Just like people judge a book by its cover, people will judge your business by its website. A poorly designed website will commonly be associated with low-quality goods and services, which is why it is vital that your business has a well-designed website built by a professional.
More and more businesses are turning to the internet to promote their products and services, and this demand for websites has encouraged countless individuals to pursue a career in the web industry.
Unfortunately, nearly anyone these days can call themselves a web designer, regardless of their skills or experience. This is why it is up to you to distinguish the amateurs from the professionals.
Although an amateur may offer to design your website at a lower rate than a professional, you will find that this inexpensive website is actually going to end up costing you in the long run. Sure, you have saved yourself a bit of cash, but it is at the cost of potential leads and sales.
Here are 6 ways to distinguish an amateur web designer from a professional:
1. Lack of images
When a user arrives at a web page that is purely text it can be overwhelming and may cause them to navigate away from your website. Breaking up your text with images and videos will ease your reader’s anxiety, and help them to better understand what is being discussed in the text. However, any old image will not suffice. It is important that the images you use are not only high quality, but also tell your brand’s story.
2. Font overload
A sure-fire way to tell if a website has been designed by an amateur is if there is a font overload. The more fonts you use, the more cluttered and inconsistent your design becomes. Generally, a professional web designer would use 2-3 fonts per website, and keep them consistent with each other.
3. Colour overload
Unless you own a paint company, there is no excuse for your website to be overloaded with different colours. Too many colours can create a sense of confusion in the user and can cause them to navigate away. A professional designer would not use more than 3-4 colours per website. They would keep their colour scheme simple and select colours which complement each other. They understand colour psychology and will balance their use of colours so that their design stands out without being too loud.
4. Not keeping an eye on design trends
Just like fashion trends, website trends come and go. Our ideas of what constitutes good aesthetics is changing. New trends are constantly rolling in, and current trends are fast becoming outdated. If you want your web design to appeal to the modern consumer, you have to keep an eye on the latest design trends. If a website has cheesy stock images, autoplay music/videos, or gradient text, you know you are dealing with an amateur designer.
5. Not optimising website graphics
Images are vital in grabbing a visitor’s attention and telling your story. Unfortunately, they also increase the loading time of your page, which can increase your bounce rate and negatively affect your search engine rankings. A professional will ensure that your images are optimised for loading speed. They will also optimize images for retina display, to keep up with the ever-advancing visual technology.
6. Not using white space
A professional knows that white space is one of the most valuable parts of your web design. White space minimizes visual clutter, improves readability and helps draw attention to the most important areas of your website.
Are you looking for a true professional to design your website? Here at Yodle our web designers have years of experience in creating original and aesthetic websites that convert.
