Ahh yes. It’s time to finally create that website, equal parts exhilarating and exasperating.
Every entrepreneur has to decide if they can do it on their own, find a friend or hire a professional graphic designer.
In general we want our websites to:
a) Convey the purpose of our business clearly
b) Represent our business in a professional and attractive way, and generate trust (competence)
c) Allow the reader to navigate easily to where we want them to go
Luckily, if you are complete novice (or not) there are tons of great resources (free and paid) out there in terms of design. Two websites we regularly use at Nomad Haven have great design tutorials and tips, such Canva's design spotlight (we love the color palette generator!) and Wix that allows everyone to create a high-quality website without knowing how to code that includes web hosting and design services. YouTube's Flux Academy also has a ton of useful web design courses, and one video - "5 Common Beginner Web Design Mistakes to Avoid" with real life example webpages that they collated caught our eye, and we are sharing their recommendations here.
#1: Large navigation link text
We can use the criteria of purpose, competence and navigation to spot a competence error in the example webpage above👆 as noticed by the design professionals at Flux Academy. Here, the navigation link (the login button at the top right) is more prominent than the company logo (Studio 101 at the top left), and much bigger than the paragraph text. A good rule of thumb is to periodically check in the browser in full width/preview mode, and not just stay on the mock-up page to get an idea of sizing. It's also important to check both desktop and phone mode, as many of us use the phone primarily.
#2: Minimalist design with no context
No doubt minimalist designs can look very good. However, it can sometimes be unclear in terms of what the message is. Here we see a "purpose" error. Is the page above👆🏼for travel, meditation, or a hotel? Much more context is needed. As Albert Einstein said, “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler”.
#3: Unclear hierarchy/too busy
The navigation error is that this page👆🏼has too many things going on that vie for the reader’s attention, and there is no place to focus. Design hierarchy is important in order to prioritize the main points. What is your number 1 priority for the page, then the number 2 priority and so on?
#4: Image text contrast
The page above👆🏼lacks contrast between the background images and the text on top. This makes the text difficult to read. This is a surprisingly common competency error, but one that is quick to fix.
#5: Poor alignment and balance
The competency error is that the text and objects on these pages 👆🏼are not aligned properly to one another or to the whole layout. The reader may be confused in terms of direction of where to start and continue reading. Again, these are quick to fix if you have the alignment ruler and grids on.
There you have it. The important thing is to keep design and color basics in mind, and get feedback in terms of your website purpose, competence and ease of navigation. Here at Nomad Haven, we have a wonderful womanhood who nurture and support each other, and are always ready and willing to provide valuable feedback on our websites as we proceed along our entrepreneurship journey!
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