10 Web Design Principles That Will Transform Your Website

In today's digital age, having a well-designed website is pivotal for any business or individual looking to make an impact online. Effective web design can help attract and retain visitors, improve user experience, and lead to higher conversions and revenue. However, creating fresh and innovative web design ideas can be challenging, especially for those new to website building or learning web design skills.

This article will elaborate on ten transformative web design principles that can take your website to the next level. These web design ideas will help you build a website that stands out from the market competition, engages visitors, and achieves your desired goals. Whether you're looking for new website ideas or want to improve your existing site, this article has something for everyone. So, let's dive in and explore some of the most effective web design content ideas and strategies to help you elevate your website to new heights!

#1 Visual Hierarchy

Visual hierarchy is a crucial aspect of web design that can make or break the user experience.

Visual hierarchy is the arrangement and prioritization of design elements to guide the user's attention through the website's content. It's crucial in web design because it helps users quickly understand the website's layout and what information is most important. A well-designed visual hierarchy can improve the user experience, increase engagement, and increase conversion rates.

Image taken from Strikingly

Website Building Ideas For Creating An Effective Visual Hierarchy

• Start with a clear message. The website's message should be communicated clearly and immediately through headlines, taglines, and prominent imagery.
• Use contrast. Contrast can be achieved through color, size, shape, and texture. Using contrast, you can create a clear visual hierarchy and direct the user's attention to the most important information.
• Organize information. Group related information together and use white space to separate different sections. It will give users easy navigation and understanding of the website's content.
• Use typography wisely. Different font sizes, styles, and colors can create a visual hierarchy within the text. Make sure to choose typography that is legible and consistent throughout the website.

How To Create A Visual Hierarchy On Strikingly?

Strikingly provides several tools that can help create a visually appealing and effective hierarchy. Its drag-and-drop interface allows users to easily move and arrange design elements to create a clear hierarchy.

#2 Responsive Design

Responsive design has become an essential principle of web design. Responsive design is creating a website that can adapt to different screen sizes and devices. With the increase of mobile devices, responsive design has become crucial in web design. A responsive website ensures that users have a consistent experience regardless of their device, which can improve engagement and reduce bounce rates.

Website Building Ideas For Creating Responsive Designs

• Prioritize mobile design. With most internet users accessing websites from mobile devices, it's essential to prioritize mobile design when creating a responsive website. Design for mobile devices and then scale up for larger screens.
• Use a responsive framework. A responsive framework can make it easier to create a responsive website by providing pre-designed templates and layouts optimized for different devices.
• Test your website on multiple devices. Test your website on multiple devices to ensure it's working as intended across all screen sizes.

How To Create Responsive Designs On Strikingly?

Strikingly is designed with responsive design in mind. With its drag-and-drop interface, users can easily create a website optimized for all screen sizes. Strikingly also provides a variety of templates that are designed to be responsive, making it easy to create a professional-looking website that works well on all devices.

#3 User-Friendly Navigation

One of the most pivotal aspects of web design is creating user-friendly navigation. Easy navigation is crucial in creating a positive user experience for website visitors. Visitors should be able to navigate the information they seek easily and quickly without navigating through complicated menus or pages. In addition, easy navigation can improve your website's search engine optimization (SEO) by making it easier for search engine bots.

Website Building Ideas For Creating User-Friendly Navigation.

• Firstly, it's essential to keep the navigation menu straightforward.
• Limit the menu items to seven or fewer and organize them logically.
• Use descriptive labels for menu items that are easy to understand.
• Finally, ensure your navigation is consistent throughout your site, so visitors can easily find their way around.

How Can Strikingly Ease Navigation?

Firstly, you can choose from a range of templates designed with user-friendly navigation in mind. These templates include pre-designed menus and navigation structures that you can customize for your needs. You can also use Strikingly's drag-and-drop interface to create your navigation menu from scratch.

#4 Consistency

Consistency is a crucial principle in web design that helps create a memorable and recognizable brand. Consistency helps build trust and credibility with the audience. It ensures that users recognize and remember the brand across different platforms and devices. Consistent design help create a strong visual identity for the brand.

