The first impression is indeed the last impression. Whenever someone visits your website for the first time, they make split-second judgments about its design. They judge you on the basis of your website design. According to research, 46.1% of people said that a website’s design was their preferred criteria for determining the credibility of a company.

People harp on the importance of social media, SEO, creating leads that convert and with all this, they overlook the importance of having a unique web design. There is no doubt in the fact that these components do matter, but your web design is utmost important which can actually make or break your conversion rates. Even if you think the web design is not your forte, you still cannot overlook it meanwhile it is very important to follow those web design practices that directly strikes conversions. A website shouldn’t only look attractive but also function as a conversion machine.

Here are a few important guidelines that will provide you with an immediate and sustainable boost in conversions…

Apply Rule of Third

Rule of third is the most famous photography rule that also applies to web design. According to this rule you should use an overlay with two vertical and two horizontal lines evenly spaced. The four middle intersections remain strategic places in the sense that when objects are placed on these points, it creates the most impactful design or image. So, if you want to create an appealing web design, place the most important sections on these intersections so that people get their focus on them, to boost the conversion rate.

Moreover, there is no need to strictly align your entire website by the rule of thirds instead just use it as a tool to place integral elements of your website.

Make Use of Hick’s Law

Hick’s law is often cited in the world of web design.  It applies that time needed for an individual to make a decision is directly proportionate to the possible choices an individual has. Which means that by increasing the number of choices, decision time is also increased. Consequently, action is lost in proportion to the number of choices being presented. Therefore, you should lessen the number of choices offered to boost the conversions.

To cut off the number of choices start off from your website’s navigation bar. Reduce the number of links present on it or the visitor will lose interest. But remember, the Hick’s Law does not stop here. Think from all the dimensions of a user’s decision when he/she visits your website apart from just lessening navigation bar links.

Big & Bold Typography

Anything which is clearly written becomes prominent.  Big & Bold typography never fails to cater attention and has been a massive hit in the recent years and will continue to be so. Typography plays a vital role in giving a boost to your brand and having big bold typography will work effectively for your website.  The obvious reason behind that is, they are easy to read and understand and can surely grab the attention of the visitors. When that happens, people want to know more about your brands, products and services which results in creating increased conversions.

Use Negative Space Positively

In case you do not know what negative space is, it is the white space in the whole design which has no elements on it. We call it ‘negative space’ in the technical terms. It is not only the space between larger elements which are empty between your content and sidebar. But the space between smaller elements is also counted as negative.

So, the point to make here is, use this negative space to set up Call-to-Action buttons and other important elements of your website and there is a chance of increased conversions.

All forms of negative space either small or large should be given attention in order to keep everything legible, scannable. But be sure that your site design doesn’t get messed up with all the stuffing on the negative space. The point to make here is, use negative space positively.

Consider F-Layout

According to several pieces of research user’s behavior of surfing a website is reading the whole screen in an ‘F’ shape format. They first look on the top left to right on the screen, after that scan downwards, then after reading some content, they reach the bottom-right corner of the page.

Which means a user’s main focus is at the top of any web page. Knowing that, take benefit and place the CTA buttons along with the ‘F’ shaped frame. You can put the link to your latest blogs on the left- side of the web page as it will increase the chances of conversion.
Put the least important details such as cookie policy and sponsored ads at the bottom of your web design.

Colors Catch the Eye

Colors play a vital role in catching the audience’s attention. Pick such a color scheme and combination for your website that evokes the emotion you want to convey with your brand. When you pick a color scheme for your web site, go for a combination that evokes the emotion you want to convey with your brand. Choosing the right color for your brand is very crucial in bringing online conversions. Colors are under-rated but are the most powerful tool to cater visitor’s attention. So, use colors to stir the emotions of your visitors so that they are persuaded to respond to CTAs on your website. They can increase brand recognition and help visitors in taking action. Hence, resulting in increased conversions.