William Rodgers
Category: Design Tips
Creating a site without the help of a professional provides several advantages. Firstly, a person can completely control the entire site, make it as close as possible to own wishes. Secondly, this is a significant budget saving.
However, creating a website that will look not only professional but also work from a marketing point of view is not such an easy task. But this does not mean at all that it is impossible!
In this article, you will learn how to independently improve the marketing design of a site without professional help. These graphic design tips will be especially relevant for those who have just started work on creating the site.
1. Employ the Minimalist Approach
screenshot: https://www.reviseconcept.com/
The first thing you need to start with is to come to the realization that a lot does not mean well in the context of design. Please note that all leading companies prefer minimalism in their design. This applies to text and graphic elements as well.
Before you post this or that element, think about whether you really need it on your site. Also, consider this from a user’s perspective.
2. Create an Initial Design in Black and White
If you will create a website design using black and white colors, then you can focus on solving the design problems. It will also be easier for you to design the product since color causes a very strong emotional reaction to the human psyche. And this will interfere with focusing on design issues. Once the design is ready, you can work on the colors of your site.
3. Use Color Palettes
Beginners and professional designers are tempted to play with the colors of the site. Many want to use attractive colors for users. But if it fades into the area of coloristic, then choosing the right colors is an extremely difficult task. And the knowledge of coloristic is needed so that the colors do not spoil the entire design and not irritate users.
If you are not a pro in the field of design but do not want to make the site worse, be sure to check out the color palettes. There are website generator palettes that will help you choose a ready-made option, do not waste time picking up colors in order to choose the best option. For example, you can use Dribbble.
This way you will avoid the chaotic color set and general picture of the site disorganization. And of course, save your time, as working with color can take a long time.
P.S. It is recommended to use high contrast color. Then it will be possible to achieve a high-quality design in the field of color.
4. Benefit From White Spaces
To avoid cluttering pages and publications, it is imperative to provide for white space. By the way, this space may not necessarily be white, you can use an alternative space (this is an alternative description). As mentioned above, use a minimalist approach. And the white space just creates such a style.
Open areas help create an uncluttered and intricate look for visitors. It will be simple for users to find the necessary information and it will be easier for you to place marketing elements (call to action buttons) to achieve your goals. The less unnecessary information that distracts, the more likely the visitor will reach the “Subscribe” or “Buy” button.
5. Pick One Style Fonts
Most beginners believe that a unique font with monograms makes the site design professional. But this approach is obviously unsuccessful. Don’t confuse professionalism with complexity. You can buy an expensive font, but this does not mean that your site will look professional.
If users cannot read the text, then it becomes absolutely irrelevant how long you chose the font and what its cost is. It is recommended to pick no more than two fonts without any special “effects”.
One font can be used for headings and the second font for the main text. Here again, the approach works, the simpler the better. Remember that most users go online using smartphones. Now imagine how the Gothic style will look on smartphone screens, for example. Most likely your site will be closed, even if the text was written by top text designers from the Pick The Writer review service.
6. Optimize Text
Optimize the readability of your text content. If you increase the font size and line spacing, the text will be much better perceived by users. Also, your content will look better on the screen of smartphones and not create difficulty in reading.
7. Facilitate Site Navigation
It does not matter how many pages your site will have. Your users should easily find the information they need. Visitors come to the site for some reason, and if they cannot find what they want, they will simply leave your site.
Without clear navigation, no quality content can save the situation. For example, you can make a search function on a site so that the user quickly finds the necessary information.
8. Boost Loyalty with “About Us” Page
When it comes to the content of your resource, information about the company/brand and goods/services is key. But a page like “About Us” also plays the main role. Please note that most sites have a well-designed section, so you should do this too.
History, missions, and values give the appearance of your brand humanism and create a sense of trust and loyalty in your audience. Focus on values is always a good marketing strategy.
9. Achieve Results with Call to Action Buttons
If you want to achieve a high conversion of your resource, be sure to use the call to action buttons. Look, on all professional sites, there are such buttons.
screenshot:https://www.apple.com/
And if you use the mentioned minimalist approach in design, then you can place them in such a way that the user will have no choice but to click on the button.
Important note! The less choice you provide – the better. On Apple’s page, users have only two options – learn more or buy, and it is very easy for them to make a choice. In other words, the more choices you give at the same time, the more chances that the user will make none of them.
To add such CTA buttons, it is not always necessary to create custom code. There are both plugins and a function for adding buttons in the block editor, depending on which constructor or software you use.
Don’t avoid these buttons, especially if you are selling goods/services. If you have an informative website without sales, you can use the “Social Networks” and “Subscribe” buttons.
10. Add Contact Forms
Another common feature of all professional websites is instant access to contact information. You can use the contact form so that you can contact users yourself. Regardless of which option you choose, contact information should be available.
You do not have to have professional skills to make a form. Most site designers offer several plugins that will allow you to make this form without any problems. This advice should not be avoided, as it is about marketing design.
Time to Conclude
Graphic design practice does not like hurry, so try to give the site more time than expected. Then you can split up good results without professional knowledge. After you familiarize yourself with these tips, it will not be superfluous to analyze competitors or just similar sites. When you have an understanding of how marketing design can be improved, see how everything works on other sites. This way you will gain a deeper understanding of what you should use and what not to use.
Also do not forget to think like your users. If the site is not convenient for use, then all work on improving marketing design will be useless. But as you already understood, this is not as difficult as it might have seemed before.
