Professional Web Design: Graphic Design Tips to Help Your Website Stand Out
No matter the kind of products you sell or the type of service you provide to clients, the appearance of your website shouldn’t be overlooked. When you own and manage a website, the site’s design is equally important as what you’re offering.
There are many key aspects to professional web design, with graphic design being one of the most prominent. The graphics you incorporate should be both professional and visually appealing. If you want your company’s website to leave a positive first impression on visitors, you’ll need to put thought into the graphic design choices you’re making.
Remember, your site’s appearance is going to be one of your potential customers’ or clients’ first impressions of your brand. Before they explore any further and learn about who you are and what you can provide, they’ll see whether you’ve put care into your digital image. Not only are poorly designed websites unpleasant to look at, but they can also make it difficult just to navigate throughout the site and get the information you need. Poor graphic design choices can turn your business’s website into a clunky maze of links, text, and images. Visitors might be unsure where to click if they’d like to navigate to another page, or even read more about your company and its products.
Websites with interesting, well-designed graphics stand out from their competitors, allowing these companies to attract new attention to their business. But how can you use colors, images, and typography to create a visually appealing site and an improved experience for web traffic? The following tips can help you understand just how professional web design uses graphic design elements to bring your website to the next level.
Use Contrasting Fonts
When you’re designing a website, the fonts you select shouldn’t be an afterthought. You want to capture the attention of your audience so that they’re interested in what you have to say – however, you shouldn’t be using fonts that are dated-looking, overly intricate, or difficult to read.
If you’d like to make a big statement with your fonts (without going over the top and creating a cluttered design), try utilizing contrasting font styles.
Think of it a bit like this: Maybe you’re creating a header for your website. To craft the title itself, try out a bold sans-serif font. Still, you don’t need to use this same font for the subheadings or subtitles. You could create an appealing contrast by using a romantic cursive font, instead. This second font can be used not just for aesthetic appeal, but also to capture the mood or tone of the text itself.
Avoid Using Too Many Fonts
As useful as contrasting fonts can be to visually appealing design, it’s a good idea to also keep moderation in mind. It’s really not “the more fonts, the better” – when you clutter your business’s site with too many font choices — this will do little more than give the visitor a headache.
A good rule of thumb is to use three or fewer fonts within any single design. You can always experiment with different fonts until you find a combination that works the best together and adheres to the overall aesthetic of your website. This is a much better decision than haphazardly using as many fonts as you can fit in your web design.
Contrast Your Colors
Of course, fonts aren’t the only visual aspect of your website that can use contrasts. To create even more visual interest, try out a color scheme that incorporates contrasting shades.
This doesn’t mean that you should choose several colors that simply don’t go together, or look unappealing in combination. Rather, creating contrast is a far more delicate process. For instance, maybe your site is made up of mostly red and pink tones. You can create contrast by adding blue and green accents or details. This would still look cohesive to the viewer, but could also make your design more eye-catching.
Flat, monotonous color palettes are a quick way to lose the viewers’ interest due to a boring or unappealing design. A professional designer will know how to pair colors harmoniously for the best effects.
Don’t Be Afraid of White Space
Sometimes, less is more when you’re working on professional web design or graphic design. In fact, when you fill up every inch of your site with images, media, or text, this can quickly confuse or overwhelm the viewer. Site designs that are too busy can make a website difficult to navigate, and most visitors aren’t going to have the patience to stay and figure out the puzzle you’ve given them.
Using white space can be an effective way to get your message across, even without the use of fonts, colors, or other elements. White space allows the message you’re making to stand out, rather than getting lost in the excessive use of design elements. Anything that you do include should be deliberate and serve a purpose, allowing your website to convey a particular message or image. You shouldn’t be adding media or text just for the sake of having more content on your company’s site.
When it’s well incorporated into a design, white space can be elegant and sophisticated. And as an added bonus, using white space means that you won’t need to spend as much time designing and assembling different images or other design elements for every inch of space.
Keep Visual Hierarchies in Mind
Not all visuals are created equal – or, at the very least, not all visuals should be receiving the same amount of attention from viewers. If there’s anything that all people should know about professional web design and graphic design, it’s the importance of visual hierarchies.
Simply put, visual hierarchies help your design to make sense. If your website has elements of varying size and positioning, for example, these aspects are going to appear distinct from one another. Alternatively, if every image or text blurb looks exactly the same, it’s going to be more challenging for a viewer to distinguish these elements from one another. Plus, there won’t be any indication of where the visitor should be directing their attention to first.
Most people don’t have a long attention span, so visual hierarchies can sate any impatience while also allowing your design to look more interesting.
Never Forget Your Audience
The amount of design choices you can make is technically endless. But if you’re not sure where to begin, try considering the audience you’d like to view and positively receive your site. Then, as you continue building and designing your business’s website, never forget about your target audience.
Keep in mind that the design isn’t just for you, and that you’re not the only party that will need to find it visually appealing. Even more importantly, your web design will need to capture the attention of your potential clients or customers.
Consider the kind of person you’d like to buy your products or use your services. Then, think about the kind of design choices that this group of people would likely prefer. If you’re catering to an audience of adult professionals, it may make sense to utilize clean, minimalist design choices. On another hand, if your audience is adolescents, they may be more enticed by site design that’s fun, colorful, and bold.
Sometimes, It Makes Sense to Go Big
Some designers are afraid to go big when they’re working on a site design. This could lead them to rely on smaller elements, or elements that are all approximately the same size. In a similar vein to what we said earlier about visual hierarchies, it’s a much better idea to have visual elements of different sizes. Although including large images or sections of text can be daunting, don’t let this hold you back from “going big” on occasion.
Determine your principal object or the element that you’d like to capture the viewers’ attention first. This is the aspect of your design that you can make bigger than the rest. Every element of your website’s design should be appropriately scaled, whether you’re considering the text, buttons, or any other component.
Sites by Sara: Top Digital Marketing Agency in Salt Lake City
If you’re looking for an exceptional web design company near you, be sure to get in touch with Sites by Sara. We’re experts in creating eye-catching websites that help our clients stand out from their competitors. You can contact the top digital marketing agency in Utah by filling out our online form today. Get started on making your website professional, beautiful, and memorable with our help.
