When it comes to designing your own website, many business owners approach it in the same way as they would design their home. They think about what colours they like and what styles represent them and what will make their website look unique and eye-catching. However, designing your own website like you would design the interior of your home is not the best approach. Here’s why, and I’ll be blunt… THE WEBSITE IS NOT FOR YOU!!!
Firstly, when designing your own website you should remember that it’s not all about you. While your home interior design is perceived by your friends and family as an extension of your character and personality, your website design is not, and designing your own website should not be a vanity project. It’s essential to understand that your website is not for you, but for your visitors. It’s important to focus on what your visitors need and what they want to achieve when they visit your website.
Secondly, your website visitors don’t care if your website is green because you’re a tree hugging eco-warrior. Neither do they care that it’s designed in a certain quirky and unusual way because you’re a rebellion non-conformist that strives to be different. These things will rarely matter to your website visitors as much as they matter to you. Your website visitors are more interested in finding the information they need or completing a specific task, and they will quickly leave if they can’t find what they’re looking for.
So, how can you tame your ego, put your personal preferences aside and design your own website with the visitor in mind? Here are some tips:
1. Know your target audience:
The first step when designing your own website is to cater to the needs of your visitors and to understand your target audience. Who are your visitors, and what do they want to achieve by visiting your website? By creating user personas, you can represent your typical visitor and design your own website to meet their needs.
Consider factors such as age, gender, location, interests, and motivations when creating your user personas. This will help you create a website that resonates with your visitors and makes it easier for them to find what they’re looking for.
2. Focus on usability when designing your own website:
Your website should be easy to use and navigate. Visitors should be able to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. To achieve this, use clear headings, labels, and call-to-actions to guide your visitors through your website.
Make sure your website is easy to navigate on both desktop and mobile devices. Ensure that all buttons and links are easy to click, and that your website loads quickly. By focusing on usability, you’ll make it easier for your visitors to achieve their goals and reduce the likelihood of them leaving your website in frustration.
3. Use a consistent design:
When designing your own website, using a consistent design will help your visitors to feel comfortable and familiar with your website. This includes using the same font, colour scheme, and layout. You can find font pairings that work well together at https://www.fontpair.co/all
By maintaining consistency, you’ll create a sense of trust and credibility with your visitors, making it more likely that they will return to your website in the future.
4. Keep it simple:
Don’t overload your website with unnecessary features and information. Keep your design simple and streamlined to avoid overwhelming your visitors. Use white space to create a sense of balance, and make sure your content is easy to read.
5. Prioritise accessibility:
An accessible website is one that is easy to use and navigate for everyone, including people with disabilities. Consider accessibility when designing your website by using high contrast colours, alt tags for images, and providing text alternatives for non-text content. This will help make your website usable for everyone, regardless of their abilities.
6. Use visuals wisely:
Visuals such as images, videos, and infographics can be a powerful way to convey information and engage visitors. However, it’s important when designing your own website to use visuals wisely and ensure they add value to your website. Avoid using too many visuals that may slow down your website or distract visitors from the main message.
Also, ensure your visuals are optimized for web use and have appropriate file sizes. Large files can slow down your website and impact the user experience.
7 Test and optimize:
Once you’ve designed your website, it’s important to test and optimize it to ensure it’s meeting the needs of your visitors. Use tools like Google Analytics to track user behaviour and identify areas for improvement. This could include adjusting your website’s layout, improving your website’s load time or making your website’s content more user-friendly.
After designing your own website, testing and optimizing your website is an ongoing process that can help you continuously improve the user experience.
8: Keep your website up to date:
A website that’s out of date can give visitors the impression that you’re no longer active, or worse, that you don’t care about your visitors. Keep your website up to date by regularly adding new content, updating your website’s design, and ensuring that your website is compatible with new web technologies.
Keeping your website up to date shows your visitors that you’re actively engaged and committed to providing them with a quality user experience.
Conclusion
Designing your own website with the visitor in mind means putting your visitors’ needs first. Prioritize usability, accessibility, and user experience by understanding your audience, keeping your design simple, using visuals wisely, testing and optimizing your website, and keeping it up to date. By doing so, you’ll create a website that not only reflects your brand but also provides value to your visitors.
After reading this do you feel that you’d rather have an expert web designer build your website for you?
Could you work with a web designer who’ll tell you when your amazing website ideas are not so amazing?