Developing a website design strategy involves planning and implementing a comprehensive plan to create a site that matches the needs of your target audience. Here are some tips to consider when developing a website design strategy:
Define your goals
The first step is to define what you want to achieve with your website. This could be anything from increasing sales or leads, building brand awareness, or providing information.
Identify your target audience: Knowing your audience is critical to creating a website that resonates with them. Identify who your target audience is, their demographics, interests, and pain points. This information will help you create a design that meets their needs.
Conduct competitor research
Analyse your competitor’s websites to see what they are doing well and what could be improved. This will give you insights into what works in your industry and how to differentiate your website from theirs.
Look at the type of content your competition is publishing on their website. Analyse the topics, tone, and voice used in their content. Look for gaps in their content that you can fill with your own unique perspective.
Use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to evaluate your competitors’ search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Look at the keywords they target, their backlink profile, and their on-page optimization. Use this information to improve your own SEO strategy.
Develop a user-friendly design
A user-friendly design is critical to the success of your website. The design should be visually appealing, easy to navigate, and have a clear call to action.
Choose the right colours and typography
Choosing the right colours and typography for your website is crucial as they play a significant role in shaping its overall visual appeal and user experience. These tips will help you select the right colours and typography:
Your chosen colours and typography should align with your brand identity, including your logo, marketing materials, and other branding elements. Consistency across all brand touchpoints helps to establish brand recognition and credibility.
Different colours can evoke different emotions and feelings, so it’s important to consider the psychology of colour when selecting colours for your website. For example, blue can convey trust and professionalism, while green can evoke feelings of calmness and nature.
Use contrasting colours to create visual interest and make important elements stand out. However, don’t use too many contrasting colours, as it can create a cluttered and overwhelming design.
Optimize for mobile
With more and more people using mobile devices to browse the internet, it’s essential to have a website optimised for mobile.
Responsive design is a must for mobile. This design approach allows a website to adapt to different screen sizes and orientations. This ensures the website looks good and is easy to use on any size device.
On a smaller screen, it’s essential to simplify the design and make it easy to navigate. Remove any unnecessary elements that could clutter the screen and make it difficult for users to find what they want.
Large images and videos can slow down a website’s load time, which is crucial for mobile users. Optimize images and videos by compressing them and using formats that load quickly on mobile devices.
Pop-ups and interstitials can be disruptive and frustrating for mobile users, so minimising or avoiding them altogether is best.
Test and iterate
Once your website is live, monitor its performance and make changes as needed. This will help you continually improve the user experience and achieve your goals.
By following these few steps, you can develop a website design strategy that will help you create a site that meets the demands of your market sector.
