Having a messy website can be just as bad as having no website at all. If things are too cluttered, it’s an eyesore to look at, and the entire site tends to become unresponsive.
Those factors will hurt your search engine ranking and have a tendency to increase your bounce rate. The bounce rate refers to the number of people who just leave your site after visiting a single page.
If you’re running a website, the last thing you want is for people to become uninterested and leave due to all the clutter. So, here are some tips from top Kansas City web designers on how you can declutter your website design.
Cut Down on Dense Text
Modern users don’t have the time or attention span to weave through tons of text to find what they need. So, avoid blocks of dense text in favor of quick pieces of content that focus on top-level messaging.
Break up long articles into manageable chunks that are easier to digest. If you have landing pages, stick to short bursts of content that have your headlines, bullet content, and main messaging. Think of the most important details first and make those the obvious visual points.
Stick to an Open Design
An open design does away with tons of extra elements that don’t really do anything functional. Even if you want to make a distinctive impression on your site visitors, you don’t want to bombard them with a ton of things that lead nowhere and take up visual space.
With enough white space and panels that aren’t as rigidly structured, you create something that is easier to look at no matter what type of device they are on. It’s also more conducive for extended viewing.
Focus on Easy Navigation
Users only wish to do one thing on your site—they want to get what they want as quickly as possible. The last thing you want is a site that’s causing a headache to navigate. A good overall web design will have a few navigational elements to help users make it from one page to the other with ease.
Obvious buttons, uncomplicated dropdowns, and key calls to action will make your website a smooth highway to cross instead of a long and winding road that people won’t bother getting to the end of.
Clear Dead Links
This is a big one and can go a long way with how your users perceive your website. You want your site to be easy to navigate, but when things aren’t working, and dead links are everywhere, you’re basically providing a confusing, messy graveyard of useless buttons in lieu of a functional site.
When thinking about design and maintenance, you need to be mindful of your linking and make sure everything actually leads to something.
Follow a Visual Hierarchy
You want people to get a sense of what’s the most important on your site. You can leave a lot of excess junk out of the picture by creating a visual hierarchy that leads your visitors’ eye line to crucial information.
Get rid of unnecessary images and buttons, and put a focus on items that you need to have to stand out.
Conclusion
Keeping your website clean and clutter-free is one of the most important aspects of website development. The design is responsible for how your visitors perceive your business and whether or not you’ll turn leads into conversions.
Fox Web Creations is a full-service firm that provides online marketing, SEO, and website development in Kansas City. Contact us to get a quote.
