Top 12 Website Design Principles All Businesses Need to Know (2020)

When it comes to making the best possible impact on prospective visitors and customers, there are plenty of different things that you’re going to need to bring to your online experience. No two business websites are ever quite the same, but as any leading website design agency will tell you, there are always going to be a few principles and key features to the perfect site or page design which will encourage people to stick with you.

If you’re looking for the best web development company to help your business reach new audiences, you need to look into their practices. Do they have a portfolio of websites you can visit and learn more about? Can you quiz their experts on their design principles?

Regardless, here are the 12 biggest website design principles your business absolutely MUST stick to in 2020. Make sure to set up with a local website design agency who can help you realise the following.

We can’t overstate this enough. Too much text, and too much waffle, and people will want to go elsewhere.

You need to keep your visitors on-page – hence ‘on-page SEO’. Get to the point, stick to the point, make it clear. Nice and easy – and you’re likely to find visitors will stick around and start buying from you.

There are plenty of fancy web designs out there. These are pretty and all, but functionality is a big deal. If your website’s hard to use, how are visitors going to perceive your products?

“Set up a clear menu or navigation panel” on the main page. Have it float if the design permits, and if the look appeals to you. Your visitors will need all the help they can get.

Whatever you do, don’t cram your web design. The best web development company will tell you that setting up plenty of white space, and offering room between text and media, will encourage people to keep scrolling.

Think about how users read your content. It’s a line at a time. Cramming pictures and text together is not only ugly, it’s a headache no one needs.

Plenty of people have favourite fonts. It’s true! However, there’s a reason for this. Typography has an incredible effect on our psychology. Fonts can appear exciting, professional, or even saddening.

That’s why it’s really important to choose the best fonts possible for the moods you want to create. A website design agency will help you to brainstorm what works best for your brand and audience.

You’ll probably find that most web designers prefer clean, symmetrical, consistent looks. There are plenty of reasons for this. Above all, consistency is appealing and expected. There are no nasty surprises.

It’s also memorable. A key principle in modern website design is the idea that you are going to need to pick a style and run with it. Otherwise, your site is going to be ugly, muddled, and instantly forgettable.

Responsive web design is everything in 2020, and we’ve talked at length about this principle. However, it’s worth remembering that any web development company you sign up with should create a look and design that’s going to work well on all devices.

That’s mobiles, desktops and more. There are web management platforms as simple as WordPress which allow for responsive page creation as standard. Close off your website design to one or two types of device, and you’ll be upsetting Google AND your audience.

Yes! Images and video are fantastic. In the New 20s, people are going to sway more and more towards video content to learn more about products. What’s more, images are still important – if not more so – in your central web design.

However, you need to be smart about the photos and media you choose. Select one or two, perhaps, to establish a theme.

Yes! Images and video are fantastic. In the New 20s, people are going to sway more and more towards video content to learn more about products. What’s more, images are still important – if not more so – in your central web design.

However, you need to be smart about the photos and media you choose. Select one or two, perhaps, to establish a theme.

This is a really quick point which any website design agency will tell you is key. If you’re not seeing your website from your visitors’ perspectives, there’s no point in setting it up at all.

Google is giving more and more power to searchers and web users. This means focusing on creating a user experience, or UX, that’s engaging, easy to follow, and which puts you clearly ahead of the pack.

Design hierarchies get a bit complex, so let’s keep it simple. All web designers know that there should be a conscious pattern to how web pages lay out. Place important ‘hooks’ towards the top, and then build information and content which answers questions all the way down.

This system really will differ from site to site, so we won’t suggest a model here. However, the best web development company for you will know the value of a great hierarchy.

Don’t cram your text full of keywords. Don’t make your content boring, and full of sales cliches. Create content that’s genuinely engaging, which offers useful information, and which actively inspires people to take action.

More and more, web designers are appreciating content and its value as key to the overall look and experience of a website. It’s no longer just filler material.

Last of all, let’s leave you on this note. Templates are great if you’re just getting started, but they are hardly unique.

The best web design agency experts will know that unique designs, tweaked through HTML or otherwise, lead the way. For the best experience, you’re going to need to work with web developers who aren’t afraid to break free from WordPress and Magento shells once in a while.