Introduction
Having a well designed website is crucial for any new business.
But between tight budgets and lack of design or technical expertise, it may seem overwhelming.
Not to worry!
Following several core web design principles, even beginners can create compelling, high-converting startup sites. This comprehensive guide covers the essential design principles and how to use them to establish credibility, impress investors, and attract customers.
Let’s get started with the design principles every startup website needs:
Key Web Design Principles
Alignment Creates Visual Hierarchy
Proper alignment means strategically positioning items like headlines, text, and images to create a visual hierarchy that guides visitors’ eyes on a path down the page.
Using bold colors and large fonts, key elements like value propositions will stand out. Paragraph text and supporting details come next in the visual flow thanks to smart alignment.
Contrast Commands Attention
Contrast refers to bold differences between page elements. Contrasting colors, sizes, fonts, and white space grabs users’ attention.
Low-contrast sites wash together, causing visitors to overlook vital items like calls-to-action (CTAs). Trello uses high color contrast on its homepage CTA buttons, making them instantly eye-catching.
Consistency Builds Trust
Repeating design themes across your site promotes familiarity and credibility. Brands use style guides to maintain consistent visuals. Startups should be consistent with:
- Colors
- Logos
- Fonts
- Navigation style
However, complete uniformity also carries risk. Overly repetitive sites become boring quickly. Find the right balance to establish cohesion while keeping uniqueness.
Whitespace Supports Scannability
Whitespace refers to empty space around elements on a page. Though it seems counterintuitive, whitespace improves site scannability and aesthetics.
Carefully placed whitespace creates relationships between page sections. Leave breathing room around headlines and chunks of text to aid readability. Mobile sites especially require ample whitespace.
Simplicity Reduces Cognitive Load
Lastly, effective web design adheres to the principle of simplicity. Overly complex sites overload users with stimuli. Simplifying layouts, messaging, navigation and other elements reduces cognitive load.
For startups, resist packing pages with unneeded content or visuals. Maintain focus on your core unique value proposition. Use a minimalist design and avoid unnecessary details.
Principles in Action
Now that we’ve covered the foundational principles, let’s see examples of startups applying them effectively:
- Mailchimp masterfully uses alignment to direct attention to their email marketing value prop, email submission form, and CTA.
- Calendly uses high-contrast colors to accentuate important clickable elements across their pages.
- Gusto repeats logo, colors, and navigation style across all site pages for consistency.
- Uber Eats incorporates ample whitespace in their mobile app design for visual clarity.
- Slack keeps their homepage clean and clutter-free with a simple layout focused on core messaging.
Following the lead of successful companies by leveraging these design principles provides a recipe for visually pleasing, conversion-oriented websites. These are qualities of the top web designers out there, and you should follow their lead.
Budget Web Design Options
We’ve covered the key principles, but how can cash-strapped startups apply them without breaking the bank? Here are budget-friendly solutions:
- Leverage templated website builders like Squarespace and Carrd which make good design easy.
- Buy professional stock photos from affordable providers like Unsplash.
- Use free image editing tools like Canva to create custom graphics.
- Download free fonts from Google Fonts to avoid licensing fees.
- Learn basic graphic design skills from YouTube tutorials.
- Barter services like design work in exchange for web development help.
While hiring a designer is ideal, following the principles outlined here will still let startups create attractive, conversion-focused sites on a bootstrap budget.
Optimizing for Conversions
Remember, effective web design isn’t about aesthetics alone – it’s about driving business results. A beautifully designed website is useless unless it converts visitors into paying customers.
That’s why honing these core web design principles is so crucial for startups. Well-designed sites engage users, establish trust, and drive conversions…key ingredients for success.
Here are a few final tips for ensuring your startup site design converts:
- Use contrasting colors to make CTAs prominent.
- Break up lengthy content into scannable sections with whitespace.
- Use visitor analytics to identify and fix pages with high exit rates.
- Ensure site responsiveness so it engages on any device.
- Place trust symbols and social proof near calls-to-action.
- Remove unnecessary distractions to minimize cognitive load.
Now you’re armed with expert knowledge of web design principles tailored specifically to startups. Simply applying these best practices will set your business up for online success and impressive growth.
