A good web design needs to be easy: easy on the eyes, easy to use, and easy to read. Your intended audience needs to be able to quickly find and engage with the information they’re looking for. Regardless of the content you present, your website needs the same three core elements to succeed.

Engaging Visuals

Visuals are at the heart of a first impression. Your site might be able to speak for itself, but it will speak much more clearly with a strong color palette, clean layout, and well chosen imagery. Take advantage of the powerful effect visuals can have to direct users through your site. If your design is visually appealing, visitors will be more likely to stick around and engage with your content.

The definition of engaging visuals can vary greatly based on the specifics of your design. Make sure that the chosen style matches the theme of the website; clean and professional on one site might be dry and boring on another. This is your first – and sometimes last – chance to impress a visitor, so make your web design worth their time.

Simple Navigation

When it comes to website navigation, simplicity and speed are the name of the game. Navigation buttons should be easy to find, and menus should have understandable labels. Don’t hide important information behind a slew of menus. If something is essential, consider linking to it directly on the navigation bar. If it’s even more essential, put another link to it on the home page.

Don’t forget to make backwards navigation a possibility. This is especially important if you build a website that indexes a lot of information. No one wants to go back to the top of a menu and click through just to reference something from a few pages ago. Good website navigation solves this problem with thoughtful menus, good labeling, and well-placed back buttons.

Relevant Content

Visitors come to your site for the content, and stay because you presented it in an engaging way. The flashiest site in the world won’t hold someone’s attention unless you have the information they need.

Start by identifying the purpose of your site, then create content that supports that purpose. This sounds easy, but it definitely requires a strong understanding of your audience and your brand. Find a balance between your site vision and the content that rings true with your readers. Your visual design should be relevant to your content; the right design enhances the content it presents.

Whenever you build a website, keep your visitors in mind. Effective web design makes good content accessible to the right audience. If your website engages users and directs them to the content they need, it works.