Planning for the Future and Staying Current With Graphics: How To Keep the Look and Feel of Your Website “Fresh”

Any PA web design company will tell you that worst thing a small business owner can do with his or her website is to abide by the old “set and forget” philosophy.  As years pass since the initial website creation, sites begin to look outdated and clunky compared to ones that are newer or regularly updated.  Don’t underestimate the power of a fresh looking website.  No matter the level of expertise, years of experience in the field, or quality of content available on your site, if you still have an outdated or amateurish website, visitors are less likely to trust your company, services, and you’ll see fewer conversions.  Professional designs of yesterday may be making your website look out-of-touch, and your image will suffer because of it.  It’s always a good idea to do periodic changes and adjustment to align your website with current trends, as well as improve usability and visual appeal.

PA Web Design Tips:  Website Upgrade Considerations

Even if you’re redesigning your site today, you’ll still want to choose graphics and images, and other elements that’ll remain “current” well into the future.  Consult with a PA web design company should you have questions about website upgrades.

Font :  If the majority of copy on your website is Times New Roman consider an upgrade and switching over to Arial or Verdana—Sans Serif fonts such as these render well and mean easier readability for site visitors.  If you are upgrading, remember to always avoid using Comic Sans and to carefully consider the nature of your audience when choosing a font—should the majority of your audience be older, you’ll want to use a larger, more readable font size.

Pictures, Images, Graphics, and Logos :  When choosing images for your website, consider sizing, relevance, and quality.  Consider compressing images so they look attractive while loading (and load quickly).  Visual design elements considerably improve the readability and functionality of a web page—they also make it easier for visitors to scan the page for what they’re looking for.  Buttons function well as call to actions.  Overall, simplicity is the way forward for web design.  PA web design experts will tell you that bold and elegant pictures guide the user through well chosen visual elements to complete site goals.  Choose better icons that carry more meaning.

Social Media :  If your company has a social media presence (Facebook, Twitter), it’s worthwhile to place a related icon on your website.  If you aren’t participating in these social trends, consider doing so to connect with new customers and prospects online.

Go Simple :  Cramming too much information, images, and elements on a page creates confusion—you don’t want visitors to have to navigate through rows of links, images, and text for what they need.  Keep your pages clean, minimal, and modern—they’ll load faster as well.  (You’ll still want to have approximately 350-500 words per page for search engine readability).  Choose a simple monochrome color scheme with just one bright color (to emphasize links and titles).

Additional Web 2.0 Recommendations:

Grid based web designs
Clear, large typography
Subtle, minimal icons
Transparent backgrounds
Lightly textured backgrounds and patterns
Animated mouseover effects

 

ArticleSource: ArticlesAlley.com