a few things you should keep in mind when designing your website. Here are the top 10 tips you should know:

1. First Impressions
   Internet users demand instant gratification. Users tend to look at the top left corner of a website first, so make sure that this is where you have the important details: what you do, who you are, how a customer can get your goods, etc. Never make your users wait for a splash page to load – many won’t. Rather, direct them strait to the valuable home page.
2. Navigation
   When a user wants more information, don’t make it difficult to find. Use clearly labelled, non-cryptic tabs placed in the usual places to help make navigation easy. Try not to use more than seven tabs for your main navigation, you can subdivide later.
3. Contact Information
   A potential customer does not want to have to work to find your contact details. Make sure they’re easy to find (a 'Contact' tab in your main navigation is best) and up to date.
4. The Hook
   Regardless of your goal, you need to make your call to action very clear. Don’t disguise it. Make it easy for your user to complete the action, whether it’s making a purchase or requesting more info.
5. Top Focus
   Most users won’t scroll if they don’t find what they’re looking for at the top of a page, so make sure to have all of your most important information at the top of your page. Keep details and added value offerings lower on the page, to further tantalise users that are already interested.
6. Valuable Content
   To get a commitment from your users, you need to keep them coming back, and to keep them coming back you should be offering something of value. You can do this by making sure your content is accurate, interesting and valuable to your target audience. A blog or frequently updated product page can help you to achieve this.
7. Be Organised
   Make sure your page layout is simple, clear and easy to navigate. No one wants to sit around searching for hours for one snippet of information. In fact, they won’t! They’ll go elsewhere. Try to experience your site from a user’s point-of-view, and plan it accordingly. A concise plan will ensure coherence.
8. Be Attractive
   As a predominantly visual medium, your website should be attractive to the casual user. That doesn’t mean you have to go all out with design techniques, graphics and animated characters. Just make sure that your text is in an easy-to-read font, that it is big enough and that it is aligned properly. Highlight headings, choose colours that complement each other, don’t crowd the page with text and images – all of these things will add to your site’s overall appeal.
9. Credibility
   Being credible is invaluable when building trust with your users. In addition, search engines will consider your credibility when determining search engine rankings, so don’t be tempted to use underhanded techniques to get higher rankings or more hits – this will damage your business in the long run.
10. Look Professional
    Be sure to present your website in a professional manner, just as you would any other part of your business. Check your spelling and grammar. Make sure your facts are correct and your contact details are up to date. Check your links and layout. Remember, if you look professional, people are more likely to return to you.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require further.

"Make sure you visualize what you really want, not what someone else wants for you"
Jerry Gillies