There are numerous reasons why you may be stuck on a project. Perhaps your most recent client is extremely vague about what they want, and you're at a loss for where to begin. Maybe you are burned out and uninspired due to working nonstop for an extended time. Perhaps you've been designing websites for the same type of clients for a long time and haven't had a chance to stretch your creative muscles.
Feeling stuck, for whatever reason, is quite common when your job requires you to be creative. However, as long as you have a process in place to help you generate new website design ideas, you will be able to chip away at the roadblocks that stand in your way. In this article, we'll look at 10 things you can do to boost your creativity, as well as some resources you can bookmark for the next time you need them.
Advice on Web Design
To assist you in coming up with good website design ideas, we begin with website design ideas you can use right away to improve what you're working on.
1. Create a Step-by-step Procedure
Working without a process can be detrimental to a web designer's flow, especially when you're in the weeds, feeling overwhelmed, and struggling to come up with something new. Rather than forcing your brain to work in overdrive all of the time, devise a step-by-step procedure for clearing out this unnecessary clutter. Better yet, create your plan and save it as a template in your task management software so that you can reuse it for all of your jobs.
2. Refresh Your Knowledge of Web Design Principles
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
When trying to come up with new creative website design ideas, it's easy to get caught up in their novelty. But no one ever said that a website must be completely new to be good. In fact, there is a web design principle that addresses this issue. According to Jakob's Law, "Users spend the majority of their time on other sites." This means that users prefer your site to function in the same way as all the other sites they are already familiar with." If you find yourself obsessing over the newness or experimental nature of a website you're working on, it's time to step back and review the fundamentals of good UX. By going back to the basics, you'll be able to refocus your attention on what's important, and then you can add creative touches later if they make sense.
3. Investigate the Most Recent Design Trends
If, on the other hand, you're struggling to take the next step after laying a solid foundation for your website, then spend some time researching recent design trends. The web's face constantly changes, making it challenging to keep up with the latest trends. If you start exploring them, you never know what will happen.
4. Transition from Desktop to Mobile
If you're feeling creatively constrained by how much (or little) space you have to work with, there's something else you can try. Switch to a tablet or smartphone if you usually start designing from the desktop view. If you're used to starting with one of the smaller screens, scale up to the desktop. Changing the size of your canvas could be all you need to create the perfect vision for your website. This is also useful if you're having trouble deciding how to format the text on the page. It's often difficult to tell how long a header or paragraph is on the desktop. However, when you scale it down to the size of a smartphone screen, you'll notice that there's still more that can be done to improve the readability and flow of a page.
5. Try Experimenting with Extremes
You might be stuck on a website because you haven't found the right style for it. Rather than trying to tweak the exact website design idea you or your client started with, try going to the extreme and seeing if that jogs something to lose. Although the opposite style may not be the exact solution required, it may inspire you to repurpose something that works and apply it to what you have so far.
To begin, consider the following website design ideas:
- Single-page vs. multi-page website
- Photos vs. illustrations
- Retro vs. modern typography
- Text-only vs. image-heavy design
- Monochromatic vs. analogous color palette
If you're working on a website redesign and aren't sure what kind of alternative design to try next, this could be a really helpful troubleshooting tactic.
6. Create a Website in a Distinctive Niche
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
There are numerous advantages to specializing as a web designer. For starters, building websites for a specific group of people makes it much easier to establish yourself as a great designer. It can also make your job easier because you won't have to stay up to date on best practices and trends for every type of website you might be asked to build. However, because you work on the same types of sites regularly, it's natural to be concerned about running out of creative website design ideas for them. If you're stuck in this situation, one way to get unstuck is to take on a project outside of your niche.
