Hi, I’m Jo Hamlyn. I’m a freelance Web Designer and member of Athena Hammersmith. You can find out more about me and my work at johamlyn.com
I haven’t written a blog or piece of content for myself in a while and, whilst that leaves me slightly rusty, it gives me a lot of scope to write about things that have come up for the people I work with over the last few months. The key thing that stands out for me as a standard amongst all of my clients is the thirst to be different, and the desire to stand out online when the internet is clearly a very crowded place.
The best advice I can give is be conventional!
This is always met with a slight shock when I’m consulting with a customer on the design or content for their website.
When someone is in the mindset of wanting to do something unique and not be like everyone else, the last thing they want to hear me talk about are “conventions”.
The truth is that no two people are the same. You, your values and your work or business are unique by default. By ensuring these things are showcased on a website that works well with a clear and easy to navigate design, and complimenting colour scheme, you will stand out easily.
Web designers are always looking for ways to innovate and improve how the internet functions. We work tirelessly to make user journeys short and site maps easy to navigate. But we always remember that unless we are being truly innovative conventions, or the popular things you see on everyone’s website, are used so often simply because they work.
My top 3 favourite website conventions, and the the ones I suggest everyone has as part of their site design, are;
- A logo showcased at the top left of every page. This should be a button that leads back to the main home page and a constant reminder of the site’s purpose and branding.
- Fully visible contact details at the footer and top right of each page. If you can’t get access to a companies contact details within the first 10 seconds of landing on a site this needs to be improved, it’s often the most popular reason for visiting a website.
- If you are selling a product or promoting an opt in ensure the button to actually take up the offer is visible as soon as you land on the relevant page, don’t make people scroll unless they really have to.
That’s all from me. Another convention I like to stick to online is being concise.
Thanks for reading.
Jo.
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