Your In-Depth Guide to the Best Principles You Can Use for Your Website’s Graphic Design Elements
The most effective websites are perfectly streamlined, incorporating elements and principles that make them wholly attractive, appealing, relevant, informative, and user-friendly. The design of your website should fulfil your intended website function, allowing you to convey a unique message that engages your website visitors. There are quite a few factors that should align with the design of your website, including cohesiveness and consistency, typography, simplicity, imagery, colours, and overall functionality. But what else should you consider concerning your website’s design? Here’s your in-depth guide to the best principles you can – and should – use for your website’s graphic design elements.
Establish a clear purpose
First and foremost, your site should accommodate your users’ needs. It follows, then, that each page’s intention should be clear and straightforward, helping your users know (and interact with) your offerings. What is your website’s purpose? Is it to impart practical info? Is it for the entertainment of users? Are you selling a particular product or products? Even though websites will have varying purposes, there are some core functions and purposes every website needs to have: to describe your expertise, to solidify your reputation, to generate leads, and to provide sales as well as after-care services.
Focus on simplicity
The key to many websites’ graphic design is simplicity. When thinking about the experience of your users and your site’s usability, keep it simple. Three factors can contribute to your site’s simplicity: the colours, typography, and images you use, as attested by the website and graphic design experts from Expre.
Colour, for example, allows you to communicate a clear message plus evoke a response from your visitors. Figure out the best colour palette for your brand, and make sure it influences the behaviour of your customers towards your business and brand. Limit your choices in colour to five, and work with colours that complement each other. On the other hand, typography can command users’ attention and serve as your brand and business’ voice. That said, ensure that your typography is legible and limit your fonts to three types. Imagery includes everything from photographs to videos, illustrations, and other graphic forms. With this, it pays to have expressive imagery that captures your brand’s spirit and personality. Remember that users are visual, and they will get their first impression about your company and brand through the imagery you use. Graphic design and illustration are both important visual communication methods, and they often involve similar tools and skillsets. Check on Design Pickle’s article to have a better understanding of the two methods.
Set up good navigation
Your website’s navigation allows your visitors to find the information they require in an effortless manner, and it also influences their interaction with you. The point is, if you want to retain your site’s visitors, you need to have proper navigation. If you have confusing navigation for your site, your users will find it easy to give up and leave to get what they require somewhere else. Therefore, keep your site’s navigation as simple as possible, and keep it consistent and intuitive as well.
You can do other things when it comes to your website’s design – stick to an F-pattern, for example, and this layout follows our natural reading pattern, from the left side to the right side and from the topmost to the bottom part. It will be easier for your design to engage visitors – and encourage them to stay with all this in mind.
