There are many tips to choose from, but these are timeless and apply to most websites. The devil is in the details, so if you have questions, reach out to us!

1. Create a Mobile Optimized Design

Designing a website to be friendly and easy to view on small mobile devices with smaller screen sizes is becoming increasingly important. Over 50% percent of all website viewers utilize a mobile phone. Visitors expect that today’s websites are specifically formatted and optimized for mobile devices – both visually and navigationally. This means each page must adjust the titles, text, images and other content based on the screen size and whether it is being viewed in portrait or landscape mode. This mobile-optimized approach may require separate pages and content that are designed specifically for mobile devices. Often times this includes simplifying the content, selecting mobile suitable images, making the navigation “thumb-friendly”, optimizing page loading times, and other mobile-specific design changes.

2. Utilize a Clean, Uncluttered and Consistent Design

From a visual perspective, an effective website starts with a design that provides a clean and uncluttered layout. Professionally designed websites utilize a commitment to several design principals. Among other design elements used are:

• A limited and complementary color pallet
• Contain a pleasing and consistently applied font strategy
• Utilize images that convey the appropriate message
• Use images that contain colors that match or complement the tone and hue of the color pallet
• Apply backgrounds to pages and sections that tie the site together visually

3. Use Clear and Easy to Understand Language

In website design content is king. A pretty website that is optimized for mobile devices and loads quickly is only the foundation. The content is what informs, educates, entices, entertains and motivates the visitor. Effective content focuses on the visitor’s perspective, not the website owner’s. Writing content starts with a clear picture of who the visitors are, why they are likely to visit the website, and knowing what you want them to do as a result of their visit. Using clear, easy to understand language without using acronyms or terms that the majority of expected visitors will not immediately understand. Lastly, this content must be organized in such a manner that the visitor can quickly find and access the content most important to them.

4. Include Testimonials

For marketing and business websites, most website visitors want to know what other people’s experiences have been with the business or organization that’s behind the website. Dr. Robert Cialdini calls this social proof and it’s very important. Whether they take the form of reviews or ratings from websites such as Google, Facebook or Yelp, or quotations gathered from other sources, testimonials are a great way of instilling confidence in the visitor’s mind about the business or organization. Including positive testimonials, and keeping them fresh on a consistent basis, is a staple of good website design and one of the best ways of turning website visitors into customers or converts.

5. Ensure Fast Page Loading Speeds

Great content, stunning images, compelling offers and intriguing calls to action will all help increase a website’s effectiveness. However, none of this matters if (the pages load slowly. Slow page load times are often caused by poor image selection when designing the page. It’s important to select images that are in the best file format, stored with the dimensions they will be displayed on the page, and have the smallest file size that provides the necessary clarity. Sometimes, limiting the number of images is required. Embedded videos and sliders are also common culprits of slow page loading. All of this is particularly important when a page is viewed on a mobile device.