Web design secrets you are getting wrong

As web designers, we are always on the lookout for new trends, tips, and secrets we can use to improve our work. Thankfully, the web design community is large and friendly; you can find thousands of blogs and forums to gain insights and learn the ins and outs of this beautiful practice. And share some secrets of your own! 

However, since the design community is so big, there is a lot of information out there that may be wrongful, incomplete, or not well explained. It could be because it comes from novice designers or it is outdated. The web design industry is constantly evolving, and so are its most valuable secrets. We asked an experienced web design agency in Chicago to tell us about web design secrets most designers tend to get wrong. Have you searched for the best web design secrets? Are you sure you are applying them right? Let’s find out. 

Call-to-actions (CTAs)

Call-to-action buttons are a crucial element of a business website, especially its landing pages. When designing a landing page, you already know CTAs can’t be missing; it would lead the company to lose potential customers and money. 

All the web design secrets tell you that you must make CTAs stand out and use strong and concise language that leads the reader toward your desired action. That can easily be misunderstood, leading designers to include several CTA buttons on the same page. That can be counterproductive since it overwhelms readers and deters them from clicking on them. Another standard tip is to include the CTA at the bottom of the page. That’s good advice, but most designers neglect above-the-fold CTAs. A CTA at the top of the page can “catch” visitors who don’t scroll down the page. 

Complex sites perform better

The days when adding as much information and media as possible to a website are long gone. That tip could have worked in the past, but not anymore. Visually appealing and interactive banners, images, and videos can indeed enhance your website. However, too much can cause cluttering and prejudice the performance of a business website. 

Today, users prefer a clean, visually appealing design that is intuitive and easy to navigate. We recommend you adopt a minimalist style, make good use of white space, and prioritize streamlined navigation. Get rid of unnecessary elements and leave room for the essentials, highlight what’s most relevant, and create a functional and aesthetically pleasing design. 

Collaboration is key

Behind us are the days when designers, developers, and content teams worked separately. While each team should focus on its own tasks, today, collaboration between teams and clients is vital for the success of any web design project. But what does collaboration really mean? The client must provide enough information, data, and ideas about what they want, but don’t forget that you are the expert. Feel free to share your experience with them and offer your clients advice about what works and what doesn’t and valuable tips or improvements. 

Slowly but surely

This is also an outdated tip to cross off your web design secrets list. It comes hand in hand with the new rule of “less is more” I mentioned above. We are in the middle of the digital media era; most people are tempted to add as much media as possible to their websites to catch visitors’ attention and keep them entertained. Designers should use videos, images, gifs, and more, as long as they never compromise loading speed. 

Today, a simple website that loads fast will perform better than a complex one that takes more than 1 second to load. If you create a beautiful site that takes forever to load, that will lead to a high bounce rate. That will also compromise search engine optimization (SEO), which leads us to the next and last point. 

Search engine optimization (keyword stuffing)

SEO is crucial for any business. Designers are not exempt from applying best SEO practices to their projects; for example, Google’s algorithm considers loading speed to rank a site. Regarding content, SEO involves including strategic keywords so search engines can recognize what the site is about and show it on related user queries. That includes title tags, image descriptions, blogs, URLs, and more. But be careful; including keywords in excess can be counterproductive. Search engines quickly recognize keyword stuffing and may penalize your site. Besides, that bad practice can lead to an unsatisfactory user experience. 

Final thoughts

Now you know a few more details about the most common web design secrets. The world of web design will continue to evolve, and so will its secrets and best practices. Continuing learning about this practice will always be necessary, which will make you a better designer that clients want to hire. Do you have some design secrets of your own? Remember to share them with the rest of the community!