What’s the Purpose?

Most importantly, good web design meets the needs of the user. Are you looking for information, to buy something, to learn something, to hire someone? Each page of your website needs to have a clear purpose. Read more about our website design services, click here.

What Are You Saying?

Make no mistake, these days people want information quickly. It’s more important than ever to make your information easy to read and understand. We like to use bullet points, short sentences and hide/show toggles instead of long paragraphs. If the information is important, by all means, include it.  We frequently use “Read More”  or “Learn More” buttons and hide /show toggles to mask lots and lots of text.

Navigation

Navigation is key for us. Simple, easy, clear. We try to follow the 2-click rule, which means users can find the information they want in no more than a maximum of two mouse clicks.

Can I Find You?

You want to be found on a Google Search for your specific service or services and geographic area. We work to help our clients get there by adding content that matters and searches well. It takes a lot of work to get good organic rankings, and requires regular updates to your site. But that’s important to do. What good is a beautiful website if it can’t be found?

Updates and Changes

Your site has to change regularly for Google, Bing, and Yahoo to index and rank you correctly. A site that does not have regular updates containing useful, keyword-thoughtful articles will tank. Adding News or Blog is the easiest way to add good content that matters to your visitors and helps your site search effectively. You’re reading this, right?!

What’s Your Face?

For body copy, we typically use sans serif fonts, at 14-16 points.  There are few hard and fast rules about fonts. But we recommend using no more than three different fonts in any project. More than three fonts and your website or printed project can look unplanned and unfocused. I’m guessing that that is probably not the look you’re looking for.

Color

White space is very effective at giving your website a modern and uncluttered look. We love color but rarely use it as a page background, as it’s harder to read and won’t print nicely. And it’s not kind to people with visual challenges. So please, be inclusive. A distinctive color, used tastefully in headings and text, can be a great feature to make your site pop. But use color and colored backgrounds with discretion. It’s so important to play nice.

Patterns and Photos Under Text

Generally, using busy patterns and photos under the text is not a good idea. It compromises the all-important UX, or User Experience. It’s generally harder to read, and may not work well when reduced on cell phones. We believe a website should look great, but we don’t confuse it with a work of art. A website’s job is to convey information. It should give a vibe/flavor of the business. It should incorporate your corporate look and keep it consistent by using the same colors, patterns, fonts, and company logo. We always keep in mind that a website’s chief purpose is to get YOUR information out clearly!

Imagery

I know, a sunflower and a bright blue sky may not the first image you think of when you think Website Design Hudson Valley NY. That’s fine. It’s not meant to be expected or mundane. We used this image purposefully. We’ll cross-post this to our social media soon. And I’m guessing it will get some extra hits just because it’s pretty. Who doesn’t like a nice sunflower picture, I ask you?!

I’m Waiting…

No one likes a website that takes ages to load. Compress, reduce and simplify images or your visitor will click away… probably forever.

Phone, Tablet, Laptop, Desktop

If your website is mobile-friendly, it will be seen by more people. We create responsive websites that automatically adjust to different screen widths, devices, and sizes. Without this, you’re going to lose a big chunk of your potential audience.

Nice and Neat

We love grids. It makes everything look neat and clean. Plus, it makes changes and updates much easier.

Socialize!

Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest REALLY help your site get found. It may seem like a pain, but it’s worth it. And remember, they are free. So just do it. Or call on a pro to help you. We can help you find these services. Just contact us.

WordPress

We’ve said it before, but we find that WordPress works. It’s easy to update, searches well, looks great and is constantly updated and improved by WordPress.org, so it helps you stay on top of your game. PLUS, there is no additional fee/cost to WordPress.org. Nice.

Who Do You Love?

Or at least like? You need to find a website designer who you’re happy to work with. If the firm is too big, you may get lost. If the firm has one standard look, your site may appear cookie-cutter. If the firm is too small, you may wait forever. We typically start and finish a site within a month. That gives us enough time to get to know our client, their products/services, their needs and more. We snoop around and look at their competitors, and what others in the same business are doing right, and wrong. We try to give each client a unique flavor and vibe that matches their business.

Thanks for reading this!

Can we be of service to you and your business? Here is our website quote form. Fill this out and we’ll get back to you asap with a personalized quote for your next website/project.