3 Website Design Takeaways

by Syrup | May 14, 2019

The 2+ month process of website design can be stretching, demanding, and energizing all at the same time.

Here are 3 of my key takeaways from a recent website design.

1. Poor planning results in poor design.

Before I even touched the computer, I met with our content and development teams to discuss the user flow of the site, meaning how the customer would interact with each page. One of the most important things discussed in this stage is navigation. With VoApps for example, it made sense to add who they serve as part of a side-nav section that the user would be drawn to immediately. (See screenshot). If this had not been planned out before, I may have only included this in a drop-down in the top nav, initially hidden to the user. Okay design, but not the best.

2. Good web design is unselfish.

When designing, it would be tempting to place content a certain way or add a feature just because I thought it looked good. Some of my ideas, however, would not have made sense for the audience. When designing for web, you should always look at your design through the user’s perspective—they come first. I challenge you to go to some of your favorite sites and ask yourself why you like them. More than likely your reasons will be rooted in the fact that the designer was thinking of YOU when he/she designed the site.   

3. Boring things don’t have to be boring.

Just because a 404 page can be an uninteresting page on a website, doesn’t mean it has to look like that. With VoApps, I enjoyed executing the brand in a fun way on this page in particular. Check it out here. Charts also generally have a boring connotation, but they don’t need to be ugly and complex. I got to see my animation ideas come to life with the design of VoApps “how it works” chart. Check that out here.

After the 2+ months it took, I was proud that we were able to present to VoApps a complete transformation of their site that they would be excited to share with their audience.

Need a transformation in your site but don’t know where to start? Contact us here.