EBizInsider

“Perfection is not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
The above statement is especially relevant in relation to web design and its best practices. Too often websites are built for design’s sake only. Websites loaded with flair and dazzling details can draw more attention to themselves than to the site’s message and purpose.

When More is Less
Remember—we are not hanging websites on our walls, we are delivering content. When approaching the design phase of your website, it’s easy to get lost in the details and forget about the end user. The sad reality is that most users are not interested in the “art” of your website. What they do care about is getting relevant information quickly and then moving on. Decorative designs might attract amateurs or first time buyers but they will only annoy regular online shoppers. Great web design delivers and communicates information by making it obvious. Ironically, a great web design that successfully communicates without distracting the readers or shoppers attention is too often overlooked and considered plain, boring, or unimaginative.

This is not to discourage creative and visual web design but instead to encourage the benefits of context. The key is the knowledge of what distinguishes the differences between all forms of design verses art. That difference is communicating its purpose. By all means, strive to have an original website which delivers style, intrigue and emotion. Bad design is not original and it plagues the web. Look around and you are bound to find far more badly designed sites and content presentation than you are clear and presentable websites.

What Works?
Do some homework and investigate successful e-commerce websites or websites you already like. The best way to determine what works for them and what might work for you is to adopt the role of a shopper. Was it the flash animation and spinning logo with the dropped shadow text that kept you there? Was it the chaotic color choices and unreadable small type that made you want to shop? Maybe it was waiting for the images to load and the 3D menu. Or was it the ability to navigate to the product you were interested in and having that product be available at a price that was reasonable all the while being visually pleasing?

Nine out of ten times everything in the right context - design, functionality and content- is what kept you as a returning customer.

Know Your Design Goals
Assuming you already have a business plan in place, create a list of objectives and goals and pass those details on to your designer. The more information you can provide about your vision the better. Allow the designer to create a visual representation of your purpose for you. It goes without saying that learning to trust your design team has to be earned, even if only on the merits of their previous work. Trust does have to happen in order for “everything in the right place” to work successfully.

When planning for your web design or communicating your visions to the design team, focus on the information first. Too many times keywords like “pretty,” “cool,” “stylish” and “super-duper” over step the website’s purpose. For e-commerce, the concentration should be on how your products are displayed and organized.

How easy will it be for the average user to navigate, check out and get to the shopping cart? Believe it or not, this is as relevant to web design as it is to web programming.

Key Areas of Concentration:
1. K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) - Do not rely on a design that makes your user think. Choose a design that is clear. If the user can not find the direction and order they need, they will soon grow exasperated and give up.

2. Use a Strong Color Scheme - Two or three colors relating to your brand and “feel” should be sufficient. Too much color can distract instead of deliver. The repetitiveness and creative use of color placement within the design can be a visual guide for the user. It can also create a familiar and comfortable atmosphere, all while highlighting your brand.

3. Use Decorative Fonts Sparsely - There are many benefits of using real text over decorative image fonts for areas of your website. Search engine optimization, typography control (ability to change text, color, and size), offering the ability to copy and paste text, bandwidth usage, and so on. If you are going to reply on decorative fonts within your design keep them to minimal usage. For instance, decorative fonts work well for headlines and logos, but it is best not to use an image-based menu system. All menus should be dynamic and editable. Briefly, web design and print design are two different monsters; your design should allow interaction and administrative modification. There are plenty of creative ideas to get html typography to present itself in an original way. Although the choices seem slim, readable fonts are the default for the web for a reason. Using them does not stifle originality; it enforces usability and encourages creativity for any professional design team.

Remember Your Customers
Do not underestimate a creative logo, header and color scheme with original content presentation. By keeping web design decoration and flair to a minimum and focusing on the overall purpose of the website you are allowing the customer to focus on the product. Great web design should almost be transparent, or at least fluent enough to deliver that product and/or a company’s brand by enhancing it but not over taking it. Delivering a clear and coherent whole effect with a relevant and appropriate web design is a key element to a website’s success.

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