Digital Trends | MIN READ

Website design in Uganda: best practices for 2020

Just about anyone with a little computer knowledge can get a website up and running. While it’s interesting to see people take up do-it-yourself design, there’s a lot that website builders and templates cannot do. To build a successful website, you need practical website design knowledge. This post covers essential best practices to help you create a website that converts clients and appeals to your target audience.
 

Focus on user experience

User experience is the process of improving user satisfaction with a product by enhancing the accessibility, usability, and pleasure derived from the interaction. Simply put, you must design your website with the client/customer in mind.
Your site must be simple, convenient, and allow users to quickly and efficiently interact with it. Any bugs or design inconsistencies will promptly send your visitors to a competitor’s website. To achieve a good user experience, your website should be

  • usable: is your website convenient and navigable on mobile and desktop devices?
  • Useful: is your content fresh, does it meet your user’s needs?
  • Desirable: do your branding and presentation portray your business interests in the best possible way
  • Credible: Does your site present you as a legitimate authority within your industry people can consult?

You need to consider all these factors as they will help you keep your attention on your most vital asset. Your visitors.
 

limit your user’s choices

The more choices you offer an individual, the harder it is for them to make up their minds. This is often described as analysis paralysis. Don’t put too many products and services on your home page. Instead, lead your visitors to the decisions you want them to make. Turn their focus to your Calls to Actions. This could include directing them to visit particular pages, answering forms, signing up for newsletters, making phone calls, or visiting physical store locations. Keep the number of choices your website’s visitors need to make to a minimum. It will help you improve your conversion rate.
 

Add negative space

separating your design elements with negative space will help your website breathe and improve its visual appeal. Remember to leave ample padding between images, text, and headings.
Limit the number of animations
website animations can be quite Useful. they will help you:

  • direct visitors to your calls to action
  • make your website seem more responsive
  • make your site look more intuitive

that said, too much animation will have a reverse effect. It will confuse and distract your visitors. It can make navigating your website a dreadful experience. Resist the temptation to use too much animation. It’s a feature that works best only when it is used sparingly and strategically.
 

Use Contrast

The contrast will draw the user’s focus to specific elements within your website. Use it to emphasize your logo and important phrases you want visitors to see when they load your site.
 

Add Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs can be instrumental additions to your site’s navigation structure. They enable users to see where they are on your website’s hierarchy. They’re like a “you are Here” feature on maps for extensive facilities like amusement parks and shopping malls.
Breadcrumbs are particularly crucial on large websites. If you have multiple nested categories or products, breadcrumbs will help your users find what they need.
 

Use relatable images

You likely don’t want photos of yourself posted all over your site for the world to see. However, doing so may have a remarkably powerful effect on your audience. Consider showing a group photo of your staff on your about page. Giving your site a human element will build a sense of security in people – it will help you build relationships even before any physical meetings occur. Displays of human expression and emotion have been proven to have a more significant effect on consumers than words.
 

Use Repetition

Don’t distract your visitors with unique shapes on each of your calls to action. Does eBay have different colored “Add to Cart” buttons on its item pages? You shouldn’t have that either. All you need to do is find the right balance of color and shape that catches your visitors’ eyes and maintain it throughout your site.
 

Be Consistent

Regardless of your story and history, if your branding is not consistent across all your platforms, including your website, you risk losing customers. Great branding helps you meet your visitor’s expectations. when consumers do product research;

  • they tend to prefer sites they are familiar with
  • sites that they consider visually exciting
  • websites that portray an image of trustworthiness
  • websites whose values match their personal beliefs and personalities.

Keep your branding consistent with your customers and business by doing the following.

  • ensure your website has the same logo as other branding materials for your company
  • ensure your site has the same slogan or motto
  • similar colors- matching tone and personality with your brand.

Regardless of the scope of your business, branding is vital for your success. it will help people identify and remember you across multiple platforms
 

Write good content

The content on your site is one of the most critical factors for connecting with your visitors and earning favorable search engine rankings.
 

Service pages

people usually visit service pages to obtain more information about your company and the service. Create compelling content on your service pages that enables visitors to quickly determine

  • what you offer
  • essential features about your products/services
  • how you provide this product or service
  • the unique benefits of selecting your service or product
  • how to reach you (call to action). You should emphasize the unique features of your services, not just how they work.

If you focus only on your process, you won’t stand out from the other websites and businesses in your industry.
 

Write helpful content for your blogs

People visit read blog articles to find answers to find clear answers to complex topics. If your website doesn’t have a blog, add one. When it’s done the right way, blogging will increase your rankings and help you get large volumes of organic traffic. Right about now, you may be asking yourself, “How come I’ve written several blogs but never seen any meaningful results?” it’s likely that your content is too shallow or they’re targeting keywords you’ll never rank for without serious effort. Instead, you should turn your attention to creating blog articles relevant to your industry. They should be unique, informative, and helpful. Remember not to promote yourself.
 

Popular blog topics include

  • answers to common questions related to your products and industry
  • how-to guides for procedures your target audience may want to learn
  • useful content regarding a service or topic that you can’t put on a service page.

Implementing these tips will educate your customers, increase their awareness of your brand, and help you gain higher rankings and reach wider audiences.
 

Optimize your website for mobile

you probably already know you need a mobile-friendly website. However, this is still worth the reminder. If your website can’t adapt to different screen sizes and display the right way across desktops, phones, and tablets, it’s just as bad as not having a website. Besides the fact that it is an enormous inconvenience to the people who visit your site, it is a critical ranking factor. Not having a responsive website will hurt your traffic and rankings. You can’t get away with not having a mobile-optimized website, your rankings will suffer without it.
 

Improve your site’s load time

Research suggests that nearly 50% of all internet users expect a website to load in less than 2 seconds, and about 40% will abandon a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load. You should ensure your site has the fastest load time possible, so you don’t lose potential customers.
With this advice, you’re well on your way to building a successful website. However, if you’re having any problems, you may consult professional web developer or web design agency for advice on how best to turn your website dreams into reality.