Website Building Ideas For Achieving Consistency

• To achieve consistency in web design, it's essential to establish a style guide or design system. A style guide outlines the design elements and guidelines that should be followed throughout the website.
• It helps ensure all design elements align with the brand's values.
• Another essential tip is to use templates. Creating templates for different pages, such as landing pages or product pages, ensures that the layout and design elements remain consistent throughout the website.

How Can Strikingly Help With Consistency?

Strikingly provides various tools and templates to help users achieve consistency in their web design. The platform offers pre-designed templates that can be customized to fit your brand's needs. It also allows users to create a style guide that can be easily applied to different pages on the website.

Image taken from Strikingly

#5 Minimalism

A minimalist design style prioritizes brevity, clarity, and simplicity. In web design, minimalism is often used to create a clean, uncluttered look that allows the content to shine through. A minimalist design can make your website look more modern and sophisticated.

Website Building Ideas For Achieving A Minimalist Design

• Declutter your website and remove unnecessary elements.
• A restricted color scheme and straightforward, readable typography should be used.
• Emphasize negative space to create a sense of balance and harmony.
• Use high-quality images sparingly to enhance the design without overwhelming it.

How Can Strikingly Help You With Making A Website With A Minimalist Design?

Strikingly offers a variety of minimalist design templates. These templates are designed with simplicity in mind, and many use white space and simple typography to create a clean, modern look. Strikingly's drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to customize your website and create a minimalist design that fits your brand.

#6 Accessibility

Web accessibility means creating websites that are accessible to all users, regardless of their disabilities or impairments. It's essential to ensure everyone, including those with visual or hearing impairments, can easily access and navigate your website. Making websites and web applications accessible to individuals with disabilities, including those with physical, visual, aural, or cognitive impairments, is called "web accessibility."

Website Building Ideas For Creating An Accessible Website

Here are some tips for creating an accessible website:

• Use descriptive alt text for images and provide videos and audio content transcripts.
• Ensure your website can be navigated using the keyboard, not just a mouse.
• Ensure there is good enough color contrast between the text and background so that users with vision impairments can read it.
• Use clear and concise language for your website's content and provide easy-to-understand instructions.
• Avoid using flashing or blinking content that could trigger seizures in users with epilepsy.
• Use semantic HTML tags to structure your website's content and make it easier to navigate for screen readers.
• Provide captions or subtitles for audio or video content to make it more accessible for users with hearing impairments.

How Can You Make Your Website More Accessible With Strikingly?

Strikingly provides accessibility tools to help you make your website more accessible to all users. Some accessibility features include:

• The capability of captioning movies and adding alt text to photos.
• Templates with good color contrast for easy readability.
• Keyboard navigation that meets accessibility standards.
• It is accessible to users of diverse abilities thanks to responsive design, which adjusts to various devices and screen sizes.
  

Image taken from Strikingly

#7 Call to Action (CTA) Placement

A call to action (CTA) is a feature on a website that invites visitors to perform a certain activity, like buying something, completing a form, or signing up for a newsletter. CTAs are crucial for achieving website goals, guiding users toward the desired action. Call-to-action (CTA) buttons are a pivotal element of web design, as they encourage visitors to take specific actions that lead to achieving the website's goals.

Website Building Ideas For Placing CTAS Effectively

• Place the CTA buttons in prominent locations on the website, such as the header, sidebar, or above the fold.
• Usage of contrasting colors to make the CTA buttons stand out from the whole of the website.
• Use action-oriented language in the CTA buttons, such as "Buy Now" or "Learn More."
• Use different types of CTAs, such as text links, buttons, or pop-ups, to increase their visibility.

How Can You Create CTA On Strikingly?

Strikingly provides users with various CTA creation tools to help them place CTAs effectively on their websites. Users can choose from various CTA templates, customize their CTA buttons' colors, fonts, and sizes, and place them strategically on their websites. The platform also offers the option of adding pop-up CTAs to increase visibility and encourage visitor engagement. Overall it provides an easy and efficient way to create and place effective website CTAs.

