Do you want your business to have a strong online presence? Maybe you want to make consistent sales online? If so, you had better have a highly functional and attractive website. 

But you don't know the first thing about web design. So, how can you possibly create a website that accomplishes the aforementioned goals? By utilizing the following tips. 

Without further ado, here are 10 website design ideas to consider for your business. 

1. Be Liberal With Calls to Action

A call to action is essentially a command for the reader to do something. For instance, a call to action might say something to the effect of "Contact us now to schedule an appointment!" or "Call us today for a free estimate!"

The point is to inspire action from the reader. It's integral to making contacts and converting sales. 

As a business owner, you should be using calls to action liberally on your website. Not only should you include a call to action at the top of each page but in the middle of each page and at the end of each page as well. 

Whenever you list a call to action on your website, you should also include a way to contact your business. This could be an email address, a phone number, or even a button that leads to your website's 'Contact' page. 

Tell your website visitors what you want from them, and then make it easy for them to accomplish that. With time, you'll notice a consistent uptick in sales. 

2. Make It Easy to Find the Navigation Menu

One of the top priorities you should have for your website is to make it easy to navigate. If it's easy to navigate, your website visitors will have no trouble finding what they're looking for. If it's difficult to navigate, they're bound to get frustrated and just go to someone else's website instead. 

So, how do you make it easy to navigate? The key is to make it easy for your visitors to find the primary navigation menu. This is the menu that includes the pages on your site (ex. 'Home', 'About', 'Services', etc.). 

Sometimes, in an effort to make the website fancy, web designers will display this menu in a discrete way. But that, of course, defeats the purpose of the primary navigation menu. It's supposed to be easy to find, as it allows users of the website to navigate it quickly and efficiently. 

We recommend placing the navigation menu at the top or side of the page. Make sure that its font possesses a decent size and ensure that it stands out from the rest of the design elements. It should be the first thing that the viewer's eyes are drawn to upon entering the website. 

3. Be Conservative With Colors

We recommended being liberal with calls to action. However, we recommend the opposite with colors. You should be conservative with colors, as too many colors can create an overwhelming feeling for the website user and distract them from what they're actually looking for. 

We advise sticking to a 2 or 3-color scheme. One of these colors should comprise the base of the website. The next color should be used for fonts. The last color (if you use it), should be used for accentuation. 

Ideally, you'll just use the same colors that you use for all of your business' branding. So, for instance, if your logo is red and blue, your website will also be red and blue. 

You shouldn't deviate too far from your brand colors, as it could confuse the viewers of your website. Plus, it hurts brand consistency, which could make it more difficult for people to associate your brand with your business in the long run. 

4. Use a High-quality Logo

Your website could look impeccable in every other way. But if the logo that you use on it looks bad, it's going to look bad as a whole as well. Therefore, it's imperative that you use a high-quality logo when designing your website. 

You don't want it to be pixeled or grainy. You don't want it to look stretched or distorted. You want it to look clear, clean, and professionally done. 

This is why it's generally a good idea for businesses to have their logos made by professional graphic designers. This way, they're sure to get something that looks great on their website and other marketing materials. 

Sure, you can save money by designing your logo on your own. However, it might not look professional, and that could lose you money in the long run. 

5. Use Plenty of Images

A website without images is little more than an essay. It looks bland and boring and will struggle to keep visitors interested. Plus, without image cues, visitors could have trouble locating needed information in an efficient manner. 

This is why it's imperative to use plenty of images on your website. Images instantly enhance the look of a website, all the while making it easier to navigate. 

Of course, you have to use images that are relevant to the website's subject matter. For instance, if you run a plumbing company and you're using an image to represent plumbing repair services, you shouldn't use an image of a sunset. You should use something like an image of a plumber fixing a pipe. 

The visitor will see this image and know exactly what it represents without even having to think about it. As such, they'll quickly know where to find information about plumbing repair. 

Now, this isn't to say that you should saturate your website with images. 3 to 5 per page is a good balance. However, there need to be images in order to keep people interested. 

