Here is a website design guide that will dispel many of your doubts about elements like template design, approaches, navigation, structure, user interactions, colors, layout, etc. If you want your website to convert leads into customers, it must also be easily found on Google.

Web design is the process of building visually engaging and user-friendly websites. To make an appealing online presence, it entails coordinating design, color, font, and graphic elements. For instance, a site designer might employ readable fonts, arrange content logically, and select complementary colors. Additionally, they guarantee that websites display properly across a variety of screens, including PCs, tablets, and smartphones.

To produce engaging online experiences, web design integrates optimization, functionality, and aesthetics.

Web designing is invested in polishing and effectuating a website’s visual aesthetics and appeal while keeping in mind the importance of its usability.

Color schemes, layouts, and specifics, how the user interface or UI and user experience or UX are designed, are factors that web designers work with.

A web designer usually works with the following areas and tools of expertise.

1. Graphic design
2. UI/UX design
3. Logo design
4. Adobe Creative Suite and other design software
5. Branding
6. Call-to-action/CTA buttons
7. Storyboards and mock-ups
8. Layout and menu placement

Although most web designers are familiar with CSS, JavaScript, and HTML, they are not primarily involved in the coding part of website development.

They need to be equipped with basic knowledge of coding because web designers can help fine-tune the user interface and experience of the website. Web designers could avoid coding by using website-creating service platforms like WordPress, Dorik, and Joomla!

What is Web Development

The coding area of website development is intricate. It determines the feasibility and success of the site. Front-end and back-end web development are both detrimental.

Web design is an integral part of the virtual space. The first impression of a website can transform the impact it has on a crowd. Before finalizing a web design that seals the deal, web designers and developers have to consider many factors.

The front-end development is responsible for how a website will appear according to the mockups developed by the designers with appropriate coding. Front-end developers thus work closely with web designers.

The back-end or service side of the web development aspect manages and coordinates all the data within the database and offers it at appropriate intervals to the front end.

Here are a few important coding tools and areas for web developers:

1. CSS/HTML/JavaScript
2. Frameworks like ReactJS, Ember, AngularJS, etc.
3. Git and GitHub
4. Libraries
5. Template design
6. SEO (on-site)
7. CSS preprocessors like Sass or LESS

Front-end web developers collaborate with web designers to create the visual storyboard for the website. Their interaction will affect the effectiveness of the website. The designer’s conceptualizations are manifested with the help of the front-end developer. They both need to know the UI/UX technology practices.

Back-end developers are the brain behind data management. Writing APIs and data routing between both ends are part of the same.

The following Programming languages are important for back-end development:

1. Database management systems, like MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, etc.
2. Server-side programming languages like Python, Java, C & C++, PHP, etc.
3. Server-side web developing frameworks like .NET, Symfony, etc.
4. Authentication and security (Eg; PassportJs)
5. RESTful APIs
6. Servers like Apache, Linux, etc.

Usually, full-stack developers who are professionals in front and back-end development are usually preferred over separate ones.

Components of a Good Website Design

Functional Components

• 1) Speed

Fast-loading, dynamic websites surely score higher than slow ones. Optimizing your site’s speed for the best results is important for its ROI.

Fast pages result in better visitor engagement and boost sales on e-commerce websites. High conversion rates are intricately bound to the speed and efficiency of the website.

• 2) Navigation

The Information Architecture (IA) of your website is used to define its menus and navigation. Easy navigation is as detrimental as the speed of a website.

Simple and convenient navigation and consistency across all pages are necessary. You need to pick navigation patterns that favor your audiences’ requirements.

Your navigation options need to be permanently visible, so visitors don’t have difficulty finding them.

• 3) User Interaction

The User Interface (UI) is fundamental to designing a website. For a successful online experience, everything from where you place your buttons to seamless site flow is equally important.

Comfortable interfaces will ensure that your visitors feel comfortable interacting with your website. Interactive features serve to revolutionize the user experience altogether.

Chatbots are examples of improvising user interaction for the better.

• 4) Site Structure

The user flow of websites or their structure needs to be in tune with the product/service they intend to represent. Predictable website structures are obviously recommended over unconventional patterns.

Layout grids and low-fidelity wireframes can help with simplifying site structures. Size, position, the chronology of items and their progression, combinations, hyperlinks, etc., must be considered.

• 5) Dropdown Menu

The dropdown menu of a website is one of the first things visitors tend to click on.

Quick scrolling, sub-links, and a comprehensive list of everything your website contains are the specifics that need to define dropdown menus of successful websites.

