So you made your website yourself – ain’t nothing wrong with that. Often at the beginning of a business, this is the smart way to go. Better to wait a few years until you’ve solidified what your business stands for and offers before you invest in working with a pro.
That being said, just because you made your website yourself, it doesn’t mean you want it to look that way. So here are the five things to avoid if you want your website to look like it was made by the professionals!
Photos are grainy or pixelated
To make your website look as pro as possible, make sure all photos are high resolution and large enough onsite to look crystal clear. One caveat: images that are too large will slow down your site big time and that’s no good either. Shoot for images that are 2000 pixels wide if the image will be 100% of the width of your site, or 1000 pixels wide if the image will be 50% of the width of your site.
Text on top of photos is hard to read
Text overlaid on photos can be a wonderful effect – it’s a great way to present words and visuals together as one. That being said, just make sure you have enough contrast between the color of your text and the color of your photo so the text is easy to read. Generally stick to white or black text on top and consider darkening or lightening your background image to increase contrast.
Your mobile version is mediocre at best
Have you checked your website on your phone lately? If not, the sooner the better. This is often where the secret that you made your website is given away. Make sure on mobile that your text is big enough to read, your user can access the menu easily from anywhere on your site, and all content is just as easy to understand as on desktop view.
Everything (text, etc.) is centered on the page
Often non-designers aren’t sure how to align their text and end up centering everything. In truth, there’s no better way to make your site look like it was made by a newbie. Stick to headlines for centered text and then left-align most everything else for a more polished look.
There is no unified, cohesive color palette
Beware of using too many colors on your website. You want a simple, unified palette of anywhere from two to five colors (ColorHunt is a great free site for finding a palette). Once you have your palette defined, put them into a hierarchy so you know which ones you want to use prominently. Using your color palette tastefully is one of the best way to make it look professional.
In Closing
Of course, when you’re a business owner, the ideal scenario is to work with a professional (like yours truly) on your website. Someone like me will work with you to pull out what’s most unique and special about your business and place it in the light for all the world to see! That being said, for many reasons, this isn’t always feasible and sometimes DIY is your best path. If that’s the case, follow the five tips above and conduct other design research as well so you can do everything you can to make your site look polished, elegant, clean, and most of all – professional (just like you).
💡 Have you decided you’re ready to throw in the towel on DIY and have a high-touch, boutique experience with an all-star web designer instead? Reach out and let’s connect!
