8 Key Elements of Great Web Design

CONTENT MARKETING DIVISION, TECHMAGNATE INDIA’S LEADING DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY

Great designs aren’t built by tools….

They’re built by human beings.

Image Courtesy: Google Images

There’s a lot of thought, work, testing and reiterations of iterations that go into a design project before it goes live.

A great web design is reliant upon several factors that need to amalgamate together in a finely-tuned balance.

Before we build a great website, let’s first begin to deconstruct the process of building up.

Image Courtesy: Ken Keis‘ LinkedIn blog

So, how do we build beautiful, functional websites?

For starters, it’s not going to happen overnight.

Image Courtesy: http://tomdrexlerplumbing.com/

Again, it’s important to remember that designers need to strike a balance between their design process, their artistic talent and their technical skills.

So, here is the breakdown of… 8 Key Elements of

Great Web Design

The Human Touch

1. Understand your Audience

Make this your mantra: all audience groups are not created alike.

Take a look at these websites created for different purposes.

The common factor tying them all together is a great understanding of their audience and excellent UI/UX.

Site: Zomato.com Vertical: Food & Beverage

Site: Gaadi.com Vertical: Automobile

Site: Gaana.com Vertical: Music

Site: Make My Trip Vertical: Travel

Site: Snapdeal.com Vertical: e-commerce

2. Figure out your Creative Process

As creative people, we need freedom to follow our own processes for getting things done.

And that can’t happen until you understand your creative process.

Do you know where you find inspiration for a design? 

Do you need to sketch first? 

Do you need to think things through first or do you just dive right in with a project?  

Do you need frequent breaks or do you have marathon work sessions?   

Gaining a close understanding of your creative process will help you plan your work in a more efficient manner.   

And if all else fails, there’s nothing like a great panic session to get productive!

3. Organization and Basics

Does this look familiar to you?

Image Courtesy: designjournalsos.blogspot.com

Image Courtesydesignbeep.com

And this?

The importance of getting yourself organized, putting your thoughts down on paper and making your design tangible can’t be understated.

Nothing good ever came from not thinking things through. Especially not for visual artists!

4. Innovate

If you’re an experienced designer, you’ll be able to look at a client’s requirements and determine whether certain standardized elements are still necessary or they’ve become redundant.

It’s likely that a few tweaks here and there would do the job.

And these don’t need to be major changes. Removing smaller elements like search boxes, multiple lead forms on the home page and irrelevant links can improve the UI/UX for your audience.

Brass Tacks

5. Responsive Design

With the rapid increase in smart phone penetration building responsive designs has become mandatory for the agencies. Responsive designs are an irreversible trend now.

6. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

Simplify everything in your design including, navigation, content, images, HTML files, the amount of inline code you use, and block elements etc. and remove everything that’s not needed. 

This is one of the cleanest designs we can mention – no wasted words or images. 

The moral of the story is simple: you don’t want to make your site users struggle to find the information they need or want from you.

7. Don’t Stop Testing

Continue testing the design to know whether your design is efficient and beautiful and connects with the right people.

8. Typography

Typography is very important for your design to be received well. 

The typography you choose sets the tone for your website.  

It directs navigation and leads the audience from one section to the other, i.e. supports the structure and flow of your content. 

Besides these, there’re lots of other things to be kept in mind in order to create a great web design... 

Attention to details

 Focusing on the quality (uncompromising aesthetics), PSD

management

Cross-discipline communication

If there’s anything you feel needs to be added on here, leave a comment! And don’t forget to share this post if you’ve enjoyed reading it!

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