It leads to a lot of time-saving for visitors to the site. A perfect dropdown menu can clear up clustered, busy layouts. It is advised to keep it short, with smaller keywords that can take visitors to other site pages.

• 6) Sticky Menu

A quicker alternative to the dropdown menu is a sticky menu. All menus are detrimental in determining the proficiency of the navigation of a site.

Read Also: Top 10 Web Resources for Web Developers

Unlike dropdown menus, sticky menus are fixed options that do not disappear as a user navigates down a page.

Sticky menus tend to be 22% quicker and more convenient to navigate. This means it can cut down around 36 seconds off of a website visit that lasts five minutes.

Customers also tend to prefer sticky menus over dropdown ones.

• 7) Sidebar Menu

A sidebar is usually a static menu to the right or left of your webpage. You can design your sidebar menu as the primary source for all supplementary information on the website.

It could involve navigational links to important pages, advertisements, other services, email subscription forms, social media links, CTA buttons, etc.

A perfect example is Wikipedia’s sidebar which acts as a navigation menu.

Visual Components

• 1) Website Header & Footer

A visually attractive header with the brand’s logo is the hallmark of an effective website. Your website’s name, tagline, brand motto, etc., could form the content of your header.

Similarly, the footer of your website will ideally hold copyright notices, fine print, quick access links, contact information, etc. The more official aspects of contact information are usually part of the footer.

• 2) Background

The background to the body of your website has to be an attractive choice. Not only the background image of your choice but all images you accept as part of the site can influence your site’s appeal.

Your site’s background will set your brand’s tone and message.

• 3) Website Content

Sure enough, the content of your website is undoubtedly significant. The kind of content you display on your website depends on the site’s purpose, target audiences, and demographics.

For e-commerce websites, visuals and infographics are to be prioritized over lengthy sentences and descriptions. The latter would suit blogs.

• 4) Colors

The color scheme of your website needs to be carefully chosen according to your brand’s appeal. Dull pastels may be preferable for certain kinds of products/services, while others may be benefitted from a bright, attractive palette of colors.

It is recommended to take a look at competitor websites to know about the kind of color tones they choose.

• 5) Fonts

The font format you choose for your website needs to be standard without cursive complications. Legible fonts are essential for the efficiency of your website.

Use straightforward fonts of appropriate size.

• 6) Spacing

Like the content-filled part of a website, its white spaces are also important. Appropriate spacing will elevate the relevance of the content and media displayed on the site.

The best webpage design ideas would have proper spacing too.

• 7) Layout

The elements that should be part of your website must be divided according to size, position, and priority. It is recommended to use a layout grid that you could use to customize pages.

A grid can help combine different parts of the page into a cohesive whole.

• 8) Shape

The shapes you incorporate into your website are as important as your layout and color scheme. The shapes of your buttons and links are equally significant.

For instance, buttons of square shapes with a shadow are most commonly used by successful websites.

• 9) Videos

It is no surprise that visuals score over written matter. In addition to appropriate images, if you could include videos that can expand the motto and vision of your website, it could keep your visitors invested for longer.

• 10) Animations or GIF

Websites that accommodate classy animations or GIFs that are not overdone but consistent and subtle can have a longer impact on visitors. Including animations is not enough.

You must ensure that animations don’t slow down your site’s overall performance.

• Icons & Images

The icons and images of your choice can also lead to hallmarking your brand. With extensive design and proper promotion, your brand’s icons, logo, images, etc., could lead to representing your business.

Therefore, make sure that you use appropriate icons and images that suit the tone of your website and purpose.

Web Design Tools to Choose

Perhaps the most important and difficult task in web design is choosing the right tools. The tools you choose for your site will influence its tone, durability, and UX. Web design tools may be software like Figma and Adobe XD or website builders like Shopify, Wix, Dorik, etc.

Figma

With Figma, you can design website elements online and offline. You can make changes offline and Figma will automatically sync them and would be auto-updated when you go online.

OS like Linux, Windows, Mac, etc., support Figma. The software is free for three files and three pages under one project and is a great place to familiarize yourself with the basics of designing websites.

Some of Figma’s features include the following.

1. Vector networks: Pen and pencil tools help you draw designs as you please.
2. Arc designs: You can design watch screens, pie charts, and similar infographics on Figma.
3. Auto layout: Figma lets you work with dynamic and responsive layouts that are flexible to your needs.
4. Export: Figma’s designs may be exported in different formats.
5. Shareable prototypes: You can share the link to the prototype design of your choice on Figma.

