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Core Elements of Modern Website Design

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6 Expected Website Development Functionalities All Users Demand

When it comes to website development; product design and user experience are inseparable. A prime example of this is the 100% mobile first optimisation algorithm coupled with core elements. 

Regardless of evolution and changes to device preferences; the core elements of modern web design progress because of user demands and algorithm updates. User centered design meets algorithm demands.  

Website design is as much about pleasing the user as it is ticking the boxes for Google bots. Why is it important to keep the Google bots happy? In truth, the search engine pioneer dominates the market, with a 92.18% share as of July 2019

Throughout this blog, we’ll discuss 6 core elements of modern design and the benefits they give both & bots.  

Mobile-Friendly Layout

Are you reading this blog on a smartphone? Statistically, we can safely say there’s a 52% chance that you are. That’s because 52% of global internet traffic is from mobile devices.  

Due to the higher volume of searches performed on a mobile, Google has introduced their 100% mobile first algorithm. When designing websites we continuously flip between mobile, tablet & desktop devices on browser stack to emulate the most popular devices.  

Then, we pester our team of digital advertising professionals to login and view it on their phones. Why distract them from their work? Everyone has different phones, different models with different software versions depending on how much they care about their phone – a real world test at Search4Local HQ!  

mobile friendly design

Bold & Clean Typography

You may notice that a lot of high ranking websites take advantage of bold and clear typeface. Question is, with endless fonts and styles available, why choose what could be potentially boring? We have minimalism to thank for this.  

Users like clear websites, free of distractions. Potentially to counter the eyesore of what social media feeds have become? Text everywhere, comment feeds as long as a giraffe’s neck, no thank you. Clean and simple is what users and algorithms demand, helping to highlight critical info on smaller mobile screens. 

As a quick guide, clean typography consists of the following:  

  • Proportionately sized text, which tends to be larger than 16px
  • Grey or black typography in accordance with background images 
  • Standard web fonts 
  • An acceptable amount of space to ensure text is easy to read for all users 

Hamburger Menu

What did the website say at the restaurant? Show me your hamburger menu! A terrible pun yes, but a point that needs discussing. 

Most commonly found on the top right hand side of your phone screen, the hamburger menu is a touch sensitive option which has become the universally accepted way to open and close mobile menus.  

Hamburger menus appearance are usually two or three lines stacked on top of each other and spaced equally.  

Optimise Your Website To Be Fast!

Did you know that website pages which fail to load within five seconds experience a bounce rate of 38%? Also, a one hundred millisecond delay results in a 7% drop in conversions.  

The case could easily be made that site speed is the most important part of a site, especially with the majority of searches being made on smartphones. Website speed and web security is very important!

White Space

Another element of minimalist design, white space is very important for page design. Especially the homepage, which is where the majority of users land.   

A well balanced site which uses white space keeps the users attention, makes a site appear organised, clean and readable. Check out these great examples.

Cross Browser & Device Compatibility

All design elements that are coded into a site should be fully tested on most popular devices and software. What’s the best way to achieve this? Real world testing. Part of a sign off for a website should be browser stack testing to ensure your site behaves itself! 

Top Tips For a Successful Website Launch

When you’re happy with the appearance of your site, you’re audited and got the all clear from Screaming Frog, it’s time for launch, right? Well yes and no. Take our word for it, the below are absolutely crucial to check!  

Check Metadata

Metadata is meant to summarise a web page in full, pair your brand with keywords and give users (and bots) a quick page overview. There is certainly a knack to getting it right. Metadata writing styles vary depending on page, blog, contact, the overall goal of the content.  

Worse than getting it wrong is leaving the space empty. Make sure you check before launch that every page, blog or category (if using WooCommerce) has metadata, otherwise your SERPs can suffer!  

seo metadata icons

Further Details About Our Website Design Services

Your website can helps make a great first impression to potential new customers and clients. Thinking of giving your site a makeover? Give us a call today to bring your ideas to page one! 01392 409159 or email customerservices@search4local.com  

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