With the millions of sites all over the internet today, everyone is striving to stand out and get noticed. Sometimes, a good looking site may be considered totally unprofessional just because the design doesn’t match the content and in some cases, a site with pretty good content may have the most repulsive design.
Perhaps you own a blog or a small business website, there are certain practices that must be closely adhered to in order to have a site that actually converts. As they say, the first impression is always the lasting impression and it’s a pretty good idea to create an exceptionally good first impression to increase conversions. If you don’t have the experience to get it done yourself, it’s easier to outsource the design and development to a company like Thomas Digital.
Below are 10 best practices to build a professional-looking website:
1. Get an awesome logo
Unarguably, the first thing people notice when they visit your site is your logo. If your logo is poorly designed or simply sucks, this may turn off a potential client. It’s important to have a well-designed logo that blends pretty well with your design. This can say a lot about you and send a positive message to your visitors,
2. Make navigation pretty easy
Now, it’s easy to get lost in a website with poor navigation and personally, I hate it when I can’t find my way around a website just because there’s no helpful navigation menu. Having useful links somewhere above the header and sidebar is recommended and also, be sure to use breadcrumbs so visitors know exactly where they are.
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3. More HTML5, less flash and javascript
Using flash and javascript should only be used when needed. Excessive use slows down your site considerably and besides, there are certain things that can be achieved with HTML5. Use this instead of flash and javascripts. where applicable.
4. Use light images
Images convey messages but then, you must be careful with how you use them. Using large images that considerably slow down your page load time should be avoided and at the same time, be sure to use light images that are clear enough. Trying to re-size them to the point they get blurry may not be good for you.
5. Proper use of headings
Now, it’s rather funny some webmasters still don’t know how to properly using headings. Having two H1 tags on the same page is rather crazy and I’ve seen this a lot of times. This should be avoided.
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6. Light background
If you noticed top websites like Google, Facebook, Yahoo and the rest of them, they all have one thing on common. Do you know what that is? Light background! The background you use may be dependent odn the kind of website you’re building but when developing a business website, it’s always a nice idea to use a light background. Dark background may apply to celebrity or entertainment websites but I do believe using a light background sort of establishes a trust when people come visiting.
7. Long pages may not help you
People tend to quickly glance over pages on the internet and having boring long pages may be a bad idea. Keep things straight to the point; it’s better to break up a long piece into smaller pages. When your pages hit like 2,000 characters, you’re gonna bore your readers or visitors out and they likely won’t finish reading pages that long.
8. Be careful with ads
It’s an undocumented rule never to use ads on a business website but if what you’re developing is a blog or forum, keep it to the barest minimum. Too many ads can simply piss your visitors off.
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9. Don’t forget to use readable fonts
Always consider people visually challenged individuals who may have to strain their eyes to read small fonts. Using big fonts is recommended but then again, it shouldn’t be ridiculously big.
10. Your about page!
The importance of an about page cannot be overemphasized, It should be detailed and tell your readers everything they need to know about you and your organization. We have a concise article on creating a professional looking about page and I suggest you should check that out.
