It is easy to fall into the trap of always following the latest trends in web design. However, as with any other art form, there are myths that you should dispel before you consider them viable for your projects.
The web design myths I have chosen for this tutorial have become widespread in recent years. We will explore 5 tips that will help you get rid of these dominant thoughts.
Tip 1: Minimalism is not always the best option
In recent years, there has been a shift to a minimalist design (ie websites that use negative space and distribute information so that the pages look less “busy”). While we can’t deny that minimalism seems good on occasion, it’s not always the right choice for every project.
If you are designing a website with several elements that require attention, minimalism may not be the best option. Take Amazon, for example. Their homepage is full of articles, but no less usable. In fact, if they used a minimalist design, it would probably have had an impact on sales, as they will not be able to display as many product recommendations on the page.
As with all trends, the key is to ask yourself if the website you are designing really needs a minimalist design. Here is a handy list to help you decide:
- If you should use a minimalist design, will your key elements stand out? If not, you should probably avoid this.
- Is all the information on your pages relevant? If so, you can streamline your design for a more minimalist look without affecting ease of use.
2 Tip: User feedback should not always guide your choices
User feedback is essential for creating a design that you and your customers can enjoy. However, there are times when listening to your instincts should take precedence over user recommendations.
The question is: how do you know when to step in and look beyond what your visitors or customers recommend? Here are two situations where it is probably justified:
- If your users ask you to implement a design element that would affect the usability of the final product.
- Whenever a customer suggests you change your designs to make them less usable or attractive.
Of course, the relationship with customers will be much more difficult than with users. However, as a designer, you should always talk and try to explain why a certain change could harm the final product so that you and your customers are on the same page.
Tip 3: Usability is not enough to guide a website to success
It goes without saying that you want your design to be both elegant and usable (individually, no one can lead to the success of a website). In other words, it doesn’t matter if your website is working properly, but it has a terrible screen.
If you are currently designing websites, you will probably make sure that they are fantastic. This is essential because users will often make instant evaluations on a website because of its appearance.
There is no single universal way to improve the design of a website. However here are some techniques you should consider if you think your designs don’t hit the mark:
- A / B testing of key elements on your pages will allow you to make incremental improvements.
- Find inspiration on sites you find attractive.
Tip 4: Menus do not have to be rational
In the past, we’ve talked about simplifying your menus to improve usability on your website. If we stay in the same direction, there are sites that must add a little complexity to their menus.
For simplicity, if your website has many important pages, you should add as many items as necessary to your navigation menu. The key to this job is to keep it simple. Here’s how we do it:
- Use multi-level menus if you need to include multiple pages.
- Divide your links into categories to make them easier to locate
- Make sure each of your links is always readable, even in submenus.
Various menus can be intimidating if you visit a website for the first time, but it’s no more intimidating than searching for content without them.
Tip 5: The home page is not the most important page
Homepage is one of the most important parts of any website – there is no denying it. However, you shouldn’t pay so much attention to the types of forgetting the rest of your website.
The good news is that if you already have an excellent homepage on your hands, you are in front of a successful website. All you need now is to make sure that the other pages are not so compensated for the design of the main page.
