In today’s age, simplicity is key when it comes to web design. Not only does it look much more modern, it also makes navigation much easier and less confusing, which is important to reduce your site’s bounce rate. But sometimes it can actually be a challenge to make your website design simpler without taking away too much from its features. Here are 5 ways to help you successfully simply your website’s design.
In today’s age, simplicity is key when it comes to web design. Not only does it look much more modern, it also makes navigation much easier and less confusing, which is important to reduce your site’s bounce rate.
But sometimes it can actually be a challenge to make your website design simpler without taking away too much from its features.
Here are 5 ways to help you successfully simply your website’s design.
1. Hone in on the Essentials of Your Site
This might seem like a no-brainer, but focusing only on the critical elements of your site is important to simplifying it. But what is essential and what isn’t? Sometimes it can seem impossible to prioritize these elements in order of importance. But if simplifying your site is the goal, you need to identify what the key elements are, and focus only on those.
Focus on the images or content that people are going to your site for in the first place. Whether you’ve got reviews, sign-ups, media blurbs, or anything else that people are flocking to your site for, focus on those. Put the spotlight on displaying those few elements that are delivering results.
2. Chuck the Useless Elements
After you’ve identified what needs to be focused on, start eliminating the stuff that is unnecessary. It could be things like footers, sidebar categories, meta details of pages and posts, and so forth. Anything that takes away from what you want focused on should be gotten rid of to come up with a simple, sleek webpage.
3. Cut Down on the Number of Pages
Keep only the pages that are absolutely necessary on your website. Basically, the less pages you have displayed at your top navigation bar, the fewer the number of places that visitors will have to click around. At the very least, fuse some pages together so you’re not left with a navigation bar that’s more than one row deep.
Everyone’s been on a website that’s had way too many navigation menu items. Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with all the choices that we end up choosing nothing. Present a small number of nav menu items to make your site more inviting to your readers.
4. Keep Content “Above the Fold”
Instead of making your visitors have to scroll down in order to read the important stuff on your web page, make sure these critical elements are placed above the fold instead. Most people tend to spend their time in this area that shows up on a screen without having to scroll down.
Keeping the main content and images, as well as call-to-action elements above the fold will help to improve the effectiveness of your site, while simplifying it at the same time. Just make sure that your header height is short enough to accommodate for this.
5. Keep the Colour Scheme to a Minimum
While it might be fun to play around with a bunch of different colours, when it comes to a simple web design, keeping colours to a minimum is key. Stick to no more than 2 or 3 colours when you’re first designing your site. For something even more subtle and subdued, use a couple of different shades of the same colour, such as dark green for the header and light green for the background.
Now you’re armed with an arsenal of tips to help you start simplifying your web design, which will certainly help to improve your visitors’ experience browsing around.
