From balancing creative typography with the need for readable text, to colour schemes and imagery, there are a lot of aspects of usability that can really change or alter the way you go about creating your website. And a good website will put the principles of positive user experience, first. But what are these principles? And how will this influence web design. Well, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester, we are Manchester’s leading web design experts. We work with companies and businesses across Manchester, and the North West, including those in Blackburn and Chorley, to provide stunning web design solutions. As a result, we have produced this guide to everything you should know about the web design principles for positive user experience.
What is a positive user experience?
So first of all, what is a positive user experience? Well, simply put, a positive user experience is one that meets the requirements of the user. And while we all have different requirements from a website, we can agree that in general, we expect a website to be:
- Useful – The website content needs to tell us the information that we need
- Usable – The website must function properly, with all links working
- Desirable – The website needs to look good, as well as work well
- Findable – The website needs to available on search engines, and the content needs to be easily navigated to uncover necessary details
- Accessible – The website needs to have accessibility options
- Credible – A good website will project authority and be credible
- Efficient- The website will remember details, if permission is given
- Easy- Interacting with a website should be easy and simple, moving from viewing to purchasing in a straight forward manner.
So to provide a positive user experience, you need to make sure that your website is, at the very least, meeting these basic requirements.
What are the important web design principles for a positive user experience?
And with those user experience requirements in mind, let’s take a look at the associated web design principles, in three key areas:
The Layout:-
- plan the layout with white space in mind
- make sure each element is legible and easy to see
- put buttons and interactive elements at places that are visually obvious, and easy to scroll to
- use visual hierarchy to guide users through the website
The Navigation:-
- use a straight forward navigation system based on existing principles
- limit the number of page options to avoid confusion
- categorise pages into relevant areas to make it easier to find desired content
The Text:-
- limit the amount of unique typography to one or two headers as legibility is essential
- use the suggested number of characters per line, depending on screen size. In general, use less words on a smaller screen
- use white space between lines of text to make it easier to read
- keep sentences below 25 words in length
By following these web design principles, you can make sure your website meets the user requirements. For professional web design help or advice, get in touch today, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester.