Web design is one currently one of the fastest-growing professions out there. Pretty much every business today needs a website, so web designers have a lot of opportunities to grow their careers and even pick and choose what type of projects they want to work on. This demand for web designers has prompted a lot of people to look into web design as a career option. So if you’re just starting as a web designer and could use a nudge, or if you’re an experienced web designer that wants a bit of a refresher on the basics, these next few tips are for you.

Look at What’s Already out There

One common mistake web designers often make is they go with the first idea that comes into their mind and start creating immediately. You should always take a look back and see what’s already out there. Let’s say you’re designing a website for a brand new online casino. You should do some research on the other online casino websites already out there. Look at their designs, their UI, the kinds of imagery they use. Take note of the modern layouts they tend to focus on, and how they incorporate mobile-friendly designs so they suit smaller screens. If they offer a large selection of games, which they usually do, see in what ways they’ve managed to arrange them that doesn’t make them seem cluttered. If roulette seems to be a common theme among them, then maybe that’s your "in", to create an online casino people want to spend their time and money playing in.

Follow Standards

A lot of the time quirky designs might seem like a great idea in your head but when put them to the test they fall short. According to research, we’re a lot more comfortable with designs that follow some common standards which are pleasing to the eye and easy to navigate. This means that keeping your website design clean and simple will make it easier for users to like it. Some of these standards include keeping the logo and search bar at the top of the page, with the logo stationed on the left side. Icons that link to social media and contact information should be kept at the bottom of the page. A very important thing to keep in mind in today’s age of smartphones is to make the design mobile responsive so all users can enjoy the view without any issues.

Avoid Creating Tabs and Boxes for Content

This is a simple mistake to make but it could cost you. Creating expanding boxes and tabs of content is ineffective since the majority of users scan websites simply by scrolling and often avoid unnecessary clicks whenever possible. This means that creating tabs or boxes full of content that the user has to click through to reveal the content is not effective. It’s better to leave the content exposed tastefully so the user can easily see all of it when doing a simple scroll down through the page.