10 Top Design Tips - essential ideas to make your website a success archived web marketing tips and articles from the past

10 Top Design Tips - essential ideas to make your website a success

1. Your Website Should Reflect Your Brand Identity

If your company is established and has a strong brand identity, Pallasart can take your business to the next level. We work closely with clients to incorporate their existing brands into exciting, new websites that not only strengthen their identities but also enhance their positions in the marketplace. However, if you’re a new company or launching a new product or service, then Pallasart is the ideal partner for you! You don’t have to have a logo or even a business name to contact us. We welcome clients in every stage of branding and design development.

2. Understand Your Website’s Objectives

What do you want your website to do? What are your main objectives? This may seem simple, but many websites fail because their objectives are not reflected in their design. In general, most companies use a web site to: 1) establish their brand, 2) sell a product, 3) build their customer base, and/or 4) communicate information. Pallasart often asks its clients to assign points to each objective according to its importance. This helps prioritize objectives so that a website can be designed around them. Understanding your business objectives is key to designing a successful, effective site that helps you achieve your goals.

3. Know Who Your Web Customers Are and Build the Site for Them

During the design development stage, Pallasart helps its clients identify their potential customer base or target audience. Most businesses have several target audiences, each of which will visit a website for different reasons. As a result, audiences will be motivated by different colors, fonts, messages and design styles. Knowing that men and women may respond to the same presentation in different ways will help you make design choices that will appeal to each customer base. Understanding the demographics of your various target audiences is key to designing a site that meets the needs of your business and website visitors.

4. Focus on Converting Web Visitors to Customers

Web visitors become customers in several ways. They might purchase a product or service, get more information or join a mailing list. Others might download a white paper, request a bid, or sign up for discounts and sale notifications. By interacting with your website, a visitor takes the first step in becoming a customer. Businesses, such as homebuilders, resorts, designers and caterers, may use their websites to showcase services or close a sale. Some sites exist solely to generate calls from qualified customers. Successful websites provide visitors the information they need – and generate the responses you want - at every stage in the sales cycle.

5. Brand and Message are the Most Important Elements of Any Website

Your brand and message are more than just a name, logo and slogan. It’s how you communicate who you are, what you offer and why someone should choose to do business with you. It’s the promise you make regarding the quality of your products and services. It reflects your company’s values, helps builds confidence and defines your success. If your website cannot capture all of this in just a few seconds, chances are your visitor – and potential customer - will move on to another site. It is critical that these elements are the main focus of your website. Don't loose your brand in the wrong design. And never let design overpower your message.

6. Make Your Site Different. Stand Out in the Crowd

Don't be afraid to explore unique names and wild design ideas as you develop your new website. Who would have imagined that a company called Google or Ebay would become so successful? What does the name Starbucks have to do with coffee? Each of these brand names is unusual and immediately identifiable, yet they don’t include their product. Did you know that names not automatically associated with a product make people pause and think? Scientific studies have shown that if a web visitor repeats your brand name three times, he or she is much less likely to forget it. So, consider a unique name - or at least a unique design! Anything bland and boring on the web is soon forgotten. Don't loose customers. If you provide a unique look and online experience, they will come back to your site again and again. Be adventurous!

7. Set Your Design Standards as High as Possible

Check out your competition's websites and rate them on how well they do from various perspectives. Figure out who's cool and who isn't. Watch how fast you can tell. Then, select the "best in class" and set that site as your benchmark. One site may rank higher on one element than another. Take the best elements from each site and incorporate them into your new design. Make your site better than all the other sites combined. Be a leader!

8. Be Fearless! Know What you Want. Believe in Yourself and Your Success

The best designs and most successful businesses on the web are those that reflect confidence, optimism and success. The right tone, colors and fonts can help you convey your 'voice'. Don't hope you will be successful. Know that you will be! If your design isn't right for you, be sure to speak up and say so in the design process. You'll know when the design matches your own unique style.

9. Be Big and Modern. Push the Limits

Web visitors can tell how old a site is by its size. Every year website layouts get bigger as more people get larger monitors. Go for the largest layout and show your visitors you are in step with the times. Incorporate new features that none of your competitors have. Make your site fresh, unique and contemporary and you will enhance the visitor experience and get more sales.

10. Always Choose the Very Best. Experience Makes the Difference

Your last design tip is to pick Pallasart as your partner. Pallasart has the experience, business know-how and creative savvy you need to make your site a success. Call Pallasart at 512-547-7315 and take the next step in your path to prosperity and success on the web!

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