Creating a website may seem like a daunting task. Staying on top of website design trends, learning to code (HTML and CSS), understanding color theory, etc. is a lot of work for just one person. 

Think of a website like a new car. You go to the dealership in search of the perfect vehicle to suit your style and functional needs. Perhaps you’re a mom that requires a lot of space, or maybe you’re a business executive that likes something a bit flashier to show off your success on the road. 

Whatever your style is, you’re going to choose a car based on how it looks first. The appearance comes first, and the functionality comes second. And it doesn’t matter how incredible the machinery is, if the car is ugly, no one is ever going to buy it. 

They’re not even going to want to take it for a test drive just for fun! They will steer clear of any car that isn’t visually appealing to them, and the same goes for websites. Your website must be visually appealing to a broad scope of audiences so that you can maximize your public outreach. 

When designing a website, you want to prioritize “quality” over “quantity.” There are website builders available to the public for free to create their websites. However, these website builders don’t necessarily offer the best quality of designs. Understanding what tools to use and specific techniques to learn is essential when building a website. 

Here is an easy-to-follow guide on how to do web design for your small business.  

Define Your Brand

Your business brand is everything. It’s what sets you apart from your competitors and what makes you stick out to your target audience. Your brand is more than just a logo design. It’s your staple and a way of identifying your business. It’s how customers recognize your business and distinguish it from others. 

You need to be very clear about what your brand is and how you want it to be represented. Beyond merely knowing your industry and establishing a content strategy, you should take the time to think about how you want to come across to your audience. 

If you represent your business as just trying to make money, then generally, people will see right through that. If you decide to be like everyone else, that is also something that people will pick up on. People appreciate authenticity and individualism in a business. 

As a business owner, ask yourself, “what is the purpose that I’m trying to achieve with my website? What are my intentions? What am I trying to convey to the public? These are all questions that you need to answer in detail with a specific vision in mind as to how you want these ideas manifested into a web page. 

Research Current Web Design Trends

Just like Google’s algorithm, web design evolves quickly. You must do your research in locating these web design trends and think about if these trends fit your vision. Every sector has different styles. You must know whether you want to design your website to fit into your specific industry, or if you’re going to do something entirely different. 

However, you always want to keep the customer in mind. Don’t design a website just for yourself to enjoy. Design one that customers will enjoy too. This is especially important for e-commerce websites since customers are making purchases through the website. The user experience is everything, and you always want to balance what you want with what your customers are looking for before diving into the web design. 

Some current web design trends that are taking the Internet by storm include:

• Broken grid and asymmetrical layouts
• Nostalgic/throwback/retro design aesthetic
• Fluid/organic design
• Advanced and elevated image treatments
• Minimal colors and monochromatic 
• Overlapping elements
• Reimagined hero image designs

Choose A Content Management System

There are plenty of website builders and e-commerce platforms to choose from when designing a website. Learning web design takes a lot of time and effort. But with the free resources that we have now, it’s a whole lot easier. 

WordPress is an excellent website builder and content management system to use when building your website. It’s the most popular platform for designing a website. It gives you total control over the appearance and message of your website. To make your website live, you must pay for the security, web hosting, domain, and additional plug-ins that you may need. Otherwise, you can build a website for free.

To use WordPress, you will need to learn HTML on a fundamental level. You can’t become a web developer in a day, but you can develop some basic understanding of how to create your website with WordPress. However, learning HTML, UX design, and so many other web design factors takes a lot of time and energy.

As a small business owner, you don’t have the kind of time to dedicate to learning how to build a successful website. This is why hiring a professional is essential. 

Hire A Professional Web Design Agency

When you hire a professional web design agency, you want to make sure that they understand your brand. They will have to manifest your brand into a comprehensive website design properly. They should also factor in how your website will rank on major search engines. 

They should always pay attention to the SEO aspects of your website and develop the home page in a way that perfectly expresses your brand in full display. Social media presence must also be a defining factor. There should always be social media platform icons incorporated within the website that enables users to click and redirect to those pages. 

The official call to action for designing a website must begin with choosing the right web design agency. Website developers, graphic designers, and content marketing specialists will take your vision and turn it into a reality with a beautiful website that will make you proud.

Ringo Media is the best web design agency in Fort Lauderdale, and we handle all of your web design needs.