Simple tips to level up your site
Starting your initial website design can be so overwhelming.
What fonts do I use? How many colors should I pick? How do I format everything? Where in the heck do I even start?
Trust me, I get it. This blog post is going to give you my best tips on how to simplify the design your Squarespace website. The goal? You hit the ground running on your website design without feeling overwhelmed.
The Website Journey
The website journey is the path your visitors take through your site. It’s a guide on how to best navigate your site. The idea is that a new visitor of your site is easily able to walk through it without feeling overwhelmed and leaving.
Things to think about when planning for your site journey:
How do you want your visitors to feel while visiting the website?
What’s the main goal you want to achieve when someone visits your site? Ex. - Join an email list, fill out a contact form, shop, book an appointment, etc.
What information do you need to include on your site?
From answering all these questions, you can start your outline for your main pages. This maps out the journey your visitors will go on.
Sample Website Journey
Okay, let’s just say I’m designing a site for an online women’s clothing boutique. Here’s a sample site journey I could use.
Home Page
About Boutique
Featured Products
Best Sellers
Contact Info Footer
Shop Page
Search Bar
Categories
Women’s
Men’s
Kid’s
Contact Page
Address
Phone Number
Contact Form
Image Actually Matters
I can’t stress this enough; images on your website matter! But the solution may not be as complicated as you think. Not everyone has the large budget for gorgeous branding images. That’s why I love stock photography. There are so many websites that provide gorgeous stock photography you can use for a fraction of the price. If you can’t get branding photos, stock photography is your next best option.
Stock Photography Site Favorites:
These are just a few of my favorite places for stock photography. Click on the title to view the site.
Before you go crazy with stock images, make sure you keep in mind….
Stick with cohesive images; make sure photos match the theme, colors and layout of your site.
Staying with the same photographer is a great way to keep things looking nice
Utilize the use of SPACE
Lots of people struggle with this concept because they want to fill their site with as much information as possible and use all the space they possibly can. Unfortunately, doing this translates to clutter and overwhelming design when it comes to your website.
When it comes to space, more is more.
I like to think of space on your site as room to breath and digest the information your providing. Condense your content down to main points and add in more space along the sides and base of your website design. I promise it will pay off!
It takes time, but you’ve got this.
In summary, Squarespace site design doesn’t have to be totally overwhelming. It just requires some trial and error while choosing quality of quantity.
Still needing help with your design? Get a gorgeous site designed with your ideal client in mind from a mom entrepreneur who understands juggling business ownership and raising a family.
Happy website designing!
MIRANDA SHIRLEY
