5 Quick Tips to Improve Your Website Today
In 2022, most business owners have websites and recognize the value that an online presence can bring. With websites like Weebly and WordPress, It is easy for anyone with internet access to build and publish a website. Business owners and professionals like you should and do take advantage of the affordable website start-up costs. However, you might not have the knowledge or design experience to create a professional, stunning website that you're proud of. Here are five quick tips you can use to improve your website today!
#1 Colors Must Match Your Brand
Have you ever visited a website with too many colors? Our eyes have trouble focusing on the important information. When creating a website, select a theme that has similar colors to your brand. Most website editors allow you to edit the theme's colors as well. You should use the exact colors used in your logo and colors that complement those.
How to find matching colors for your brand:
A website will look sloppy and unprofessional without the correct use of color. You need to use a set of colors that conveys your brand's messaging.
It's daunting creating a whole brand's theme with no design experience. Don't fret! Canva has a great tool to find colors that work with your brand. It can be found here.
This tool is a great way to help you create a color scheme for your brand! All you have to do is put in the HEX code of a color from your brand and you can choose from multiple color templates. If you don't have a HEX code from your logo, you can use this tool to find one. Simply upload your logo to the website and use the color dropper to find the HEX code of the main color of your brand. Then use Canva's tool to create your theme.
Using a set of colors that matches will help create a sense of hierarchy on your site. Your visitors will know where to look!
#2 Fonts Must Match Your Brand
Just like your colors, your fonts matter too! Your fonts should be based on your logo's design. You should have a font for your headings and paragraphs. Try to stay away from overly decorative fonts. Often, when used improperly, they look messy and are hard to read. Here are some examples of font pairings that work well and our font choices:
Don't overthink your font choices! Often a modern sans-serif font will look great with a logo. If you are struggling, search the internet for font pairings until you find one that represents your brand. If you don't know the font used in your logo, use this tool!
#3 Upload a Favicon
This is a small detail that makes a big difference. Favicons are the little icons that show up by your website name in the browser tab and to the left of the website name for a bookmarked website. Having one shows that you took time to look into even the small details of your site. They also help your brand stand out on the bookmarks bar!
For creating a favicon, we recommend favicon.io. It allows you to make a favicon from your logo, text, or emoji for free.
#4 Use Less Text and Fewer Pages
You may feel it is important to add as many details as possible to your website. However, you can quickly run into the problem of overwhelming your visitors. Limit the number of pages you have to around seven. Any more than that, and the website frequently becomes difficult to navigate. Have pages for your home, about, contact, services/product, gallery/FAQ, and a blog. Of course, this is all relative to the business or brand you are running. As your business grows, you may want multiple product pages. However, as a general rule of thumb, keep any in-depth educational information for a blog.
You don't need to say everything on your website, most visitors aren't hearing about your type of business for the first time. For instance, if you are a dentist you don't need to educate your potential customers on how to brush with braces on a separate page; write it in blog form. This will help keep your website clean and easy to navigate.
#5 Use Similar Style Photos
Stock photos can be great for many businesses and brands. Just make sure to use stock photos that all have a similar style.
Regardless of whether or not you're using stock photos or your own, try to keep them the same size and shape when using them next to each other. Take a look at the examples below.
All the images have the same height, creating a neatly organized page.
Conclusion
These five ways to quickly improve your site can be used by anyone. However, the truth is as a busy business or brand owner, you may not have time to learn design skills. There is no shame in outsourcing your website branding. When looking for an agency to work with be sure they themselves have a website that you find appealing. Websites and social media are the face of your business on the internet, make sure you focus on improving that appearance.
If you have any questions regarding website design or social media marketing, feel free to send a message on social to @RetuneMarketing!