As a business owner, you want to introduce your brand to your target market. As much as possible, you want to reach a wide audience as this will most likely mean more customers for your company. As a result, you will also most likely gain more profit from additional customers that appreciate and patronize your brand.
But, it all starts with establishing a presence in the places you want to be known. While you may have a store that passersby can take a look at, it does not really give you a wider audience, as you will only be limited to those within the neighborhood or those who pass by your area.
Website: Your Company’s Online Presence
Today, more and more people are making use of the Internet to find the products and services they need. Doing so offers them the convenience of getting what they need without having to drive or walk several miles just to get their hands on such products and services.
You need to take advantage of this situation for the benefit of your company. Establishing a presence on the Internet will help you reach out to a wider audience and introduce your brand to more potential customers.
A website is your company’s online presence. While aesthetics are definitely necessary to attract attention, the website also needs to be responsive. Check out the top 10 responsive custom web design insights you should ponder on.
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Plan on how to build your website
Before you can create the website that you have envisioned for your company, you need to have an idea of what you want first. Planning is definitely the first step in designing your website. This will act as your guide and framework in the whole custom web design and development process.
During the planning stage, you have to clearly map out what your objectives are for your website and how you plan to attain them. As much as possible, the objectives and the entire plan must be specific. If you are planning the website with a team, make sure that there is clear communication between every member so that every concern will be addressed. Once you have the plan laid out, you can proceed with designing the website.
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Make use of the right custom web design software programs
Designing and developing websites entail the use of a variety of software programs. You can choose from the numerous software programs available. These programs typically have different functions and end results, although there are some that offer a number of features in a single platform.
While there definitely are many of them, this does not mean that you will be using all of these programs. You have to know and identify the software programs that are suitable for the kind of website you want to have for your company.
There are programs that are free but it might be a good idea to invest in high-quality software programs which may entail cost. You will be using these programs for a long time, after all.
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Optimize images
The use of images is definitely part of custom web design. Most, if not all, people interact better or pay more attention to a website that has several images instead of just plain blocks of texts on the screen. At the same time, images may offer a better explanation of a certain process on what you want online users to do than plain texts.
However, this does not mean that you can just bombard your website with a lot of images. You also have to exercise discretion and good judgment when it comes to choosing which images you need to upload on your company’s website. The images must be relevant to the message you are trying to relay to your target market.
At the same time, you also need to be careful about the sizes and types of images that you will be using. Big files and certain image types can significantly slow down the page load times. You have to remember that users will most likely leave the page if it takes more than a few seconds to load.
The best thing to do in this situation is to optimize the images that you will be using. There are a lot of applications out there that you can use for image optimization. Check with your design and development team as to which ones are good for your website and which ones will make it more responsive.
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Be careful of fonts
Of course, websites will need fonts for online users to read and understand your message. The font style and size that you will use for your website will play a big role in presenting your company and your brand to your target market. They also affect the responsiveness of your webpage.
Exercising caution in terms of choosing the font style and size you will be using is a necessity. You have to make sure that the style is legible, making it easy for your users and online visitors to read. Otherwise, they may end up leaving your website. Do not make your online audience work hard for something that should be easily given to them.
This also rings true for the font size. It should be of the right size and not too small that it makes texts difficult to read. Big fonts may be used to make an impact but be careful when doing this approach.
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Make sure that the website is compatible with various devices and browsers
For a website to be truly responsive, it needs to be compatible with different devices and browsers. This means that your online visitors should be able to see a functional webpage, no matter what device or browser they use.Compatibility with different devices and browsers can be achieved with the help of various techniques, applications, and software programs. Talk to your team about which ones you can use to ensure compatibility.
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Try a mobile-first approach
In relation to #5, you might want to try a mobile-first approach when designing your website. This will help your website achieve a higher level of responsiveness. This is because mobile phones typically have smaller screens. Working with smaller screens first before going to the big ones is far easier than starting with the big ones first and smaller screens last.
If you decide to follow through with this approach, design your website as if it is solely viewed on a mobile phone. What do you want your users to see or experience when viewing your website on their own mobile phones? What kind of information can you give to your target market in such a small screen? How should the menu, the logo, and other details be placed on the website considering the small screen a mobile phone has?
It is important that you answer these questions beforehand. This way, you will have an idea on how you or your design and development team will design the website.
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Ensure good navigation for users
Any website owner definitely wants to get the attention of their target market, have them visit the company’s website, offer them information and, hopefully, get their business and profit from them. A responsive website often gives users a good experience in terms of navigation. So, you have to address navigation issues when designing your website.
You have to remember that most online users want to get the information that they need as quickly as possible. When visiting a website, they need to have the details necessary for them to make a quick decision. If they do not get that information quickly or if they will have to go through a maze of clicking buttons just to get the details they need, they will most likely end up leaving your webpage.
To give a good user experience, try to put yourself in the shoes of your target market, online visitors, or users. Design your website following the path of potential customers. No matter how much you admire your website’s design as an owner, this will not matter if your customers are having a difficult time navigating through it.
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Opt for a minimalist custom web design
When designing your website, it can be said that less is more. There are many websites with designs that are incomprehensible, chaotic, use colors that do not complement each other, and more. If you get just the color combinations or the layouts wrong, the design of your website may not be appealing to your target audience.
In this situation, you might want to go for a minimalist design. A minimalist design makes use and is not afraid of white space. It revolves around important details and messages. While it puts less focus on the design per se, it still has a certain element of beauty in it.
Discuss with your design team about the kind of minimalist design you want to go for. No matter how minimal the design may be, make sure that you provide your target audience with enough information.
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Practice consistency
One of the things that can ruin the design of any website is inconsistency—inconsistent images, inconsistent color schemes or combinations, and inconsistent details, among others. You have to make sure that everything that is present on your company’s website is cohesive and co-relates with one another.
In terms of images, be sure to use images that are relevant to what your company is all about. In terms of color schemes, make sure that you go with color schemes that complement each other. Otherwise, you might have a website that is not pleasing to the eye.
In terms of details, you need to make sure that you are giving out the right details to your customers, both online and in person—if ever you have a brick-and-mortar store or establishment. The details on the website should reflect the details of your establishment as a whole.
Imagine what your customers will feel if they find out that they got wrong information right from your website. This may hurt your brand’s credibility. As much as possible, make sure that the details are all true and updated.
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Do not forget to test the responsiveness of your website
How do you know if your webpage is responsive? You need to test it! You should make time to evaluate the responsiveness of your website after its creation and development. There are a lot of various testing software that you can use to evaluate how responsive your website is. Some examples include Responsinator, CrossBrowserTesting, Screenfly, and Google DevTools Device Mode, among others.
Testing how responsive your website is does not only end after its launch. You have to test the website regularly and make necessary changes for it to do what it is supposed to do.
Get a Responsive Website from Proweaver
Proweaver has over a decade of experience in terms of custom web design. Our team understands the importance of a responsive website. We have been honing our skills, techniques, and expertise to ensure that the website we create for you has a level of responsiveness that benefits you, your brand, and your company.
If you are ready to have a responsive and attention-catching website for your company, call Proweaver today!