In today’s digital world, a well-designed website is crucial for businesses to attract and engage audiences around the clock. This guide offers insights into the art of web design, detailing its importance for brand enhancement, SEO impact, and the top software tools for creating compelling web pages.
What Is Web Design?
Web design, or website design, is the process of planning, designing, and coding a website. The end goal of web design is to create a visually appealing digital experience that meets user expectations, solves business problems, and delivers a positive return on investment. The website layout should also reflect a company’s branding to create a cohesive identity for the site.
With the rise of mobile devices, it might be accessible across several devices. Responsive web design is vital because different device types have additional capabilities, so no one device should be used to provide the same experience. A responsive design will provide an optimal user experience (UX) for each device or browser. Understanding the various devices people use means web design also covers mobile apps and user interface design, which we will explain later in further detail.
Types of Website Design
There are two types of web designs: adaptive and responsive. First, we’ll discuss the characteristics of an adaptive web design.
Adaptive Website Design
An adaptive web design uses two or more versions of a website and custom tailors each for specific screen sizes. Adaptive websites are split into two main categories, depending on how the site detects the size that needs to be displayed.
Based on the device type
When your browser opens a website, the HTTP request will include a field that informs the server about the type of device you are using to access and view the page. The adaptive website will then change its display based on the device trying to reach it (i.e., desktop, smartphone, tablet).
That said, users will encounter issues if they try to shrink the browser window while using a desktop, as the page will continue to display the “desktop version.”
Based on browser width
In this version of an adaptive website, the page uses a CSS feature called media queries to allow the webpage to adapt to different screen sizes. So, instead of changing its size depending on your device, the web page will adjust depending on the browser’s width. For example, if you shrink a browser on a desktop, the web page will also “shrink” along with it.
This adaptive website offers designers more flexibility when designing a web page. It also provides users with a better viewing experience.
Responsive Website Design
On the other hand, responsive web pages use flexible grid layouts based on the percentage a design element takes up. For example, if the header takes up 25% of its container, it will stay at 25%, no matter the change in screen size.
Some responsive websites also use breakpoints (specific width sizes) to create a custom look depending on the viewer’s screen size to access the website. Responsive websites offer a great user experience as they constantly change according to the screen size.
That said, custom designs can be challenging without coding. Responsive websites also require extensive design and testing to ensure the quality of the website, especially if you’re not just building off templates.
Why Is Website Design Important?
A well-designed website is the first impression that visitors get of your business. A poorly designed website can lead to lost conversion rates and sales, reduced brand recognition, and general confusion among website visitors.
If you’re still unconvinced, here are a few eye-opening facts about the importance of website design:
- 75% of users judge your company’s credibility based on the visual aspects of your website (Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab)
- Users only need 50 milliseconds or 0.05 seconds to form a first impression of your web design. (Google Research)
- 38% of users will stop engaging with your website if the content and layout are unattractive. (Adobe)
Benefits of Having A Great Web Design
In line with these statistics, we also outlined the many benefits of having a great web page design.
Beautiful web design Sets an Important First Impression
As mentioned above, your website design will be the first thing users will judge when they visit. Your website can make or break a potential sale within seconds.
If your website looks outdated, your audience will likely have a negative impression of your business and turn to your competitors instead, thus increasing your bounce rate. This also means you will miss out on leads that you otherwise would have secured had you hired a web designer or worked on your website design.
Fantastic Web Design Aids Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategy
Many web design elements influence how you publish content on your website. Design elements, in turn, affect how search engine bots crawl and index your website. If your web design is not up to snuff, you’ll have difficulty getting visibility on search engine results.
Aside from influencing how content is published on your website, other on-page elements can also affect your SEO, including navigation, usability, and graphic designs.
The best way to ensure proper website design practices is to partner with a designer or a web design company. Most web design agencies include SEO in their web design services.
Your Web Design Gives Users An Insight Into Your Customer Service
Think of your corporate website as a customer service representative. If your website is bright and modern, your audience will feel more welcome to do business with your company. You’ll give users the impression that you welcome new clients and are great at caring for existing customers.
On the other hand, if your website is outdated, it makes your business appear cold. Users will likely think your business will put little effort into solving their problems or value their loyalty.
Having a Great Website Design Can Help You Stand Out
If you have an old website with outdated information, your competitors will likely leave you behind. Their well-designed website will likely perform better than yours, bringing them more leads.
Your website design is an opportunity to set your brand apart from the competition and attract potential clients, especially if you have the same services and pricing as your competitor.
What Skills Do Web Designers Need?
Web designers come from a wide range of backgrounds and experience levels. However, a few skills are essential to have as a web designer. Here are the most critical skills.
Visual Design
First and foremost, a web designer needs visual design knowledge to create an appealing website. A web designer who follows design principles knows the elements that can reflect the branding on a website. These include proportions, typography, color theory, web fonts, and type hierarchy.
User Experience (UX)
User experience (UX) refers to how people feel when they use your website. In simpler terms, UX design approaches website design from a user-friendly and user-first perspective.
UX designers are responsible for building the wireframes and layout of each website, including the user interface. UX designers are also responsible for determining users’ path to your website. For example, are they clicking through to your social media page? Are they looking for your brand’s contact information? Are they able to see your entire website clearly on any screen size?
Graphic Design and Web Design Software
Like any craftsperson, a website designer needs the right tools to create the best web page. Plenty of web design software is available online, some of which are on all-in-one platforms.
A few of the most popular graphic design and web design software include WordPress, Webflow, Adobe Dreamweaver, Figma, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Google Web Designer, Adobe XD, and Squarespace.
HTML
Some amount of familiarity with HTML coding is expected of most web designers nowadays. HTML, which stands for HyperText Markup Language, is the programming language used to put content on a web page. It also puts media like photos, videos, and graphic design on a web page.
Note: HTML-5 is the latest version of HTML, as of 2023.
CSS
CSS, which stands for Cascading Style Sheets, works hand-in-hand with HTML. CSS is a coding language that tells browsers how to format and style HTML coding. In simpler words, CSS makes text and other content look good by adjusting their colors, changing their fonts, or adding a background, among other functions.
Javascript
While many websites are designed using solely HTML and CSS, you can also use Javascript to give yourself a leg up against competitors. Javascript allows you to take static elements on your website and make them interactive. For example, you can use Javascript to insert a Twitter feed that updates automatically. You can also use Javascript to add image slides or animations to your e-commerce website or landing page.
Bonus: Digital Marketing or Social Media Marketing
Investing in digital marketing skills may seem unrelated to web design, but it would help if you have a good grasp of how companies sell on the internet nowadays. Knowing just the basics of digital marketing can go a long way in web design.
Why Work With CreateVenue
CreateVenue is a digital marketing agency and web design company comprising a team of experienced content creators, web developers, and UX designers. We pride ourselves in our ability to customize each website to meet the needs and goals of each of our clients. We also focus on creating a web design that embodies your branding and puts your products or services under the spotlight.
If you want to excel in your market and are curious about what we can bring, contact us today!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between web design and web development?
Web design creates a visual layout for the website, while web development devises the code that makes the website work.
For example, a web designer might create a button on the landing page, but it will be a web developer’s job to ensure that something happens once the button is clicked.
What are the best website builders?
There are plenty of popular website builders available online. However, some of the best (and easiest) include WordPress website builder, Squarespace, and Wix, which allows users to drag and drop elements directly onto their website. These web design tools also offer customized templates to meet your needs quickly.
