Don’t know what you want from your new website? Follow these tips.
Feeling overwhelmed about creating or upgrading your business website? This guide simplifies the process by helping you define your website’s purpose, envision its design, and plan its content. From setting clear goals—like generating leads or showcasing your work—to choosing a cohesive color scheme and leveraging competitor insights, these practical tips will steer you toward smart decisions. Whether you’re starting fresh or giving your site a facelift, Starfire Web Design is here to support you in building a site that boosts your business and stands out online.
Choosing Serif or Sans Serif Fonts
Serif or sans serif? The debate rages on among designers, and it’s just as relevant for websites as it is for print. Serif fonts, like Times New Roman, bring a classic, formal vibe with their decorative flourishes, while sans serif options like Arial offer a clean, modern simplicity. Though readability myths once divided them, it’s really about context—font size, style, and your site’s vibe. The best websites often mix both, proving it’s less about rules and more about the message you want to send.
Should I Use a Slider on My Website?
Sliders, or carousels, are a polarizing web design feature—loved for packing info into a compact, eye-catching space, yet criticized for tanking conversions and SEO. They keep content above the fold, showcase your brand with auto-cycling messages, and appeal to users who enjoy them. But beware: research shows low click-through rates, slower load times, and content that’s invisible to search engines. Plus, users often ignore them as ads. Weigh the pros and cons—sliders can shine or flop depending on your site’s goals.
What Is a Mood Board in Graphic Design?
Mood boards are a designer’s secret weapon, even in web design. Once physical collages, they’re now digital canvases—like Pinterest or Creonomy Board—brimming with inspiration. Fill yours with anything that sparks your site’s vibe: killer fonts, stunning color schemes, or even nature shots from a photo trek. Add notes and organize by themes to keep it functional, not just pretty. Don’t copy—let it ignite your originality, fueling a standout design that’s uniquely yours.
Basic Website Design Principles
Learn from others’ web design wins and flops—start by defining your site’s purpose and target users. Build a cohesive brand with consistent colors, fonts, and voice, while keeping the layout simple and uncluttered with smart use of white space. Make key info—like contact details or buying options—easy to find, and hook visitors with bold, high-quality images and a compelling top-left focal point. These essentials set the stage for a site that grabs attention and delivers results.
Branding Consistency
Consistency is the backbone of branding—linking what your business offers to how customers feel, see, and remember it, like Starbucks with its steady logo, clear taglines, and upscale vibe. Stick to one font, a timeless logo, and a uniform message across all platforms; don’t shuffle words or confuse your audience. Sell a feeling—luxury, trust, fun—and deliver it everywhere, from your site to your service. Focus on your target customer, keep it sharp, and watch your brand solidify.
Who’s Your Dream Client?
Before gathering content for your website, one critical question needs answering: Who is your dream client? This ideal customer—pinpointed through a business plan, local demographics, or tools like Google Analytics and social media insights—shapes your online presence. For our client, a 14-year business owner, reports from scheduling software, Google Analytics, and Facebook Insights revealed her typical client, helping her decide if she wants to refine or shift her target. Defining this dream client guides your website’s design, from colors and fonts to content tone, ensuring it resonates with the exact demographic you want to attract.
First Things First
Kicking off a new website build starts with two key questions: What do you want your site to do, and what message should it send? For our salon client, the answer was a site that’s a hub for finding the business, browsing services and prices, booking appointments, shopping online, and showcasing staff and work—while feeling clean, professional, and high-end with a touch of whimsy. With 14 years in business, she knew her audience and wanted a welcoming vibe that says, “Relax, enjoy top-notch service, and leave refreshed.” Defining your site’s purpose and message is step one—your homework before we dive deeper in future posts!
Extensions
Purchasing the extensions for you website domain can secure your branding.
Grace’s Cases Designs, Our Newest Client
GracesCases Designs, founded by Portland’s Grace Fross to solve her own knitting needle storage woes, has grown a loyal following online and in select stores. Seeking to expand beyond Etsy and Facebook, Grace tapped Starfire to craft a website with a blog for customer connection, a product showcase, and future eCommerce potential—all on a tight budget. We collaborated closely, refining her layout and logo to match her vision while keeping content organized and accessible. Her stunning, functional needle cases shine on the new site—perfect for knitters in your life. Check it out, and swing by our social pages to say hi this Christmas season!
