10 Web Design Practices to Make Your Site Stand Out in 2022
In the ever-changing world of web design, it’s easy to think that practices that were once considered best in class are no longer applicable.
However, while web design practices may change, they never truly die out entirely; they simply find new ways to maintain relevancy in the ever-evolving world of web design and internet marketing.
In order to make sure your site design remains top-notch, we’ve compiled a list of 10 web design practices you should follow in 2022 and beyond.
1) Keep it Simple
The best design practices are those that keep things simple, such as stripping down an interface into its base elements. This strategy allows you to focus on what really matters.
Users want clean and easy-to-navigate sites with content they can digest at a glance; they’re less concerned with flashy graphics or images than providing access to information. With a top website development company in India, you can balance good design with a clean and easy user experience.
However, simply designing a website that’s visually appealing isn’t enough. You also need an intuitive interface. Users shouldn’t have to hunt for where they left off; your design should make it clear what site elements are available and how to access them.
Offer as much information as possible, but don’t make it difficult for users to find. If there is a call-to-action on your page, you should provide an unobstructed view of it from any part of your site.
2) Test Your Site on all Devices
One of the top web design best practices for 2022 is testing your site on all devices. More and more people are using their smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices to browse websites.
While you can’t make your website look exactly like it does on a desktop, you should at least make sure that things function properly from a user standpoint.
There are lots of tools out there that help facilitate mobile site testing. For example, Google Analytics has a handy feature called Device Channels that allows you to see how many visitors come from which types of devices.
You can also use third-party services such as DeviceAnywhere or Keynote DeviceAnywhere (formerly known as Keynote Mobile Testing) to test your website across multiple platforms.
3) Use Google Fonts
Google Fonts have become more popular, largely due to their easy use and Google’s ability to put them in front of a ton of eyeballs.
For designers, using these fonts is great because it allows you to reduce your own workload while giving your site an aesthetically pleasing appearance. It’s also a good idea to look into outsourcing web designers in India or similar locations.
These professionals can do much of your grunt work for a fraction of what it would cost you in North America. Outsourcing has become extremely common, so finding quality talent shouldn’t be too difficult.
4) Add a Custom favicon and a Retina Logo
A favicon is that little icon that appears next to your website’s name in browser tabs, on bookmarks, and in other places. It’s a small touch, but it can have a big impact on visitors; people judge websites by their appearance, and a visually appealing favicon tells visitors that you care about aesthetics.
Adding a Retina logo also shows off your attention to detail: iPhones and iPads with Retina displays show two different versions of logos—one regular-sized version for non-Retina screens, and one high-resolution version for Retina screens.
If you don’t add both versions of your logo, then visitors with high-resolution devices will see blurry text or images instead of crisp ones.
5) Optimize your Content for SEO
Today’s web design best practices include optimizing your site for search engine optimization (SEO). Even if you don’t have a plan to actively promote your site through SEO, including specific keywords in your text can help it rank higher on popular search engines.
This is especially important if you work with an outsource web designer in India. The better your ranking, the more traffic you will get. And high-quality traffic is much more likely to convert into sales or leads than low-quality traffic from non-relevant sources.
6) Always Use High-Quality Images
Today’s Internet is image-driven. When people visit your site, they’re making a decision based almost entirely on what they see—and that includes high-quality images.
Use crisp, detailed images on your homepage and product pages; even simple white text against a black background can be transformed into something that commands attention and increases conversions.
If you have a budget for design, hire top outsourced web designers in India to create something stunning. But if you don’t, remember: You get what you pay for. Don’t skimp on quality just because it costs more money.
7) Be Consistent with Design Elements
While many people are using multiple devices for consuming content, web designers must be consistent with their use of design elements.
Don’t break user experience based on what device a person is using. Otherwise, your site could have a jarring effect on users when they arrive from one device and attempt to navigate your website on another.
For example, don’t make it difficult for them to find critical information by hiding it behind drop-down menus or other elements that aren’t as prominent on mobile sites.
If you keep things consistent across all platforms, you can help ensure that visitors will have an enjoyable experience no matter which device they choose to access your site from.
8) Use Responsive Navigation Menus
User experience is essential for a successful website, and few things have as much of an impact on UX as navigation menus.
In particular, responsive navigation menus—also known as hamburger menus or side-menus—are extremely useful in creating an intuitive user experience that’s consistent across devices and screen sizes. We recommend that you make use of them when building your website.
A good rule of thumb is to keep all menu items visible at all times, even if they aren’t directly related to what a visitor sees immediately above. This way, visitors can easily find their way around your site regardless of what page they land on.
9) Add Alt Text to all Images
Whether you’re making a website or an app, one of your top priorities should be ensuring that it’s accessible and usable by people with disabilities. That means adding alt text (also known as alternative text) to all images so they can be read by people who are visually impaired.
Not only is it a legal requirement in some cases, but also many users find alt text helpful for understanding more about an image than its visual appearance alone suggests.
10) Enhance with Javascript/jQuery
Many of us are intimidated by coding. If you feel overwhelmed by trying to learn a language like Python or Java, you don’t have to! There are many easy-to-use, drag-and-drop options out there that will allow you to make your site more engaging and interactive.
In fact, there’s one browser plugin called Javascript (Javascript is used for web design) that can automatically create simple animations and graphics.
If you want to take things further, consider using jQuery (jQuery is a cross-browser JavaScript library designed to simplify HTML document traversing, event handling, animating, and Ajax interactions for rapid web development). This tool allows you to add features such as hover effects without having any knowledge of the code at all.
Read Also: How to grow my own business with web design services in 2021- most effective tips
Conclusion
While today’s web design best practices may very well be outdated by 2022, one thing is for sure: UX will continue to dominate digital marketing conversations.
`As it does, businesses will have no choice but to embrace user-friendly design practices. If you’re looking for ways to improve your online presence, ask yourself what a customer would expect from your brand.
Are you meeting those expectations? Are there any areas that could use improvement? The answers to these questions should point you toward some of today’s top web design best practices.