Set an objective

When we refer to setting an objective, we refer to the purpose for which you are going to achieve it. Regardless of your company's industry, recognizing the types of sites and how they would apply to your business is an indispensable step in ensuring that users are looking to browse your website. 

Depending on the focus you want to give to your website, is how you should design it. All this with the purpose of getting the most out of it, making your business reachable for more people and expanding it, giving you the opportunity to grow and prosper.

These are the types of sites:

E-commerce: The purpose of these websites is mainly to sell the products or services that your brand offers, emphasizing prices and promotions, as well as quality and reviews about them. 

Lead generator: This type of website is oriented to, as its name says, generate and induce potential customers, emphasizing mainly on the ways to contact them and why they should contact them, using catchy and promising slogans for the customer.

Support: This type of web sites are mainly oriented to the customer who buys a product or service. They usually share information regarding troubleshooting, frequently asked questions and doubts that may arise about the handling of anything they have purchased.

Informative: These are usually created to help or interest the customer. Its main focus is to provide the client or prospect with information related to the area or subject that interests them. These can be categorized as blogging, where information, tips and news about the business or about the industry are shared.

Research trends and references

A crucial part of a web design is the style you choose to give it. Trends and styles evolve rapidly, so it is relevant to take this into account so that your site looks appropriate to the current trends. 

It should be noted that trends tend to be seasonal, that is, what this year may seem relevant and innovative, the next may seem obsolete and irrelevant, so the balance between what is trending and elements that are always present, can work optimally, such as:

• light/dark mode
• calls to action
• responsive design
• Videos
• Chatbots (these are now indispensable)

Likewise, it is noteworthy to see what your competitors are doing, so you can get an idea (not copy) of what you can do or what structure to follow to get an idea of how your website could look. We suggest looking for ideas and trends concerning your target audience and your ideal audience so that your site will be the most appropriate to your market niche.

Choose a web design service.

When it comes to hiring a service, it is often complicated to decide, since there are many options and there are several factors that determine how you choose your service. To ensure that your decision is optimal and that it will make your service to be promoted properly, you should consider the following points:

Website in a Budget

Are you a small company or just starting? The best thing to do in these cases is to get your money's worth. Having a budget of how much you can (or want to) spend is important to start with a first filter. Everyone likes a good job for the lowest cost, that's why it's important to set a budget. Within your budget, you should consider costs such as:

• Design implementation
• Domain renewal
• Hosting

Based on this, you should consider looking for agencies that fit the type of business you have. Some agencies specialize in websites for small businesses, which usually offer packages that adapt to different budgets, or you can always negotiate to get customized service.

Website design Pricing

It is clear that we all like a good job for the lowest cost, but that does not mean that we should always risk the quality. As mentioned before, many web development agencies usually offer pre-determined packages, based on what they know works. Prices vary depending on each agency and what they offer. 

How much your business pays to create your website will depend on:

• Size
• Features
• Complexity

Prices vary depending on each agency and what market they are best suited for. Agencies that work for large companies are not recommended for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Design References

The vast majority do initial research on a given product or service to find out what their work and reviews are like. While a positive review or a good score in the search listings is a good sign, it is also important to review the previous work of the agency you are about to hire, this way, you will know if you like their work or if you see that they are flexible in terms of design. 

The same applies to your own business, so if you want to know more about this, you can read about online reputation and how to improve it here.

Flexible web solutions

Web design and development takes time and effort. However, some agencies are very flexible and can adapt to the deadlines you may have set or the design idea you have in mind.

Usually, web design agencies will consider your comments and observations about what you would like your website to look like, however, agencies know what works specifically, so you will always have to compromise a little and be open-minded to changes. Opting for a middle ground between your idea and what works is ideal.

Think a domain name

Choosing the domain name for your website is one of the most important tasks when designing your website. It must comply with two characteristics: it must match the name of your brand or company, and it must be easy for users to remember. Remember that just like your business name, your domain name must make an impact and attract attention. 

Likewise, the domain name you choose is relevant for the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of your website, so it is crucial to consider this when making your choice to ensure website traffic.

Putting a simple keyword, for example "Website", may be very successful, but it does not put a very specific or striking filter for users searching on it. Instead, choosing something like "Best web design agency in RGV" can be much more specific and will give you better and more accurate results. Taking this example into account, consider it when planning your domain name. 

Also consider the following points to decide your domain name:

• Does it represent my brand name?
• Does it have the tone I want my company to express?
• Is it brandable?
• Is it easy to remember?
  

As a last resort, you can try automatic domain name generators to either base or get ideas on how you might put together your own, many of these are based on keywords or variations of a single idea to generate thousands of different combinations.

The criteria to consider for this are:

• Avoid containing numbers, hyphens, or special characters.
• Shorter and brandable is the best
• Go for long-term names
• Always check that it is not already registered or used.

