Webdesign - All you need to know:

What is web design?

The term web design deals with the design of a website and the guidance of users through and through the website. Particular attention should be paid to the brand message and the design wishes of the companies.

Good web design is characterized by singularity, catchiness and ultimately by the user behavior it generates. This means that the user should find everything as easily as possible, the website should be clear and easy to use, have a recognition value and that the user stays on the website for as long as possible.

What do I have to consider when designing the website?

As mentioned above, there are some important points to keep in mind when designing a website. Whether created by yourself or by a company, your website design should definitely take these points into account.

  • Speed ​​and overview:
  • The average user of your website has or takes very little time to browse your website for information. So keep it simple and clear. A table of contents for articles, a simple menu or clickable links play a major role here.

  • Responsive design:
  • It is becoming increasingly important to adapt your website to mobile devices. The average traffic via websites in Europe consists of more than 50% mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. A responsive design is also important for the desktop. Because if you don't take into account the window size and the screen size, big problems arise here as well.

    Here you can find statistics about mobile device usage on websites.

  • The color choice:
  • With every design that shouldn't completely hit the wall, the choice of color plays one of the biggest roles. The fewer different colors you use, the more appropriate the atmosphere created. Color theory also plays an important role here. You should choose between 3 and 5 colors.

    You can learn more about color theory here.

  • Foreign words and sentence length:
  • Try to use as few foreign words as possible, the same applies to technical terms or complex words. You should also pay special attention to your sentence length. This plays a major role in readability. As you may have noticed, our website uses a rather small portion for text to make it easier to read. If you read an article from e.g. Wikipedia you will quickly realize how difficult it is to follow these long sentences.

    Here you will find a short article on sentence length and a comparison of well-known newspapers.

  • The correct choice of font in the website design:
  • The right choice of font also plays a major role in web design, we recommend Google Fonts to find new fonts. You can easily integrate this into your website, use it free of charge and without a license.

    Go to Google Fonts here

  • The headline / title in web design:
  • The headline and title are the most important pieces of text on your website. They are the first to be read by users and decide whether a user stays or switches to another website. However, writing good headlines is not easy. That's why we've put together an extra article that explains in simple steps how to make your headline / title exciting and encourage your readers to read.

  • Simple contact options in web design:
  • As soon as the user is convinced of your product or service, they want to find a way to contact you quickly and easily. Therefore, include links to your contact details, contact forms and WhatsApp connections.

    The easier and faster the contact options are, the more e-mails, calls and submitted forms you will receive.

    Here you can read how to create a WhatsApp button for your website.

  • Easy Navigation:
  • A simple and clear navigation is also of great importance in a successful web design. The user menu, table of contents and simple links between them play an important role here for better and faster orientation.

    The user should be able to access information on your website as quickly as possible in order not to switch to the competition.

  • Keep an eye on the target audience:
  • The target group should also be considered when choosing your design. If you want to appeal to younger people, then make your website simple and consistent, similar to a modern fitness app. If you want to appeal more to an older audience, then you can use multiple colors (like on older websites). But that doesn't mean that you should accept clarity.

    You should also pay attention to the font size, many can no longer read texts that are too small or get tired.

Design and design trends are always changing, you can never stay current unless you have a timeless design. This does not necessarily have to appear modern, but should have a good recognition value.

Here you can see the current web design trends in the year 2022:

  • Retro Trend:
  • One of the latest trends in 2022 is the retro trend. Here, websites are designed like old advertising posters with intended bright and inappropriate colors. You must have recently come across a website that uses this design aspect.

    The retro trend is becoming more and more popular and is particularly popular with hairdressers, cafés and museums. In the right measure you can also create such a beautiful website.

  • Simple website design:
  • The minimalist and simple design of a website is also becoming more and more popular. In this trend, special attention is paid to the singularity of colors, shapes and images. Everything that is not absolutely necessary is left out. This trend is exactly the opposite of the retro trend.

    Another important aspect of the simple design is the conscious guidance through the website. Various design aspects are used to draw the user's attention to certain parts of the website. This can be achieved with shapes, color contrasts and images.

  • Black & White:
  • The black and white trend will also make a comeback in 2022, and this trend is particularly popular in the photography industry. Here, too, the user's attention is drawn to certain functions.

