Alright, so this is a pretty huge subject to tackle. There are thousands of books and courses written on web design.
Before I start spatting off lessons, I want to ensure you can take something away and implement it today.
So, here are the four basic principles of what makes a good website to keep in mind before your redesign/launch:
- Purpose. Great design starts with a purpose in mind. Ask yourself, “What do I want to accomplish with this page?” If a page doesn’t have a clear purpose, consider getting rid of it.
- Aesthetically pleasing. I’ll dig more into this in section one on visual design, but your site needs to look good. If your site looks like it was built in the 90’s, it’s time for an update.
- Relevant and original content. Your site should show content that’s relevant to your target market and original. Plagiarism is illegal and penalized by Google. Besides, it’s better to be a first-rate version of yourself than a second-rate version of someone else.
- Clear site navigation. I’ll discuss this further in section two on technical aspects, but know that navigation matters. Any page on your site should be within three clicks of any other page on your site. Your navigation should be intuitive and simple. This helps both Google for SEO and your visitors for navigation.