6. Make Sure It's Mobile Friendly

You also need to make sure that your website is mobile friendly. In other words, it needs to be designed such that, regardless of the type of device it's being viewed on, it's easy to see and navigate through. 

See, the design of your website shouldn't be the same for both phones and computers, or tablets for that matter. There should be a different layout for each type of device, as using only a single layout will make it difficult to use on one or more devices. 

Now, how do you go about implementing several different designs? You can do it either through code or with the help of a website builder. Regardless of the way you go about it, you need to be mindful of how your design decisions will impact the user. 

Make sure that everything is easy to read. Also be sure that buttons and links are easy to click on the given device. If you need assistance, utilize the help of a web design agency, like Alaska Web Design & SEO, for instance. 

7. Utilize White Space

Another important component of website design is using white space. In truth, this is important in any endeavor that involves design. The space that you don't use is just as important as the space that you do use. 

If you fill up all of the space on your website, it's going to look cluttered and busy and will likely overwhelm the viewer. This could cause them to get frustrated and leave your website entirely. That's the last thing you want. 

Therefore, you have to leave a good amount of space between each section and design element. Leave a good inch on a computer screen and approximately 1/2 an inch on a phone screen. 

And note that white space doesn't actually mean the color white (though it could). It simply indicates the background color of your website. So, if your website has a blue background, it will be blue space instead. 

8. Be Specific With Service Pages

If you're creating a business website, it should possess 'Service' pages. These are pages that discuss the services that your business provides. So, if you're a plumber, for instance, your 'Service' pages should be things like 'Pipe Repair, 'Drain Cleaning', and 'Sump Pump Installation'. 

But, in truth, you should get even more specific than that. Instead of simply having a page for pipe repair, for example, you should also have a page called 'Emergency Pipe Repair'. Instead of just having a page for drain cleaning, you should also have a page called 'Emergency Drain Cleaning'. 

Being specific in this manner not only helps to inform the reader but also helps with SEO (Search Engine Optimization). In other words, it helps your website to rank for more keywords on search engines like Google. 

9. Include Your Contact Info Everywhere

Just as you should have calls to action all over your website, you should also have your contact info all over your website. This way, it will be easy for visitors to get in touch if need be. The easier it is for them to get in touch with you, the likelier it is that they'll do business with you. 

Not only should you include your contact info in the header of your website but in the footer as well. You should also include it sporadically throughout each page, both within the content and in design blocks on their own. 

What should you include for your contact info? Your phone number, your address, and your email address. You could also include social media account handles if applicable. 

10. Keep Load Speed in Mind

When a person visits a website in this day and age, they expect it to load quickly, usually within 3 seconds or so. If it doesn't, they get antsy and might even move on to a different website. As such, it's imperative that, when designing your website, you keep load speed in mind. 

Now, how do you keep load speed to a minimum? There are a number of methods to employ. 

One is to use small images in terms of file size. The bigger the file size of a photo, the longer it will take to open and the slower your website will load in general. In general, it's best to keep the image file size below 500 KB, with most images falling between 200 and 300 KB. 

In addition, you should ensure that your website is caching data. This takes the strain off of the server and allows the page to open quicker. 

You'll also want to make sure that you're using good hosting. Hosting alone can hugely negatively impact a website's load speed. So, be sure to choose a hosting provider that's reputable. 

Run your website on WordPress or some similar content management system? If so, you should keep the use of plugins to a minimum. 

Finally, minify the website's code. Make it as simple as possible so that it can be ready as quickly as possible. You can do this on WordPress with a plugin. If your website is coded manually, you'll need to go through the code yourself and slowly break it down to simpler components. 

Now, there are other things you can do to reduce page load speed. However, they're generally reserved for bigger websites. For instance, if your website has a long and extensive blog, you should consider using a content delivery network (CDN). 

These Website Design Ideas Can Make a World of Difference

An aesthetically pleasing and easy-to-navigate website is imperative to doing good business in the modern age. Put these website design ideas into action and soon enough, you'll be rolling in the dough. 

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