Designing your own website can be an exciting, rewarding and budget-friendly choice in the earliest stages of your new business. Thinking through your website design can help you clarify the purpose of your business and set goals. Designing your own site can help you figure out your USP and how you want clients to reach you. Creating a website helps you identify your target audience, as well as getting hands-on with your branding and visual identity.
Transforming a homemade website into a more professional-looking one doesn’t require a complete overhaul – with some strategic improvements, you can elevate the design. Here are some tips to upgrade your homemade website.
1. Think visual
Homemade websites are easy to spot. Inconsistent spacing and visual overwhelm are common issues, so simplicity and attention to detail is key. Select a cohesive colour palette that aligns with your brand. Go for a maximum of three colours, varying the tones to add interest. You can use a tool like Coolors to visualise how the colours work alongside each other. Again, with typography, go minimal. I recommend choosing three fonts, using weight and spacing to add variety. Choose professional and easy-to-read styles and keep styles and sizes consistent to maintain visual coherence. Check your fonts are available across the software you use (including email marketing and graphic design software). Choose visuals that resonate with your brand and content and delete any low-resolution or pixelated images.
2. Optimise for mobile devices and check your website across browsers
Ensure your website is fully responsive, so it looks great and functions well on all screen sizes. Check the spacing on your nav menu – is it easy for mobile users to click the links you want them to access?
3. Create consistent content
Arrange your content logically and create clear navigation menus. You can create 50 pages using Wix, but that is absolutely no excuse to build a bloated site. Include prominent and well-designed CTAs throughout your website to guide visitors to take specific actions and keep your website content fresh and up to date. Regularly update blog posts, product listings, or news sections and integrate with your social media profiles to show your website is actively maintained.
4. Go geeky
Install an SSL certificate to encrypt data and provide a secure browsing experience for your visitors, use secure hosting, ensure your About, Contact, Privacy Policy and TOS pages are present, as well as any legal disclaimers relevant to your industry. Check for and fix broken links for a smooth browsing experience, check for and optimise your 404 page, resize, optimise and compress images, use a CDN service and use redirects, noindex and nofollow correctly. Check your site speed regularly to ensure it is quick to load to make a HUGE impact to your Google search rankings.
5. Proofread and check
Everything should be read aloud to ensure you have a good flow through your copy and your tone of voice feels consistent across the various pages.
Remember, designing your own website requires time, patience, and a willingness to learn. If you’re up for the challenge, DIY website design can be a fantastic way to showcase your creativity and save money. However, if you feel overwhelmed or lack the necessary skills, don’t hesitate to seek professional help from a web designer or developer. Whichever path you choose, a well-thought-out plan and a clear vision will set you on the right track to creating a stunning and successful website!
