Are you considering creating new website for your company or want to spruce us your current website? Have you thought about how you can improve on what you are doing with your website to drive more traffic, improve engagement, and increase sales and ROI?
These are all important things to consider. But let’s start with the basics. Sometimes the most simple things are the ones that are most overlooked. When building or revamping a website, you should first analyze whether you have included the most important basic components within your website.
In this post, we take a look at the seven most important elements you should focus on with your website to obtain the best result.
The 7 Major Components of a Professional Web Design
These are seven of what we consider to be the best elements of a web design. There are many others, but if you get these right, you are on the right track!
- Content– What is a website without web content? In fact, I have always thought that many people have the web design idea backward. The web design doesn’t happen first. You start with great content, and then you look for a place to put it. Your web design is that place that you house your engaging content that will attract your target audience. But always check your content to make sure it is addressing the interests and concerns of your potential clients.
- Graphics and logos– The graphics and logos that you decide to use for your brand should be reflected within your web design. Your company logo should be prominent within your website, and your other graphics should reflect your purpose and your goals as well. Remember that your actual design should just be a vehicle to get your ideas, products, and services to your target audience. The design is not to show off your artistic ability to your crowd. They won’t care, unless you are an artist or a media company that wishes to sell designs.
- Page layout and design– Just as a web design is not your business, the layout and design is not your content. But it does make the content easier to access and read and helps people navigate your site easier. You should always think about what the customer sees when they enter your site and how they can move around with your layout. If you run Adsense ads or other assets, you’ll also want to consider how you should place the ads in places that people are most likely to click. But try not to take customers away from your site too early. Your ultimate goal should be to get people to stay on your page as long as possible.
- Navigation– Your navigation includes your site menus as well as how easy it is to navigate your site. You should check your UX by making sure your menus look good on your site, mesh with your brand, and let people choose where they want to go. Make the payment process easy and include this as part of your menu, as well as including “pay now” buttons near the items you are trying to sell.
- Mobile aspects– Make sure your site is mobile-friendly. The upcoming Google algorithm updates of 2017 will hold more information about how you should focus on making your site mobile-friendly. Pay attention because it’s important that you optimize your site and make sure that you have things that will make the browsing, shopping, and checkout process easy for mobile users.
- Videos and media– Use video along with text to increase views. Animated videos, infographics, and 3D animations, as well as podcasts and other media, will attract more visitors than any other single aspect that’s on your page. Create your video using animation software or hire a web design team that knows how to produce this for you.
- Social media integration– Don’t forget to include social media share capability within your website. Social media is one of the most important ways that you will share your content with others and make your business grow.
These are not the only elements of a successful website. You also need a hosting server and platform to put your website on. You need security so that you’ll know that your customers are protected from infiltration and theft. This helps your credibility and your reputation with your customer base. You also need a powerful eCommerce solution that may require some coding and the use of a powerful payment processing system that will work within your website. If you find the right web server, many of these things may be included. But make sure and ask when you are looking at web solutions for your business site.
You should also think about your goals for being online. Do you want to use your site to make money? Do you want to use it for PR to promote your brand? Are you using it for online courses that you created or some other purpose? Your goal that you have for your website is also important to consider when you are planning your website and thinking about your design.
Pulling it All Together
None of these elements are effective if they don’t work with the others. You need a sound design plan that considers the need for all of them and understands how they should work together. Remember that your website is not a chance to show off your design. It’s merely a platform that lets you provide stellar content that engages and attracts the people you want to lure to your brand.
There are many other elements of a website, but these are some of the most essential ones. Make some notes and visualize how you want your webpages to look based on these components. Then contact us. We can help you create what you dream of.
Your goal should be to create a dynamic and interactive site that entertains and enlightens, educates and informs, and gets people excited about your brand.
We Can Help!
At webdesignteam.com, we are more than designers. We are artists and technicians. We understand what your business needs and wants to progress with your goals. We know it’s not about our design. But our design helps you get there. We know it’s not about the graphics, but the graphics and the other elements help make your site look professional and may make more people join your Facebook or other social media outlets.
Every action you do takes you closer to your goal. Start with great content and pull all of your assets together in a great design. View our portfolio and see what we can do for you. We customize every website we do to meet the needs of our customers. No two businesses are alike. But by including the important components, you are well on your way to setting up your dream with your online site.