When planning out the design for your website, there are many things to take into account. First of all, you need to come up with a design which is both visually appealing and highly converting with regards to lead generation. Lead generation means the desired action you want your visitors to perform once they are on your site. It might be a form they need to complete to sign up for your newsletter or a completed purchase of your product. Depending on your offered service area, you may have a different goal. Regardless of which purpose you have, you need a strategic design for the site.
Planning a Strategic Design
When determining how your site will look, there are lots of options to consider. First is the site structure. Most sites have a header with navigation, a body where your main content is, and finally a footer where you list contact and copyright details. In the body, it’s most common to have a two-column layout, the first more substantial column is to display the main article, and the other second smaller column for ads, most popular articles and most popular topics, etc. This two-column layout is popular among blogs. If you have a lot of links you want the user to pay attention to, consider having a 3-column arrangement instead. You can view a layout of 3 columns with banner ad example here to get an idea.
Most of the time, if you want to build a brand online website, you will need more than just a front page and a contact form. You’ll need regular content to keep your users coming back again and again. For the front page, having a single-column layout is an excellent way to start. But for the blog, you’ll typically need at least a two-column plan. Don’t worry about not having a coherent structure throughout the site. As long as you use the same colour, font, and other design patterns, you will be fine.
Having a strategic design pattern will not only help you create the structure you want but also attain your economic goal. A high converting site is often also one with a strategic design. Before you start coding or implementing your design ideas, spend enough time planning them out. If you are working as a team with other people, it helps to use some sort of mockup or UI wireframe tool to visually plan out the design you will be working on. Having a clear idea will not only save you time and confusion but also help you organise things better. Whenever you need a change, you just have to edit the mockup and send it to everyone who is working on the project.