  • Neo-Brutalism:
  • Neo-Brutalism leans heavily on the architect design of the 1960s and 1980s, drawing attention to large lettering, large images and columns of text, similar to newspapers.

Why responsive web design?

As mentioned above, more and more internet users are visiting websites via their smartphone or tablet. Since the screen size is usually smaller and has a different aspect ratio, it is advisable to display information correctly and, above all, attractively on this screen.

If your website does not have a responsive design, then you are missing out on a lot of potential and harming your company. You can also add cell phone-specific links that put users straight into a call to increase contact rates.

What to look for in homepage design?

In order to get as many customers as possible with your homepage, you should consider a few things. One should always assume that the user has little time and should get to the desired information as quickly as possible.

The headline already determines the success or failure of your website. With your first headline, you either captivate your new user or drive them to another website.

In addition to the headline, the layout of your homepage is also crucial, keep it simple and clear, highlight important functions such as contact options and forms and build in links to important information.

Your newly won user should get all the information as quickly as possible, so you should include a table of contents in a blog article.

Contact forms increase the contact rate by up to 23%. Be sure to include a contact form on your website. Even if you have already entered your email in this way, a contact form plays an important role. Many users are simply too lazy to copy and paste the email address into your app. A contact form bypasses this hurdle and enables a higher conversion rate.

Loading times also play a big role, keep the size of your images as small as possible to minimize loading times. The aspect ratios should also be adapted to the screen size in order to keep the computing power required on mobile devices small.

Here you will find a tool to compress your images almost lossless.

Pay attention to the color choice, to create a good recognition value you should choose between 2 and 3 colors and use them in different brightness levels. This gives your homepage a uniform design and you create a good recognition word. The same applies to your company logo, which should also contain the same colors as your website. If you already have one and are not planning a new one, it is advisable to base your website on the colors of your company logo.

What is a web designer?

A web designer deals with the creation and maintenance of your website on the Internet. The main job of the web designer is to take care of the design and layout of the website. Implementation in CMS systems such as WordPress or programming in HTML or PHP can also be part of the tasks of a web designer, but are not always necessarily included in this job.

Especially in larger agencies, web designers are deliberately separated from programmers and CMS specialists in order to create a more effective working environment. Her task is deliberately placed solely on the design and layout of the website.

Probably the most difficult and demanding part of the work of a web designer is to find a compromise between the wishes of the client and the special demands of the website user. Unfortunately, most of the wishes of the client are counterproductive to the growth behavior of the website. For this reason, a web designer also has the obligation to inform customers and clients about these conditions in order to be able to deliver the best possible results for their customers.

What kind of training is there as a web designer?

Due to the rapid development of the Internet and the short existence of this profession, there are not really special trainings such as a degree that only focuses on this area. For this reason, most web designers are self-taught or have had something to do with design, color theory and user behavior before.

But what a web designer absolutely needs is a deep knowledge of various programs such as Photoshop and other design tools.

What kind of software is there for web design?

Probably the most well-known web design software is Photoshop, but it's not necessarily the best. Since web design is constantly changing and making use of newer files and systems, there are also new programs for web design.

Vector graphics are used more and more in web design because they always keep the same quality. Adobe Illustrator or the free alternative Inkscape are available for these files.

These programs are becoming increasingly important in modern web design and a good web designer should definitely master them.

In addition to programs that are used directly for the design, one should not forget analysis programs such as Google Analytics. These play an important role in analyzing whether the design moves users to take the right action.

For the implementation of the design in code or in one of the CMS systems, there should also be a great deal of expertise in the areas of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, MYSQL, SCSS or WordPress.

In a nutshell:

Web design includes the design of your website and the subsequent implementation in code or in one of the CMS systems. Your website design will later decide whether you will get new customers through your website or whether your website will be unsuccessful.

Website design plays a huge role in user retention as well as increasing your conversion rate. With the right website design, you will get more customers and be able to better promote your products or services.

A web agency usually takes over the complete work, from design to implementation and the online publication of your website.

The latest trends in web design are:

  • 1. Retrodesign

  • 2. Plain

  • 3. Black & White

  • 4. Neo-Brutalism

These trends are constantly changing, the only timeless designs are based on their own recognition value.

Your homepage design should present all important information in a plain and simple way to give your users any information as quickly as possible.

A web designer deals with the design of your website and ideally also with the implementation of your website. The main software for a web designer is Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, a free alternative would be Inkscape.