Web design is critical nowadays, not just because it determines how is going to look the software, app, or web page you are designing, but because that display has to be very focused on a friendly, pleasant, and satisfactory experience for all the users.
Web design is the process of creating a website's visual elements and layout.
It involves designing a website's structure, navigation, and aesthetics of a website, as well as optimizing it for usability and performance.
You can read about UX and UI design in our blogs: Understanding the principles of UI design, What are UI and UX, and, 5 Tips for UI development.
In this blog, we are going to talk about the main elements that are important to consider when making a web design.
Key elements to web design
There are several key elements to web design, including:
1. Layout:
The layout of a website refers to how its content is organized and presented. This includes the placement of text, images, and other visual elements on each page of the site.
The website layout is an arrangement of page elements aimed to provide the best user experience. It determines the sequence in which visitors notice visual components and the objects they pay the most attention to.
In the Layout design you can choose Figma if you are a designer, or if you are not, you can use one of the many creators of web sits or e-commerce that are available like Wix, Shopify or Woocommerce.
Figma
Figma is a cloud-based design tool great for team collaboration. Figma works on any operating system that runs a web browser. Macs, Windows PCs, Linux machines, and even Chromebooks can be used with Figma.
Usually, designers that work with developers use this tool to design the layout of the web page, and because is in the cloud, they can make changes in real-time and save time with this practice.
Wix
Wix is a free, user-friendly, website building platform. Their intuitive technology and powerful built-in features give the users the freedom to design professional websites with ease that look amazing on any device.
Shopify
Shopify is a user-friendly e-commerce platform that helps small businesses build an online store and sell online through one streamlined dashboard.
Shopify merchants can build a modern online store and sell on social media sites, seller marketplaces, other blogs and websites and via email, text and chat.
In-person selling is a snap on Shopify too, with its built-in point-of-sale (POS) for retail stores, pop-up shops, market sales and more.
To design in Wix and Shopify is not necessary to be a designer, however, is important to imagine what kind of webpage you need and use some inspiration from other pages similar to yours.
2. Color:
The colors used in web design can have a significant impact on how users perceive and interact with a website.
Different colors can evoke different emotions and convey different messages, so web designers must carefully choose the colors they use in their designs.
For choosing the right colors is important to study some color psychology.
Color psychology is the study of how colors affect perceptions and behaviors.
In marketing and branding, color psychology is focused on how colors impact consumers’ impressions of a brand and whether or not they persuade consumers to consider specific brands or make a purchase.
Here’s a summary of brand color meanings and the effect that different branding colors can have on people:
Red — Red stands for passion, excitement and anger. It can signify importance and command attention.
Orange — Orange stands for playfulness, vitality and friendliness. It is invigorating and evokes energy.
Yellow — Yellow evokes happiness, youth and optimism, but can also seem attention-grabbing or affordable.
Green — Green evokes stability, prosperity, growth and a connection to nature.
Light Blue — A light shade of blue exudes tranquility, trust, openness. It can also signify innocence.
Dark Blue — Dark blue stands for professionalism, security and formality. It is mature and trustworthy.
Purple — Purple can signify royalty, creativity and luxury.
Pink — Pink stands for femininity, youth and innocence. It ranges from modern to luxurious.
Brown — Brown creates a rugged, earthy, old-fashioned look or mood.
White — White evokes cleanliness, virtue, health or simplicity. It can range from affordable to high-end.
Gray — Gray stands for neutrality. It can look subdued, classic, serious, mysterious or mature.
Black — Black evokes a powerful, sophisticated, edgy, luxurious and modern feeling.
Once you choose one color is important to choose two or three more to make your palette. Web apps like Coolors and Palettr could help you.
3. Typography:
The font types, sizes, and styles used on a website can greatly affect its readability and overall visual appeal.
A good web designer will choose typography that is easy to read and complements the overall design of the site.
A website should keep the number of fonts to a minimum—no more than three in total. When a site has too many fonts, the user can become disoriented with so many shifts in the visual design.
4. Navigation:
Navigation refers to the way users move through a website.
Effective navigation is intuitive, making it easy for users to find the information or content they are looking for.
This involves creating a clear hierarchy of pages and links, and using menus and buttons that are easy to understand and use.
5. Content:
Web design is not just about the visual elements of a website - it also involves creating and organizing content in a way that is engaging and informative.
Good web design should make it easy for users to find and consume content, whether it is text, images, video, or audio.
6. Performance:
Finally, web design involves optimizing a website for performance. This includes ensuring that the site loads quickly, is accessible on different devices and browsers, and is secure and reliable.
You can use tools like Ubersuggest to evaluate the performance of your website.
Conclusion
In conclusion, web design is a complex and multifaceted discipline that involves creating websites that are visually appealing, easy to use, and effective at achieving their intended purpose.
Web designers use a variety of tools and techniques to create layouts, choose colors and typography, design navigation and content, and optimize performance.
The result is a website that not only looks great, but is also functional, engaging, and easy to use for its intended audience.
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