Pick a style

As already mentioned, the style you choose for your website is based largely on the purpose for which you want to design it.

The style of a website should reflect what you want to communicate as a brand. Just as you choose a style of clothing to see your customers and make a good impression, you must meticulously choose the style of your website.

Three points to consider when choosing a style for your site:

1. Like your domain name, we recommend something atemporal, but you can include on-trend elements.
2. The decision should be geared towards the end user's experience.
3. The user will first create an opinion of your site, then review it thoroughly, so the first impression is the most important.

At the same time, you must consider that the style you choose must be adaptable to all the screen sizes, that is, it must have a responsive design, and that the final design may differ from the planned style. 

During the process, whether you do it yourself or hire a web development agency, there are always new ideas, recommendations, or simply not what was expected, so staying open to change is important.

Structure your web design

Did you know that it takes about 0.05 milliseconds for a user to have an opinion about your website? Usually, the opinion of the website depends on several specific factors, such as color, fonts, symmetry, spacing, etc. 

Likewise, making the site predictable and easy to navigate for the user is the basis of the site's reliability. If the user finds it difficult to navigate the site, the bounce rate increases.



However, the factors when creating a web design can be encompassed in 3 simple points: 

Simplicity

It is vital to maintain a clean and easy-to-navigate design. A very saturated or complex site confuses the user since they must perform actions and navigate the site in the least amount of clicks. Similarly, a crowded website is tiring to the eye and may result in abandonment of the site by the user.

Clarity

Considering the concept of a simple website, it means that the user should not guess or doubt every action to be performed on the site. That is, the user should be able to recognize what each element on the page is for without hesitation.

Consistency

The web design should follow a similar structure in each of the pages it has. This goes from the colors and typography to how certain elements, such as the logo and the menu or navigation bar, are consistent in each view of the site.

Likewise, making the site predictable and easy to navigate for the user is the basis of the site's reliability. If the user finds it difficult to navigate the site, the bounce rate increases.

Further analyzing the factors of a website, as we already mentioned, colors and fonts play an important role in how the user perceives and creates an opinion about the website:

Color

Color is a basic point in web design. It should reflect what your brand and business want to convey, coupled with certain criteria to follow. To create the color palette of your site, it is important to consider the color psychology in a website, and how it helps to create an atmosphere and specific image of what you want to convey.

While vibrant colors attract attention, putting them extensively or in contrast to more bold colors is uncomfortable. That is why it is recommended to use these colors (like red, blue, yellow, etc.) only in detail, or contrasting with more neutral colors (such as white, black, gray, among others).

A balance between vibrant and neutral colors should be maintained. A flat color palette can cause elements, text, and hyperlinks to get lost in the site, while a site saturated with too many colors, as mentioned above, can cause the site to be overwhelming and does not help elements stand out from each other.

Fonts

Not surprisingly, this is a crucial point in web design. A font may look pretty. However, when designing a website, you must consider the legibility of the letters and what different fonts can convey. A formal and simple font (Open sans, Helvetica, Montserrat) conveys seriousness, professionalism and is easily readable. In contrast, a more informal font (e.g., those with decorative styles and italics) communicates a friendlier, more relaxed image.

Similarly, the color factor applies to the concept of fonts. The font readability goes hand in hand with the color contrast it may have with the general color of the site. Likewise, the color given to the site's fonts depends on the type of text it is (hyperlinks, for example, are usually colored differently).

Assemble your content

Finally, let's talk about the content of your website. According to Nielsen Norman Group, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit, so anything you put on your site is relevant. 

One thing you need to understand is that the content you add should be based on who and for what purpose you are targeting your site. Users enter a website with a goal in mind. Whether they are looking for information, to complete a process, or to find out more about your products or services, it is your responsibility to make it easy for them to complete their objective. 

Think from the customer's perspective: What possible questions might they have and how would you like them answered? 

The content for the customer should cover these points:

• What topic(s) you want to talk about
• Whom you are targeting
• How much they know about the topic 
• What they are interested in

The content you add can be of any type, whether you create visuals such as videos or images, or decide to add text, remember that the content must make calls to action, that is, adapt to an interactive design that invites the prospect to continue on your site and perform specific actions within it. 

Similarly, if you are not good at writing or you don’t have time, you can hire a content writing service. They can advise and guide you on how you can express your content, what your ideal audience is and give the right tone to your words.

Conclusion

A website should not only look good, but also it should serve a purpose. Designing a website is a long and complex process, but we must follow it if we expect to get results from this project and investment. Considering that it is a long-term investment and that your business depends a lot on the result, the best thing to do is to follow the process in the best way, and what better than leaving it to the experts.

If your idea is to create a quality corporate website, do not hesitate to contact us, and our team of professional developers will be ready to develop and design your website. Based on the principles of performance, quality, values, and service, we are committed to helping all small businesses in any way possible.