Adobe XD

Adobe XD is a website design software with many layout options, prototypes, and craft interactions. Adobe’s artboard presets and UI kits are effective options. You could also do your website designs on Photoshop and/or Sketch and import them to Adobe XD.

This software boasts fast performance and many options for built-in collaboration tools. One of XD’s interactive prototypes sets it apart from other software for designing a website.

By collaborating with Photoshop and Illustrator, you can use XD’s extensively curated Creative Cloud.

Some of XD’s features are as follows.

1. Compatible layouts: With XD, you can create web pages compatible with all kinds of screens. Content-centered layouts automatically adjust according to your changing designs and priorities.
2. Lottie and Video playback: XD offers users the option to import and render animations. Playable videos may be conveniently incorporated into your website.
3. Animation: The software permits users to include animations, motion effects, smooth transitions, and animated interactions in prototypes. Auto-Animate is central to differentiating between artboards.

Sketch

Playable prototypes, a comprehensive UI design toolkit, and an app icon creator are some of Sketch’s central features. It offers you the provision to work over the same document at the same time within the Mac app.

You can try Sketch’s prototypes on different devices and share their links so that you may test them out over any browser. It does not require any plugins.

Sketch has the following web design features.

1. Reusable components: Sketch’s Symbols allow you to reuse components as you please and convert artboards into templates. Smart Layout will enable you to resize and fit different types of content.
2. Variety of styles: Sketch lets you define color variables, layers, texts, etc. Color Tokens help you export and integrate Color Variables.
3. Vector editing: Intuitive vector editing provision sets Sketch apart from its competitors. Editable boolean operations revolutionize the web design process.

Lunacy

Lunacy, a free web design software is perfect for Windows machines. Lunacy’s vector-based graphic design provision is one of its added advantages. Built-in resources for design like vector illustrations, icons, etc. are super effective.

Lunacy is AI-based and lightweight. You can share files on the cloud and work offline with this software. It is compatible with over 16 languages as well.

Take a look at some of its other features below.

1. No ads: Lunacy does not suffocate you with advertisements despite being free.
2. Community-supported: Lunacy is a community-supported forum.
3. Guidance: Lunacy provides tutorials about its features and other documentation specifics as well.

Website Builder for Web Designers

Dorik

From simple landing pages to full-fledged business websites, Dorik is a perfect platform for web design without complications. It has more than 250 Free UI components and 60+ Free template options, Free illustrations, and creating a single-page website is easier than ever before with Dorik.

Websites hosted by Dorik come with SSL certification, which is issued by Let’s Encrypt. Exporting static files from CSS, HTML, and JS websites are also made accessible. Contact and subscription forms can be efficiently designed with Dorik.

Some more of Dorik’s features that make it worth the hype is as follows:

• Drag & Drop Builder: You can customize every single element of a template with your preferred UI components inside the Dorik builder. It is fully flexible and the process is as easy as it can get. You can drag and drop different sections to change their position and sequence too.

• Built-in Blogging Platform: Bloggers will love the Dorik CMS platform for blogging. It adds great value to the writer’s content writing experience. You can use custom blog templates to build your website. If you do that, then adding images, links, quotes, lists, tables, etc. as well as doing some basic SEO settings can be done from this platform very conveniently.
• Dedicated CMS Dashboard: This is a feature that people who work with content will love and appreciate. A website filled with content is not easy to manage but with the Dorik CMS dashboard, you can keep them organized in a way that it will never fall into chaos.

• Membership Feature: You can add a subscription option to your website to convert a visitor into a regular member of your community. With the membership feature turned on, you can create customized content focusing on the casual visitors and the subscribed members separately.
• Database & Collection: Dorik CMS dashboard offers the option to create a custom collection of content that you can easily exhibit anywhere on your website. This way you can create little bundles for the same types or categories of content.
• Team Collaboration: You can create a team and assign a different role to each member for a website built with Dorik. You can assign roles like Author, Editor, Developer, and Administrator right from the CMS dashboard. They can help you with design inputs, feedback, editing and publishing posts, controlling members, etc.
• White-label Solution: White-label feature will be highly appreciated by agencies, especially web design agencies. You won’t have to compromise your branding in order to build a website for your client using Dorik. The white-label platform gives you unrestricted freedom to build websites for your clients.
• Embed Content: Besides publishing content directly on your website, you can also embed content from different sources like YouTube, Vimeo, Github, Codepen, etc.