While you are crafting and designing your website pages, you are viewing the “big picture.” But, while you gaze out over the whole forest, don’t forget to take a look at the individual trees as well. Details are what separates a good website from one that people visit frequently and recommend to others.
Does It Really Matter?
The devil is in the details as they say. It is the detail at the smallest and most basic level that will make or break your website. When readers notice these anomalies, they may give you a chance to fix them. If you don’t, they will simply move on to a website that does take the extra time and effort to give their viewers a professional and aesthetically pleasing experience.
With that said, is your website up to snuff? It may require you to take a step back from your design so you are able to see what you couldn’t before. Ask a trusted friend to take a look at your work as a visitor would and find any detail flaws. It’ll all be worth it in the end.
Things That Are Worth Paying Attention To
Now it’s time to find out just where you might be going wrong with your website. What could potentially be driving people away from you? Here are a few tips.
1. Don’t try to put everything on the same page – It’s like hoarding for web designers. You may have a lot of lovely images and such, but they don’t convey the desired effect if they are all in one place. People can’t view them with an eye to focus on each one if they are not strategically presented. Spread it out.
2. Check for spelling errors – After viewing your web pages for several hours, your brain may just gloss over those missing letters because it knows that they were supposed to be there. Come back in a few hours with fresh eyes and catch those errors before you go live. Spelling mistakes are annoying and can slow down reading efforts. Besides, it’s just downright unprofessional looking.
3. Content breaks – It is hard to read a long content piece that is devoid of subheadings, bold typing, lists and the like. If you want readers to keep reading, build in some points of respite for their weary brains.
4. The grayed-out effect – Just like a dog can’t see colors, your web pages will become washed out when there is no contrast present to break things up and draw the eye to certain areas of the page. Websites are to be viewed for color and consistency as much as for the content. Just like French food, it should be a feast for the eyes as well.
Attention to detail matters to your audience. They want to know that you care.