Designing a website is about more than simply getting all of your important information on a page. Today, there are so many other elements that make a site navigable, attractive, and interesting to users, and these are the things that we at Neff Associates are interested in bringing to your design. So, what is it that makes a website stand out from the others? Here is a list of some of the essential elements of good web design:

1.  Responsive Design – According to the Pew Research Center, 64% of U.S. adults own a smartphone of some variety, and 19% use of them it to access the Internet to some degree. That’s a lot of people viewing sites on a small screen, and a demographic that your business cannot afford to ignore. And there’s every indication that that number could grow. By having a responsive site that adapts to the type of device that it’s being viewed on, you can ensure that your information gets to your target audience more effectively.

2.  User-Friendliness – It’s no good having responsive design if your site is badly organized and hard to use. You’ll need to make sure that your whole site is aesthetically pleasing and makes sense to users. For instance, these are some key points to user-friendliness:

• Your navigation buttons should be easy to find and organized based on a hierarchy of importance
• Any interlinking between pages should be natural, and appropriate to the subject matter
• The loading times for all pages should be short or you will lose the attention of visitors
• Your paragraphs should be short and text should be broken up with graphics, bullet points, numbered lists, etc.

3.  Easy Social Media Access – You’ll definitely want to ensure easy access to social media accounts related to your business, as mobile users are particularly active on social platforms. It’s a good idea to have social media buttons displayed prominently on your main page, as well as on your bottom menu. And if you don’t have social media accounts yet, get them! Choose the platforms that make the most sense to your business, starting with the most common, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc.

4.  Visual Media – Visual interest is priceless in marketing, and if your company happens to have any videos showing a work process, images of your products, or charts or infographics showing industry statistics, it can make a huge impact on user engagement. Animation, DIY tutorials, slideshows—anything that breaks up the text on your site and presents ideas and information in an easy-to-digest format is a good idea.

These are just some of the key elements to web design in the current market. But watch out! The ever-changing nature of the Internet means that half of the web standards that are considered necessary today might be completely irrelevant in just a few years. If you are looking for a company that can customize your site to meet all of today’s design standards and keep up with the trends of tomorrow, look no further than our Philadelphia web design company, Neff Associates!