#8 Loading Time Optimization

Optimizing loading times is a critical component of web design that must be considered. Increased bounce rates, decreased engagement, and lost revenue are all consequences of slow loading times, which can also harm the user experience.When a website takes too long to load, users tend to get frustrated and may leave the site altogether. It can significantly impact website success, including decreased traffic and lower conversion rates.

Website Building Ideas For Optimizing Loading Times

• Compressing images and other large files to reduce their size
• Minimizing the use of external scripts and plugins
• Enabling browser caching to store website data locally on a user's device
• Using a content delivery network (CDN) to distribute website content across multiple servers
• Using a reliable web hosting provider with fast server response times

How To Optimize Loading Times On Strikingly?

Strikingly offers several features to help optimize loading times for websites built on their platform:

• Automatic image compression to reduce file sizes without sacrificing image quality.
• Limited external scripts and plugins are used to avoid slowing down website loading times.
• Built-in browser caching and CDN integration to improve website performance.
• High-speed servers with fast response times to ensure speedy website loading.
  

#9 Content Organization

Content organization is as important as design when creating a successful website. A well-organized website will make it easier for users and contribute to a positive user experience. When it comes to designing a website, content is king. However, if your content is well-organized, it can be easier for users to navigate and find what they want, resulting in a positive user experience. Therefore, organizing your content clearly and logically is essential for a positive user experience.

Website Building Ideas For Organizing Content Effectively

• Creating a content hierarchy that prioritizes your most important information at the top and cascades down to the least important information.
• Make material easy to skim using headings, subheadings, and bullet points.
• Categorize similar content and create a clear menu structure that reflects these categories.
• Use descriptive and intuitive labels for your navigation menu items.
• Ensure your website search function is easy to find and works effectively.

How To Do Content Organization on Strikingly?

Strikingly provides various tools to help you organize your content. For instance, you can create a clear and intuitive menu structure using the drag-and-drop editor. The templates are designed to help you organize your content effectively, with features like pre-built sections for different types of content. Furthermore, the platform allows you to create custom pages with different layouts and content types.

Image taken from Strikingly

#10 Brand Consistency

Maintaining brand consistency throughout the website is crucial for establishing brand identity and creating a memorable user experience. Consistency in visual identity design, tone of voice, and messaging can help build trust and credibility with the audience. Consistency is key to creating a successful website, and maintaining brand consistency is no exception. You can establish trust with your audience and reinforce your brand's awareness by ensuring your website design and content are consistent with your brand's identity.

Website Building Ideas For Maintaining Brand Consistency

• Establish brand guidelines. Develop clear guidelines for your brand's visual identity, including color schemes, typography, and imagery. Use these guidelines to ensure that all elements on your website are consistent with your brand.
• Use a consistent voice and tone. Use consistent language and messaging throughout your website to reinforce your brand's voice and tone.
• Maintain consistency in design. Keep the design of your website consistent with your brand's visual identity, including layout, graphics, and imagery.
• Keep content on brand. Ensure that all content on your website, including text and images, is consistent with your brand's message and values.

How To Do Branding And Customization With Strikingly?

Strikingly offers a range of tools to help you maintain brand consistency on your website. It offers a range of customizable website templates, allowing you to choose a design that reflects your brand's visual identity. Also, you can find various branding tools, including the ability to add your logo to your website and customize your site's color scheme to match your brand. With Strikingly, you can use your custom domain name to reinforce your brand's identity.

Conclusion

Good web design is essential for creating a positive user experience and achieving website goals. The ten principles covered in this article are:

• User Experience
• Mobile Responsiveness
• Visual Hierarchy
• Consistency
• Minimalism
• Accessibility
• Call to Action (CTA) Placement
• Loading Time Optimization
• Content Organization
• Brand Consistency
  

Web designers can create effective and visually appealing websites that provide a great user experience by implementing these principles. Strikingly offers a variety of tools and templates that can be implemented easily these principles and create a professional-looking website. Whether you're looking for website building ideas or want to learn web design skills, Strikingly can help you create a website that stands out.

Why wait, now that you know that a good web design is crucial for creating a successful online presence and you can achieve that easily? Start building your website with an amazing web design today!