We’re sure you’ll agree with us when we say that not all websites have great design. Website design plays a key role in the overall look and feel of your website. Apart from the design, there are other factors that determine whether a website is worth visiting or not.

In this article, we’ll be telling you about some website design tips for small businesses that you should keep in mind when building a website for your business. You can also implement these if you already have a website but are looking to upgrade it! Here are 5 web design practices for 2018:

Excellent User Experience

A common mistake that many business owners often make is to not audit their website from a user’s perspective once it goes live. Having a website will solve no purpose unless it is able to draw visitors that convert.

This is why you need to have a website that gives a positive viewing and functional experience to your visitors. This means all the website elements like brand logo, content, imagery etc should be aligned with each other and the brand as a whole. If done correctly, this should deliver the right message to the users that are visiting your website.

Access to Information

A user visits a website when they need some information or are looking for some kind of service, and if they are unable to find it easily on a website they will not think twice before exiting your website. With millions of websites present on the web, they can refer to some other website if yours does not give them what they are looking for.

So while you design your small business website, make sure to present the information in the order of their priority. The users should easily find the information on your website. And if at any point of time they experience difficulty then you’ve lost a valuable lead.

Create a Landing Page

Landing pages are designed with a purpose i.e. for users to take some action. You could refer to these tips for designing a landing page.

A well designed and optimized landing page has a lot of potential to convert a user into a potential lead. It should clearly display the main features, what is in it for the users, why should they purchase your business product, etc.

Do not have excess information on the landing page. The information should be crisp and clear that gives the gist of what you are offering. If you have too much content or information on your landing page, your users may not read it at all!

Responsive Design

You might have come across a website that has disoriented content and imagery, giving the users a bad viewing experience.

A mobile is the most used device by users to access the web. It is extremely important that your website is optimized for mobile view. If your users do not get a good experience on your website on their mobile device (or any device for that matter) they are bound to avoid your website and brand in the future. Therefore, it is important that you optimize your website for the mobile view as well as for desktop and tablet view.

Visuals

Make sure to add excellent, and clear visuals that add to the impact of the message. Use visuals that your users are easily able to relate to. However, don't go overboard with the visuals. Using too many visuals will make your website crowded.

Try using a human element in your website, it is more relatable to your users. Using human faces on your website appropriately will help to convey the message that you want to.

Having a website is not enough. If your website doesn’t follow the basic rules of design, it will not give you or your users anything.