3 basic website design best practices

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The interest that you gain on your website can convert visitors into potential customers and possibly loyal followers. Likewise, many experts will tell you that if a website design is done poorly you run the risk of driving them away and lowering conversion rates. Potential customers will be driven from a website if they feel confused or frustrated when attempting to navigate around it. They can likewise decide they are not interested if the design of the website is not up to standard, or just looks bad. The following article goes through website design best practices for when you’re starting out and want to know how to build a better website, with some considerations to think about.   

Website Design With SEO
SEO web design optimization means that your website has been created for search engines to easily index the content for users to find. When SEO strategies have been done effectively you increase the chance of gaining more organic traffic to your website through higher placement in search engines. Web design focuses on on-page and off-page SEO strategies. 

Off-page Seo strategies include using links to your advantage through research and enough value that other websites begin linking to different content within your site. The on-page SEO strategies are also website best practices to consider.

• Consistent and appealing aesthetics that are on brand. This is created through the design and content having a consistent brand look that feels unified while looking good.
• Scannable information and design. Having a clean website structure that isnt too cluttered with information and is easy to read or navigate.  
• A responsive website design. When a websites content is able to adapt to multiple devices and give a consistently smooth experience throughout it is fully responsive.
• High value content and CTAs. Great content that provides value with internal link structures, fully optimized high quality images or videos, and relevant keywords. Call to Actions or CTAs lead customers to learn more or complete actions that provide value.

Fast Loading times
Loading times are very important because the longer a site or page loads the less attention it gains. A visitor will take 3-4 seconds to decide whether the time it takes to load a page is worth it, and many take that time to leave. This can likewise make sure that your SEO rankings are relatively high. The ways that you can get faster response times are through ensuring:

• Optimized databases and media content
• Content delivery networks
• Good hosting platforms

Strong A/B Testing
A/B testing helps you understand what works best for you and your market. Also known as split testing, it measures and compares the responses of your target market. If you have designed two different options it gives you the ability to analyze what version is the better option.  

Anyone venturing into the world of small business marketing will tell you that websites are essential. Not only do they display product and service information, but they also form a web presence for your business online. Done right you can get visitors interested in less than 50 milliseconds on what you have to offer and the brand story surrounding the business. Thats why you need to thoroughly weigh whether DIY or professional website development is best.