Ordering a website design and development is quite simple, there are thousands of agencies, studios, companies, and freelancers on the market who are ready to offer you their services. Also, you can do it yourself and create animated logo on VistaCreate. But how do you, as a client, know exactly what to look for when discussing a plan and scope of work without missing important details?
So, let’s say you’ve already decided for yourself that you need to order a site creation or an old redesign in order to… (insert which business problem the site design/redesign will solve). Then you start looking for a company that you actually have to trust completely in this important matter. Apart from this, the maintenance of the wesite is also needed on regular bases so we would advise you to go for a trustworthy web maintenance firm after doing a thorough research.
Below is the checklist of questions that you and the performer must answer and pay attention to.
Custom Design (UX)
This is the first thing to start discussing a new site design. The site must address certain issues. So, ordering a redesign of the site just for the sake of a good picture is the most illogical way to solve the problem. Researching its customers and product users have long been the foundation of a successful business in the world.
According to the Online Marketing Institute, 83% of users leave the site because they need too many clicks to get what they want.
If you are a business owner, you will definitely have a lot of “wants” and at some point decide to cram them all into one site. But… as the data of millions of studies show – “Easier – means better.” Do not overload the site interface with:
- information;
- graphics;
- text;
- the volume of information.
Create intuitive CTAs (Call to Action) and forms (the user does not have to go through all 7 rounds of registration to place an order).
Simple design. Do not overload unnecessarily! We make the site well-structured and well-thought-out.
Understandable CTA. This applies both to their meaning and whether they attract the eye visually.
Minimum pop-ups. Use only pop-ups that will actually be used, not annoy the user.
Clear navigation. Creative is good, but if you need to look for a button on your site for a long time, or how to remove the product from the cart – it is possible that the user will not want to come back to you a second time, even if you have the cheapest products.
We simplify registration and ordering. If possible, it’s great to add the ability to place an order without registering. Three steps to order is an ideal option.
One of the main principles of UX – do not to make the user think! The user must intuitively understand how to take the second step.
When discussing creating a site, be sure to consider the user path on your site. Just before you start working with the visual part – ask about the analytical data of your segment, or arrange a strategic session with the artist and create a CJM map of the site user.
Mobile-first
Mobile First is a method of developing an optimized website for different mobile devices, taking into account the speed of connection to the network. And the ability to display the main content to the user.
The most important requirement of this method:
Show the most important things first. The mobile version of the site should be easy to download and optimized, designed for users with low Internet speeds. The site should not download more resources than the user needs to obtain information. Mobile Internet is still not cheap, so do not force your potential customer to spend too much traffic on your web resource.
About the importance of the Mobile-first approach, the search giant Google wrote:
“We will increase the value of the mobile-friendly indicator in our ranking of results. These changes will affect mobile search in all languages of the world and significantly affect search results. This will make it easier for users to find results optimized for their devices. ”
Your site should not only have a mobile version but also be well-thought-out. And even better – ask for the first layout of the site in the mobile version.
Stylish Design
According to the Online Marketing Institute, 85% of users may leave a site due to poor design. Bright aggressive background, small font, inharmonious blocks – all this can cause the user to leave your site.
The main thing on the site should be highlighted – contrast/color / free space around. The style of the future site should be systematic. Unified buttons, colors, and minimum fonts.
Smooth animation and its number. All objects must have smooth animation. Don’t abuse the animation on the site, either. If you can reduce the amount of text – do it.
Consider the F-pattern of page views. The user browses the page, drawing the English letter F with his eyes. It is recommended to place important elements in the way the eyes interact. Well, only quality images.
Page 404
Sometimes some links no longer work, or the site no longer exists. Error status 404 indicates that an incorrect address was specified in the browser bar or the site page was deleted. The user sees this and can return to the home page or use the search. That’s why it’s important to create this page together.
Security Certificate and Privacy Policy
“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Users of your site also do not want their personal information to be known to anyone. To do this, a special SSL security certificate is installed on the site.
Usually, the data is transmitted via the HTTP protocol, and with the security certificate – via HTTPS. That is, in a protected way. On such sites, it is not scary to correspond, make orders, or leave a bank account number or personal data.
Search engines also respect sites with HTTPS. Therefore, they are more trusted by buyers and search engines. Security certificates are paid, but without them nowhere, if you have a serious and voluminous site.
And make sure that users of the site can read the security policy and consent to your storage of data.