How to Design an Eye-Catching Modern Website

Your business is agile, customer-oriented, and primed for a great year. But your website is still giving off a dated vibe, and potentially driving away customers.

Now what?

If you’re curious about some ways to turn your site into a sleek and effective hub, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’re going through some easy-to-implement strategies that will give you a modern website in no time.

Sound interesting? Keep reading to find out more!

Big Picture Decisions

Before you get into the nitty-gritty of web design and color palettes, you need to have a clear vision of what your goals are for your site.

This starts with the core reason the site exists in the first place.

Is it an e-commerce site? Then it exists to showcase your products.

Is it a site to garner business for your architecture firm? Then it exists to highlight the previous work your firm has done.

These subtle nuances can have a big effect on how you ultimately optimize your site. You’ll want the general flow and navigation to be optimized for the particular types of visitors you’re seeking, and what you want to achieve with the site.

Then you’ll be able to more easily make choices in whatever website builder you choose.

Modern Website Elements

Screen design allows a modern site to really shine, and that means resisting the temptation to fill the screen with as much content as possible.

White space can be your friend. Not only will it convey a sense of importance for what IS on the screen, it will make sure that visitors don’t feel confused or overwhelmed by the visuals of the site.

But at the same time, that doesn’t mean you are only focusing your design efforts on small portions of the screen. Modern sites take the full screen into account, and often that means breaking away from the traditional boxed nature of older websites.

Your content should generally be placed in easy-to-find, digestible spaces on the screen.

But that means everything else could be a little more fluid. You can experiment with both white space and things like images and video content, putting them in more surprising areas on the screen.

The key is to break away from the adage that everything on the page needs a box, and that borders should separate each element. Modern design says you can let go of that idea!

Shadows and Overlaps

The use of shadows and overlaps goes hand-in-hand with the previous section. You can use both of these elements to break free from the old-school boxy look.

When you design a website, a great method is to simulate a sense of depth to the screen. Use drop shadows on text and imagery to make the content feel like it moves in multiple directions. Just don’t overdo it, or the shadows will draw attention away from the elements in front of them.

And overlapping your elements is a great way to get out of the box. Sites of the past would always keep text and images separate. But adding text to your images in the right way can give a sense of fluidity and modern aesthetics.

You can also have elements from your page go past the presumed borders on the screen. It’ll give the user a sense of freedom and artistic flair.

Variety in Layouts

If every page on your site looks generally the same, it will quickly feel dated.

You don’t have to have drastically different looks for each page on the site. That will turn people away.

Uniformity from page to page is a good thing, and the use of a distinct color palette, specific design choices, etc., will help achieve that. At the same time, varying the layout from page to page can be a refreshing change.

This doesn’t mean drastic changes as you move forward with your website redesign. Adding elements like new shapes, some asymmetry, and new typography can keep the site from looking boring.

The goal should be to have layout changes from page to page that keep things interesting, but don’t make it seem as if the user has accidentally clicked through to a different site!

Custom Graphics

Sure, you can find a lot of images around the web that might work for your site. The same goes for iconography.

However, opting to hire out for custom graphics and iconography is an excellent way to make your site pop.

Modern sites stand out when they are unlike anything people have seen before. Utilizing custom art not only gives it a unique look, but also makes the site look like a cohesive entity.

Rather than pages that were clearly populated by Google image searches, your site will convey a sense of uniformity and clarity, which are both essential when you’re looking to build a brand.

So look to work with designers who can provide custom elements to your site like icons, images, and even photographs.

Movement

Transitions and animated content are a must in the world of modern website design.

This doesn’t mean your site has to look like a television show or animated movie. But subtle and sleek-looking movement on a page takes it from bland to exciting.

You should consider things like hover effects, and reveal animations. Even a simple fade between photos in a gallery can make the page pop more, giving it a modern feel.

But be careful-too much movement and animation can quickly backfire. You don’t want the screen to be moving to the point where it becomes less appealing to look at, or confusing to the visitor.

You also don’t want server-intense graphics that make your page take a while to load. The average person is only willing to spend a couple of seconds waiting for a page to load before moving on.

Modern Web Design Is a Must

Hopefully, you now can see the merits of incorporating modern design ideas into your site. And these tips are the best way to get started. They’ll help ensure you’re ramping up to a modern website in no time!

If you’re curious about the potential costs of designing a new site, we’ve got a great breakdown for you

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