Web design – The image of a monitor displaying several layers representing the creation process of a webpage, such as programming, web design and the content ready for user access.

Digital Marketing

Find out what web design is and what the main elements of a website are

Web design involves all visual aspects and functionality of digital content. Find out how it influences the user experience.

Marcos Pereira

04/24/2020 | By Marcos Pereira

What will we see in this post

If you own a digital business or wish to become a Producer or Affiliate, you know that having a website is very important to attract visitors and boost your sales.

However, having a page on the internet just for the sake of having one isn’t enough. It needs to be well-designed and provide users with a good browsing experience.

It’s safe to say most people have experienced visiting a website but leaving the page because the layout wasn’t good, the information was confusing and poorly distributed, or it didn’t load correctly on your smartphone.

All of these problems hinder the experience of those who visit your website. And when this happens, the conversion rate and sales are bound to drop.

To prevent this from happening to you and your business, it’s very important to invest in good web design!

Keep reading this article to learn more about this concept, its advantages, and how to improve your website’s design.

What is Web Design?

Graphic design is an area of knowledge that takes care of the creation of graphical pieces, whether virtual or not, and the organization of visual elements to convey a message. This includes flyers, posters, billboards, books, magazines, signs, among others.

Elements related to branding, such as logos and visual identity are also the responsibility of a graphic designer.

And with the internet, this idea gave rise to the concept of web design. It encompasses the creation of pieces and visual elements focused on the web, such as:

  • Web pages or blogs
  • Online stores
  • Landing pages
  • Social media
  • Email
  • Software and digital tools
  • Applications, among others.

Web design has the purpose of using visual resources to offer a good user and browsing experience. This involves the choice of colors, the page or tool’s layout, the arrangement of visual elements, browsing ability and usability.

And as you might be imagining, in addition to aesthetic concepts, web design mixes language and programming techniques to structure digital websites and tools.

All this to ensure that the website, tool or app will work properly, and that users are satisfied with its use.

What does a Web Designer do?

Web designers are the professionals responsible for applying their web design knowledge to the creation of web pages and online tools.

But their work goes far beyond this. Web designers also have the job of adapting these pages and tools to the business’ personas.

The need to make sure that all visual elements are aligned to the brand’s audience. Every change or update to the layout or usability needs to be very well planned to improve user experience.

And to do this, in addition to layout and aesthetic knowledge, web designers need to know programming languages, such as HTML and CSS, in order to update the website or tool whenever necessary.

What are the main elements of Web Design?

So far, we’ve explained the concept of web design and the role of web designers in building a website.

But what are the key points of a good web design, which cannot be left out of a website?

1. Responsiveness

Did you know that, according to Statistica, mobile data traffic has increased steadily?

Therefore, it’s practically mandatory that your website be adapted to these devices. In other words, it needs to be responsive.

This includes having good loading speed with 3G connections and adequate display in all screen types and sizes.

2. Scannability

When we talk about web content, we need to consider users’ reading experience. This means that the texts in a website, blog, or tool cannot be tiresome.

One way of solving this is by working on the content’s scannability:

  • Avoid using large blocks of text
  • Write shorter sentences
  • Highlight important segments of the text to draw attention and guide the reader
  • Use bullet points when mentioning a large number of elements.

When well developed, these details help your audience understand the message you wish to convey and reading it will be less dull.

3. Typography

Typography refers to the study, creation and application of characters, fonts and words; or, to make it easier to understand, the type of font used in a text, website or tool.

It might sound silly, but typography is one of the most important elements of web design and directly affects user experience.

The fonts on your page need to be adapted to be readable on large and small screens shouldn’t be a strain on the reader’s eyes and need to be in harmony with the rest of the content.

4. Loading speed

Another point that is directly impacted by good web design is the website’s loading speed.

It’s important that your content loads quickly for two very simple reasons: (1) People are in a hurry and don’t want to wait too long to read the content; and (2) Faster websites perform better on mobile connections.

Therefore, lighter images and optimized coding can help the website load much faster.

Why do you need to invest in good Web Design?

As you can see, web design isn’t a superfluous luxury, but a critical element for any online tool.

If you still aren’t convinced of the importance of investing in professional web design, check out its benefits for your business:

It improves your brand’s authority and trust

For those who own a digital business, a website is the first contact of the audience with your brand. Therefore, it’s very important that this first impression be the best possible.

When your website looks amateurish, potential customers don’t have a good experience and don’t feel safe about closing a deal with you. They might even search for a competitor with a better website.

On the other hand, if you invest in good web design and make sure that the user’s experience is pleasant, you gain more market authority and gain consumer trust.

It helps your website’s SEO

When people are looking for a solution to a problem, they are facing or for a specific product, they usually go to search engines, such as Google. And according to statistics, these people usually click on the results on the first page.

This means that if your website isn’t on the first page of results, your business probably won’t be seen by the audience.

One way of avoiding this is by applying SEO techniques, which are a website’s optimizations so that it can be ranked well on search engines.

And all elements of good web design that we’ve listed here, such as responsiveness, scalability, and loading speed, are evaluated by Google bots, which prioritize user experience when ranking content.

It generates more revenue for your business

When your audience trusts your business more and your brand appears among the first Google results, your website will naturally get more hits.

With pleasant user experience, an attractive layout, and relevant content, the chances of these visitors purchasing your products and services increase. In other words, your revenue increases!

As you can see, web design is a critical element for any business or entrepreneur who wishes to stand out in the digital marketplace. Consumers are increasingly demanding and want to have a good experience when they access a website or online tool.

And now that you’ve learned about the role of web design in the growth of your business, how about learning how to create a website and about the best tools for building your page? 

Then click here and check out the steps to create your own website without the help of an expert!