How to Avoid Wasted Space
Webfox: A Fort Erie Website Designer
From a technical perspective, you can include as many elements as you want on your website. The truth however is that the amount of attention users have is limited. Generally, people will react to what they see immediately upon opening a website. As a Fort Erie web designer, we’ll guide you through a few dos and don’ts of web design. Wasted space is anything being used in an incorrect manner.
Large Images
Large photos are all the rage in modern times; whether it’s to use as a backdrop for your entire page, or simply a part of the website that you want users to focus on.
While these may seem great and most of the time will be a great addition to your website, sometimes it’s important to consider the context. That is to say: how does the image relate to the rest of the content on the page?
What is the purpose of the image? Does it shed any light on what you want users to be doing on this specific page?
If you simply have an image without content, users will need to scroll down to find what they’re looking for—which is a huge turn off. Depending on the photo, it may also be distracting users from what you want them to look at.
Images stand out—good or bad. Think about this before letting a Fort Erie website designer work on your website.
Hero Area without information
If your hero area is well-designed it will draw in the user’s attention. Whether using a photo, video, or different color background—this area will separate itself from the rest of the page.
This is the main reason we, a Fort Erie website designer, utilize this area to display important information. Usually the most important sales information or messages are here to help them shine. This is what any visitor should remember about your website.
This isn’t always the case though—sometimes the hero area has no discernable information for the user. The text may be vague and lack quality. The design could be poor without anything for the customer to click.
It’s not just the design which is important either—the content must have substance as well. It should include a simple path to follow, which leads any users in the direction of the action you want them to take. This could be a shopping cart, a price range, or contact information for your business.
Having nothing special here tells any potential customers there’s nothing to do on your website. Imagine building a road that goes nowhere.
Novelesque Texts
Time is money. Generally, people scan and move on; as a result, great detail will not be put forth into reading a ten-thousand-word page (unless of course you’re an E-book website).
While it is a shame, no matter how much effort you put forth or how great your writing is—some users will simply ignore what is written. In this case it means your content would be better off not existing. Content is your time, or something you’ve paid for; thus, you’re wasting your own money.
Before you toss it in the garbage though—there are a few things you can do to make your longform content more appealing.
Use Headings: Headings are great for breaking up long pieces of information. Good fonts can help with this. It also makes it easier for users to find exactly what they’re looking for when skimming through your page.
Separate Content with Different Elements: Breaking your content into sections, whether separated by color or other visual differences, will help make your content look more appealing and creative as opposed to one long passage that seemingly scrolls forever.
Adding Small Details: Little things can make a huge difference. Dividers, images, blockquotes, and other elements can help create a sense of rhythm in your website.
Effective Usage Will Create a Superior User Experience
Fort Erie website design and content are very closely related. If one is poor, the other is usually close in hand. Think about your design and content very carefully when building your website.
It’s one of the hardest choices to make: Which design choices should be front and center? What do you want users to know? What is of lesser importance and can be put somewhere less important? What should be thrown in the virtual garbage bin?
In theory, you want users to stay on your website. This is accomplished through using your space effectively to make a good first impression. When users can find what they’re looking for, they will be obliged to look at it.
If you’re interested in having a website designed for you, we offer a wide variety of digital marketing services including graphic design, web design, SEO (search engine optimization), social media management and more. Contact WebFox Niagara Web Design to inquire about a free custom mock-up.