The internet is filled with websites that display various information. Your online portfolio, for instance, has to compete with millions of other portfolios from other designers, all for the attention of potential customers. The only way you can stand out from the crowd is by being different.
Being different doesn’t always mean making radical design decisions and unnecessary changes. After all, you still have to think about the user experience, or UX. Fortunately, there are still so many things you can do to make your site shine and improve your UX at the same time.
A Readable Font
Decorative fonts are great, especially when they are tied to your brand or your key messages specifically. Some brands get recognized by the fonts they use, even when the fonts are not used exclusively for the brand.
That said, you still need a readable font for your website. When the site is readable, users will spend more time on your site and read the articles – or other resources – you post on it.
You don’t have to look far for a good font to use. Review your brand elements and find a font that goes along with those elements perfectly. You have a long list of options to choose from, which is why finding the right modern font is highly rewarding.
Simplify
Some parts of your website can actually be simplified with a few tweaks. For example, you can start simplifying the Contact form to expand its leads gathering capacity. Rather than asking users to choose from dropdowns, fill multiple fields, and complete other tasks, a simple interface for getting in touch is much better.
Removing unnecessary web elements is also a good idea. The animations you added a few years ago, old work that is not worth featuring, and comments or blog posts that aren’t relevant to the site itself are worth removing.
Once again, there are reasons why taking the time to simplify is worth doing; it is because of the boost in performance that comes afterwards. Optimizing your site for mobile users is also a must, especially with more potential clients using their mobile devices.
Pay Attention to Consistency
Consistency is very important in today’s internet landscape and for marketing purposes in general. At the very least, you want potential customers to be able to recognize your site as being yours from the branding elements you add to it.
Consistency is also necessary for better user experience. A consistent navigation menu is far easier to use and get used to. The same can be said for layouts and icons. Stick with the norms when developing the site so that you don’t need to educate the users too much later in the site’s lifecycle. It is a clear investment for the future of the site itself.
All of these tips are easy to implement. At the end of the day, what matters is finding the right balance between a site that looks great, and one that is usable. Don’t hesitate to personalize your website to better compete on the market, especially now that you have these tips in mind.
