The Importance Of Website Aesthetics

It’s true what they say – You only have one chance to make a first impression. The same goes for your website. Along with your website layout, your Website Aesthetics also play a major role in making that impression.

From the second someone first lays eyes on your site, you have just seconds to grab their attention. Sure, your content may be the most genius thing ever written, but it can’t step up to the plate and do the first-impression job.

For that, you need a great “look” to your website. Like the perfect little black dress or an exquisitely tailored suit, a well-dressed website will instantly grab a visitor’s attention and keep it long enough for your content to take over and do its job.

These days you’ve probably heard lots about “SEO” or Search Engine Optimisation, which is a powerful way to get your website noticed. But no matter how optimized your website is, no matter how much website traffic you generate, if your site doesn’t present a good image visitors won’t stay for long. If visitors don’t stay long enough to hear what you have to say, all of your SEO efforts (and, if you’ve paid someone to write that SEO content for you, money) will have been for nothing.

So how do you now if your site is wearing the goods? Read on.

Website Aesthetics – The Home Page

By far the most important part of any website when it comes to making an impression is the homepage. Because this is most often the landing page (the page a visitor is lead to via search results) this is the best place to pull out all the website aesthetics stops. Before examining what a good homepage is, let’s examine what one isn’t.

A good website homepage isn’t cluttered. It doesn’t have cumbersome blocks of uninterrupted text, it isn’t filled with dozens of gaudy advertisements and flash animation that make it take forever to load. It doesn’t cheapen itself by dressing itself in endless streams of flashing banners and overly emphasized text.

A website that effectively uses Website Aesthetics does:

• Compel visitors to return.

• Present an eye-pleasing image.

• Make it easy for a visitor to navigate.

But what are good website aesthetics? Essentially, it’s about striking a balance between eye-catching website design and a user-friendly layout. To do that, follow these few simple rules:

Keep It Quiet

It’s no secret that many people surf the internet at work, and often the time spent online is not work related. Let your visitors stay incognito to their bosses – don’t put audio on your homepage! Or at least don’t put audio on your home page that automatically starts playing when the page is loaded. Give your visitors the option of turning the audio on if they want to hear it.

Get Out Your Colour Wheel

Colours have moods. Think about when you walk into a room. If the walls in that room are fiery red, you will get a distinctly different feeling than if you walk into a room with pale blue walls. When planning to make your website, you will also want to consider the kind of mood or mindset you want to put your visitors in when they visit your site. One of the best and most impactful ways to do that is through effective use of colour.

So, if your site is designed to sell baby products, perhaps it would be a good idea to use soothing pastel colours that people most often associate with babies. Conversely, if your business is designed to sell sleek, modern furniture, a more graphic color scheme of black and white with hits of primary colors may get the message across more effectively. Do a little research on color theory and choose a scheme that conveys the mood you want to create.

Another note about colour – It’s also important to choose colors that not only match the intended mood of your site and the type of products you are selling, but also of the goal of your site. This may require you to use different colour schemes on different pages within your site, depending on the page. For example, you may want your homepage to be soothing and inviting, compelling visitors to stay and read what you have to say. But on your sales pages you may want a more vibrant, “call to action” colour scheme to get people excited about buying your product.

It’s All In The Way You Say It

Just as the choice of color for your site is an important part of website aesthetics, so too is the choice of the font you use.

Fonts have personalities! Some are playful and fun, some are stylish and funky, and others are austere and serious. Choosing the right one will help to instantly create a style or aesthetic to your website that will convey a clear message about what your business philosophy is. Let’s look at an example:

Let’s say your business is a law firm dealing with domestic abuse, divorce, and custody issues. Would you really want to use a font such as this?

Probably not, right? Such a busy, casual font doesn’t fit the mood of such a business. A better choice would be something like this:

Do you see the difference? The second example is much more conservative, conveying a more serious image that is appropriate to the content. There is nothing inherently wrong about the first font – it may be perfect for a website for a whimsical child’s clothing line website.

Remember: No matter which font you choose for your body text, however, it is always advisable to use a plain, easy-to-read font for important contact information like phone numbers and email addresses. You want this information to be easy to find.

Consider Your Audience

Another important consideration in Website Aesthetics is demographics. That is, you have to understand your target audience to be able to understand what kind of aesthetic will likely appeal to them.

If your target demographic is an older, more sophisticated crowd, consider choosing a more traditional font. If you are interested in appealing to a young, hip crowd you can probably take a few more liberties and use a funkier, more creative font. Always remember to keep your website content readable, though!

Thanks for stopping by!
Scotty S. ©2009

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