Your website often serves as the first impression of your brand. WordPress, favoured for its flexibility and robust features, is a top choice for building and managing websites across the UK. However, the power of WordPress also demands that you design a website that not only looks appealing but functions efficiently. Here, we’ll delve into some smart WordPress design tricks to boost both the aesthetics and usability of your website.
Embrace a Mobile-First Approach
With over half of global web traffic coming from mobile devices, having a mobile-responsive website is no longer optional. Start by choosing a theme that is inherently responsive. WordPress offers a plethora of themes that are optimised for mobile devices, ensuring your content looks crisp on any screen size.
Leverage the Customiser
WordPress comes with a built-in Customiser that lets you tweak various aspects of your site’s appearance directly from the dashboard. You can modify colours, fonts, and layout options, and see the changes in real time. Utilising the Customiser allows you to maintain consistency in your design elements, such as your colour scheme and typography, which is crucial for brand identity.
Utilise Widgets and Plugins
Widgets and plugins are among WordPress’s most powerful features. Widgets can be used to add a variety of content and features to your sidebars and footers, such as custom menus, recent posts, or search bars. Plugins, on the other hand, can extend functionality far beyond the basic WordPress features. From SEO optimisation tools like Yoast SEO to security plugins like Wordfence, the right plugins can enhance both the performance and functionality of your site.
Keep It Simple
When it comes to website design, simplicity often trumps complexity. A clean, uncluttered layout helps users find what they need without hassle. Avoid excessive use of widgets or plugins that could slow down your site. Also, be mindful of your colour scheme and font choices. A palette with a few complementary colours and readable fonts can go a long way in improving user experience.
Prioritise Speed and Performance
A slow website can be detrimental to user experience and SEO rankings. Optimise your images by compressing them without losing quality, which can drastically reduce page load times. Additionally, consider using a content delivery network (CDN) to speed up content delivery by serving data from the nearest server to the user’s location.
Make Navigation Intuitive
Your website’s navigation should guide visitors through your site with ease. Ensure your menus are accessible and logical. Use descriptive labels for menu items and organise content under relevant categories. A well-structured navigation setup not only improves usability but also helps with your site’s SEO performance.
Focus on Accessibility
Making your website accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, is not only a good practice but often a legal requirement. Use high-contrast text and backgrounds to ensure readability, provide alt text for images, and use headers correctly to structure your content logically. WordPress plugins like WP Accessibility can help in making your site more accessible.
Incorporate Social Sharing Features
Integrating social sharing buttons on your website can enhance your content’s reach and encourage more engagement. Plugins like Jetpack or Easy Social Sharing offer simple solutions for adding social buttons without slowing down your site. Place these buttons strategically to maximise visibility without interfering with the user experience.
Update Regularly
WordPress, themes, and plugins are constantly being updated to introduce new features, improve security, and optimise performance. Keeping your site, themes, and plugins up-to-date is crucial for maintaining high performance and security standards.
Backup Regularly
Last but not least, ensure you regularly back up your website. Should anything go wrong, having a recent backup means you can restore your site to its previous state without significant loss of data or time. Plugins like UpdraftPlus or VaultPress make backing up and restoring your WordPress site straightforward.
Incorporating these WordPress design tricks will not only improve the aesthetic appeal of your site but also enhance its functionality and user experience. Remember, the key to a successful website is not just how it looks but also how well it performs.