7. Enroll in a Course or Read a Tutorial
It's always stressful to get stuck on something because it's too difficult to build out or you're unsure how to do it. But, rather than repeating the same painful or ineffective method, press the "Pause" button and see if someone else has a better solution. On the web, you'll find solutions to a wide range of design issues and roadblocks, including some you might not have expected to encounter. You can certainly use Google to find out what's available. StackOverflow and even Reddit may be of assistance. More in-depth resources, such as courses and tutorials, will be more beneficial.
8. Concentrate on One Minor Aspect
Do you know what Hick's Law is? This is yet another website design principle that can assist you. It claims that "the scale and variety of options increase the time it takes to make a decision." While this is certainly applicable to how you present options on a website, it is also relevant to what you are currently dealing with. It can be difficult to conceptualize new website design ideas when too many things should be considered at once. Creating a web design process will aid in this endeavor. You can, however, narrow your focus even further.
For example, rather than filling in the information on the Contact page all at once, begin by focusing on the most important component of the page: the contact form. It's much easier to get started when you limit your focus to just the contact form. As you work out the specifics of its design — typography and color schemes, spacing, labels and placeholders, button design, and so on — you'll find it easy to shift your focus to the rest of the page when you're finished.
Website Design Examples
A good example is the best teacher. We’re going to show you some of the best website design examples we've found and explain why they work so you can use the same website design ideas on your own site.
∙ Dribbble
Image is taken from Dribbble
On Dribbble, you'll find a wide range of creative work examples. Simply do not confine yourself to the "Web Design" bracket. Examine the other works on the site to see what kind of unique designs you can find.
∙ Behance
Image is taken from Behance
Behance is another site where you can look at work in fields such as photography, architecture, and fashion.
Furthermore, you'll find video, audio, and animation here, so you're not limited to static imagery.
∙ Awwwards
Image is taken from Awwwards
If you'd rather get your inspiration from real websites, Awwwards.com is an excellent place to look. Go to the menu to find a variety of collections of award-winning sites, pages, and components to help you get started.
∙ Really Good Emails
Image is taken from Really Good emails
Although Really Good Emails only features the best of the best in email marketing design, these layouts aren't all that dissimilar to what you'd create for a website. And, because they're designed for a smaller space, you might get some website design ideas for how to make your designs more concise.
∙ Habit House
Image is taken from Habit House
When is the best time to start living a healthy lifestyle? The simple answer is right now. Habit House is a fitness website that provides personalized coaching to assist people in becoming more accountable for their routines. We can say that this is one of the best-designed websites created with Strikingly by using full-width images of how it works to be a member of the Habit House fitness community. Exercising should be comfortable and simple with Habit House.
∙ Founder Mastermind
Image is taken from Founder Mastermind
Do you know why they chose a mustard-colored background? We, for one, have no idea. Strikingly was used to create the website Founder Mastermind.
A straightforward design that provides an exclusive invitation-only type of site membership. Most website design inspiration tells us to sign up or subscribe for a newsletter, but Founder Mastermind only allows access to those who have requested an invitation. Certainly an excellent strategy for building a community of business founders. Interactive and unique website design ideas are essential for engaging your site visitors.
Create a Website with Strikingly
Our website-building platform provides you with everything you need to create a professional website that can compete with the overwhelming competition of web designs.
You can start from scratch and apply what you've learned here, or you can use our predesigned templates. You can quickly move items around on your website using our drag-and-drop feature in our website editor. You have the option of uploading files from your computer or browsing for the document you want to link.
To put it another way, you don't need any website design encounter; simply click and update your site. In the end, you'll be able to publish it in minutes. Consider managing and promoting your company's website using our mobile app and responding to customer inquiries via chat. Of course, we have many beautifully designed websites created by our users. Right now, you can visit our landing page, and our knowledgeable staff will greet you.
Overcome Designer's Block with Great Website Design Ideas
When you work as a web designer for a living, it's natural to get stuck from time to time. But instead of keeping your head down and forcing ideas to come to you, try something different. With the brainstorming tips listed above, you're sure to develop some new and creative website design ideas for your website.
