Online users love simple website design. In a recent blog post, I wrote about the importance of good web design and the need to keep your website simple. Today, I thought we’d take a closer look at how can you use the “Keep it simple, sister” principle on your website.
Ready to keep readers engaged and interacting with you online? Great, let’s get started!
01.
Concise Navigation Bar
Effective navigation is so important to the ease of use of your website. Keep your top navigation options to just a few key pages so users know how to move around your website. Important links include:
- The About page – Readers will want to know who you are before they invest in you.
- The Contact page – Give them a way to interact with you off the website with accessible contact info.
- The Services page – If visitors love the vibe of your website, they’ll want to know what you offer and how to work with you.
I also love websites that offer a “Start Here” option in their nav bar. New users will automatically gravitate there and be thankful for a place that provides a clear introduction to who you are, what you do and the value they can get from your website.
02.
Nix the Sidebar
Yes, that’s right! Get rid of the sidebar.
Think about the type of content that you often find here.
It’s loaded with things to click on like service offerings, email list subscriptions, advertisements, and products for purchase. Or in other words, visual distractions. Readers are more likely to engage with your content without all the added diversions.
03.
Minimize your Call to Actions
Each page on your website should have no more than one to two targeted actions that you’d like your reader to take. For example:
- Your about page is a great place to ask readers to sign up for your email list.
- The goal of your contact page should be to get users to contact you or interact with you on social media.
- A portfolio page is a natural segue into a services or offerings page.
Anything more than one or two actions per page is confusing and readers won’t know where to go next. A well thought out and simple website design will guide the user through a sequence of clear actions. This helps to ultimately reach the end goal which in most cases is to generate leads for services or sell your products.
04.
Limit your typography to 2 or 3 choices at most
Limiting your website typography to 2 or 3 choices is a best practice when it comes to web design. Anything beyond 2 or 3 becomes cluttered and visually messy. Do you want to know the trick to maintaining a simple website design while still getting visual interest? Mix your font weights like bold or light with alternate styles such as italics or all caps styles. This will give you plenty of variation while still keeping a cohesive look to your copy.
Also, a simple rule of thumb when mixing font sizes is to go by multiples of 3. So if your paragraph text is 15 pt font your subheading could be 18 or 21 pt and your main headings a 24 or 30 pt size.
05.
Limit your colour palette to 1 or 2 bold options
Mixing too many strong colours will create visual competition on the page. Your website visitors won’t know where to focus there attention. Bold colours are typically used as a design tool to draw the readers eye and encourage them to take a particular action so use them sparingly and strategically.
Your bold colours should be paired with lighter and softer options that are easy on the eyes.
So there you have it! My top 5 recommendations for implementing the KISS principle for a simple website design. Which one will you be implementing on your own site? Let me know in the comments below!
Behind the blog
I’m Vanessa. The Founder & Creative Director of Vanessa Bucceri Creative.
We work with ambitious service professionals who are ready to uplevel their brand identity so they can flourish in their businesses. We show style-minded business owners just like you how to connect with your audience through artful branding & web design - all while truly listening to your vision and intuitively bringing it to life.
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