In the fast pace world we are living in, it is safe to say we want things to be quick and simple. We have no time for clutter and confusion and this is especially true when browsing the internet. Just about everyone now a days has a blog or website whether it’s for a small business or grandma blogging about her favorite recipes; your website is your own little home in the online world. If your website is your home, consider this analogy. The thought of throwing a dinner party in a messy home makes many cringe, and you wouldn’t intentionally allow clients into your office if you knew it was a mess would you? Heck no! Then why would you let a user on the internet view your cluttered website? Keep you online home / office clean and simple. Here are some tips and tricks that will help you clean up your website.
LESS IS MORE!
This point cannot be stressed enough. If someone lands on your website and it is cluttered, there is a good chance they will feel overwhelmed and leave your site within seconds. Many people use the internet to search for solutions to their already existing problems, and if your website just adds to those problems, there is a good chance that user will never return. Give your user the site they are craving and the solutions they are seeking. Keeping your site clean and simple allows the user to browse for exactly what they want, and focus on the content that matters the most. If your site is clean and simple then it is most likely going to be a site that users will return to over and over. If the solutions to their problem are a simple find then your site will be more likely shared on social media and passed along to friends.
PICTURES SPEAK 1000 WORDS
We live in a very visual world. If you fill a page with long drawn out explanations of how something works there is a 1% chance the user will read the content. If you can say it with a image, the likelihood of them learning something from your content increases dramatically. In fact, articles that include a image are 94% more likely to be read because they draw in the attention of the reader. I browse the internet for pleasure so please do not make us feel like we are back in a class room with a text book in front of us. Most will not give your blog a chance if it does not draw us in with in the first five seconds. Like wise if your e-commerce store does not have pictures that are appealing, the user is more likely to move on to another site with a like product. Pictures take up very little space on your site, but they can speak to your target market and represent a brand in a way words cannot.
FOCUS CONTENT TO ONLY ESSENTIALS
If you had 10 seconds to explain what you wanted to convey to the user what would you say? We ask this because that is the average time a person spends on any given page of your website. If you over complicate a page then you are just pushing that user away. Make it quick and to the point. Reading on the web is very different than when you read for pleasure. Most of the time when we read on the web we are just skimming. Keep it engaging and interesting. Keep it creditable by eliminating any spelling and grammar errors. Putting a little bit of personality or flare in your content allows users to feel like they are almost talking to a person one on one. You can give someone warm and fuzzy feelings with your words which then makes your company / business more approachable in the user’s eyes.
WHITE SPACE GIVES YOU GOOD FEELINGS
What is white space? Whitespace is space between elements and components on your site. Whitespace gives you the feeling you get when you walk into your house and its completely spotless. As a user it makes you feel like everything is in the right place. Whitespace increases the legibility of the content on your site and besides, who doesn’t want a tidy and impressive site?
LIMIT YOUR COLOR PALETTE
The best practice for choosing a color palette is sticking with natural or neutral colors and one color that pops. Select three different colors and use them consistently throughout the site. Of course, you can use tints and shades of the chosen colors as this can help the visually separate some design aspects. Howver, be wary; bringing in too many colors to one site can leave the user feeling overwhelmed and confused. Researching what colors work best for your target client and what colors will give your site the right mood and feel you are looking for can really help you have a leg up over your competition.
