Visual aspects of your website

Once you have planned out the overall holistic aspects of your website, you can

begin thinking about the way that it actually looks and behaves. Be careful not to

get too carried away by the potential of what you can include on your page – start

simply, and you can always grow the content from there. In addition, remember

that your website is for your customers and visitors, not for you – don’t add

elements just because you like them; your primary consideration should be if they

add any value to your target market. The “keep it simple” rule applies here.

Design considerations

 

Your website is a public face for your business and its design should therefore be

treated with considerable care and consideration. One of the first steps you should

take is to research your competitors’ pages to get a general feel for what your

industry’s standards and expectations are. Also have a look at pages of companies

in related industries for ideas. Be sure that any design you choose is appropriate

for your type of business. For example, here are four websites for legal practices.

All four pages have a very conservative design and favour black, white and shades

of grey over bright colours. This is in line with the professional and serious image

that legal professionals aim to portray to their customers.

This also speaks to the target market, which is a related and important point. While

it may seem like a good idea to create a website that is radically different from

your competitors’, so that you stand out, this tactic is likely to backfire unless

you have done some extensive research. This is because your target market has

already defined the standards for your industry and has certain set expectations. A

lawyer’s website filled with brightly coloured animations and an unusual layout will

be dismissed as untrustworthy, regardless of the actual content and reputation.

However, you can still come across as professional and trustworthy by doing

something different, within these parameters.

Another important consideration is that your website must fit in with your overall

corporate identity (your company’s logo, colours and print designs). Creating a

holistic and uniform brand image is vital and your website – as an integral part

of your strategy – must fit in with your other marketing communications. Your

designer will be able to advise you on adapting your corporate identity for the

web, since this involves considerations like using web-safe colours and fonts