Probably the most difficult aspect when designing a website, is designing the perfect website layout. Even with years of experience, it sometimes become difficult to design the layout to better suit the viewers or to the liking of the owner of the website, if you are designing it for someone else, so if you are freshly off web designing training or if you don’t have experience and trying to have a go at website designing, it’ll be much more difficult for you.
This article will provide the basic of getting the perfect layout to your website, but bear in mind that is only a single slice of the whole pie called web designing.
Start from the concept
Lilo Australia says the first and foremost thing that you should do when designing the layout is to get your pencil to the paper. You have to first put your thoughts on to the paper and see how it pans out, which may seem obvious, but most designers tend to directly go on to Photoshop or any similar tool before giving any thought on what they are doing and is supposed to do. Thinking about the content that should be included will better help you in designing the layout.
Contrary to the saying “Start from the bottom”, when designing the website layout, you should start sketching from the top-level framework. The framework being the user interface that neighbors the content and helps to navigate through them, it should be sketched so as to salve all design problems and by approaching from the top level, you will be provided with a comprehensible understanding of the layout when moving further into the website beyond the main page.
Define how you are going to add grids to the website layout
The next thing you should do is to add grids before starting the layout design which will aid you to proper structure the layout of separate sections and will usher you through specific screen size requirements and will help you be consistent in space management and other requirements. Moreover, there is no doubt that the layout done with aid of grids which turn out much better than the ones done without them.
Moving forward you will have to choose typefaces, and when choosing them you should consider the nature of the website as well as its use and chose one which can be easily read by any person. Together with the typefaces you should also start choosing the theme so as to not clash with the user interface and any other design requirements.
Divide the layout accordingly
The next thing that should be done, is to divide the layout. Each section must be separated in order to better bring out the information provided in that section. Start with the simplest layout and keep on adjusting to add the necessary components, and in the end you will have an amazing design layout.
Then you should rethink the established layout by considering on how to improve it by paying attention to detail and challenging yourself to innovate in each and every design. The process of designing the layout is a simple task which can become an immensely difficult one if you don’t know what you are doing.
Leverage the fold
You will need to leverage the fold when you are trying to create that perfect layout for the website as well. According to a recent study, it was identified that around 57% of people are spending most of their time on top of the fold. Therefore, you should make sure that you are including the most important information above the fold, so that they will never be missed out by any visitor.
To get the most out of fold, you will need to use a descriptive and clear headline. Then you can convince the visitors who visit your website. You should also be brief as much as possible. This is where you should be using power words. On top of everything, you need to make sure that the main call to action is included above the fold. This will help you to enhance the overall chances that you have to convert the visitors effectively. You should make sure that the call to action you include is visible and clear.
Understand Hick’s Law and get the most out of it
At the time of designing the layout of your website, you should adhere to the Hick’s Law and get the most out of it. According to the Hick’s Law, it is proven that people take more time to make decisions when they are provided with more choices. You should do the same on your website as well. This will help you to increase the conversion rates.
While you are designing the layout, you will need to reduce the total number of menu items that you have. On the other hand, you should limit from the fields as well. Moreover, you can focus more on the call to action as well. All you have to do is to adhere to one goal per page and get the best thing that comes along with it.
Keep everything simple as much as possible
No matter how you are designing the website layout, you will need to make sure that you keep everything simple as much as possible. There are numerous ways to ensure a simple structure on your website.
For example, you can ditch the sidebar and have a column design on the website. This will help you to ensure that minimum distractions are on the website. You can also adhere to the standard layouts. Then you can get the maximum benefit out of familiarity that people have towards the similarity in designs.
Final words
Now you have a strong understanding on how to create a strong website layout. Keep these facts in your mind and deliver a perfect layout to your website.
This is a Contributor Post. Opinions expressed here are opinions of the Contributor. Influencive does not endorse or review brands mentioned; does not and cannot investigate relationships with brands, products, and people mentioned and is up to the Contributor to disclose. Contributors, amongst other accounts and articles may be professional fee-based.