Are you a business owner or entrepreneur looking to create a website for your business in UK?

Most business owners in the UK are ready to create a website. According to a survey conducted by GoDaddy, nearly 20 percent of U.K. micro-businesses set up an online presence for the first time.

If you are a business based out of UK, there are some common things you need to know before creating your web presence. In this blog, we will cover some of the most essential aspects of web design and development. Don’t worry, we will explain it in simple English and won’t bore you with technical jargon.

Know the Design Elements Required For a Good Business Website

There are many things you need to consider when creating a good website design for your UK-based business. In this section, we will discuss the important ones you need to consider.

1. Have a Unique Color Branding

Your website design must match the colors of your business brand and logo design. A professional website designer will be aware of this and implement those specific colors throughout your website.

The colors you choose will stir the emotions of your website visitor or to take an action.
According to Fast Company, almost 85% of consumers cite color as the primary reason they buy a particular product.

A user’s judgment is subconsciously based on color schemes, so the colors you select must not contradict your brand’s philosophy.

For example, the website Cowboy which sells electric bikes has made use of soft pink tones that are attention-grabbing.

2. Good Amount of Space

Many websites on the web have started to include more open space. This minimalistic style will give you more room to breathe and grab the attention of your visitor’s eye.

If your website has more open space, it will make your content look easily digestible and organized.

For example, Lyra is a website that offers mental health-related services. It has a good amount of space that guides users toward the next message.

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3. Simple Navigation

When users are browsing through a website, they expect to navigate with ease and have a great experience. There is no point in having a creative website if your users cannot find the information they are looking for. So, your website must have a solid navigation system.

Keeping it simple and obvious will make your users happy and keep them coming back for more. Remember, navigation must help a user find all the information before they click on the call-to-action.

For example, take a look at the navigation of the website Atterley, an e-commerce website. It is sticky, responsive, and horizontal.

4. Mobile-Friendly and Responsive Web Design

Search engines like Google prioritize mobile-friendly websites. On April 21, 2015, Google wrote in their official blog that they will be “expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal,” This is because more and more people have started to browse the internet through their mobile devices.

For example, we used the Mobile-Friendly Test tool of Google to check ColorWhistle. Here’s the result.

5. Choose the Right Website Design Layout

A website design layout is similar to the blueprint of a building design. It will determine how assets such as photos, text, and logos will be placed on your website. A good website layout must follow/adhere to the KISS principle, keep it simple, stupid.

On the whole, there are 10 different types of website layouts – f-shape, z-shape, magazine-style, full photo, split-screen, cards, asymmetrical, single column, boxes, and fixed sidebar. Depending on the product or service you sell, you must choose the website layout.

Generally, SaaS products will follow the z-shape layout. Example – Evernote.

Magazines will follow the f-shape layout. Example – LA Times.

Choose a Good Website Designer

Now that you are aware of the important aspects of a good website design for your UK-based website, you have to choose a good website designer. The type of designer you choose depends on your requirements.

The problem is, the website design field in the UK is massive and selecting one according to your requirements will be a tedious affair.

So, before you dive deep into finding the perfect website designer to create your website, you need to decide on what you really want. Think of it as something like buying a car or home based on your needs. If you do this properly, then finding the right web designer will be quite easy.

How to Hire a Skilled Web Designer in UK?

Finding a professional web designer in the UK is quite hard. But, the good news is, with a little bit of smart work, you will find the right ones.

How do you set the goals for creating a perfect website design? Well, for starters, ask yourself these questions,

• What type of website do you want to build?
• What functionalities do you require? (bookings, payment gateway, purchase, etc)
• Do you just want a basic website that provides information to your users?

These questions will help you find a designer. At least you will be able to figure out how much experience a designer must have to work on your website.

How Can you Find Out If a Web Designer is Good?

Your business is unique, so you need a specific designer who will make you look good in the online space. Here are 5 qualities that you must look for in a designer.

• Good experience working in your industry. Even if they have worked with an industry that is similar to yours, it is a huge plus
• Must be able to explain in detail their knowledge, methodology, and overall strategy
• Should show you a detailed portfolio of their experiences with past clients
• Extent of their service. If you choose a solo web designer, you will probably only get what you asked for, a web design. But, if you a hire a web agency, your design will be more holistic with focus on disciplines like SEO friendliness
• Earn your confidence. If you think that the candidate is a good fit, move forward. If you have any misgivings, choose another one

Know the Time it Takes to Build a Business Website in UK

Now that we have covered the design aspects, it’s time to move on to the development part of your website.

The time it takes to build your website depends upon the method you choose. Here are the available options.

Option 1: Website Builders

If you want a one-stop solution, a readymade website with no hassles, you can opt for website builders like Wix or Weebly. Although this is a cheap and quick option, you will face limitations in terms of hosting, features, SEO elements, support and more. We do not recommend this method as the user experience is not that great.

Option 2: DIY with WordPress

WordPress is the most versatile content management system. It powers nearly 37% of all the websites on the Internet. If you opt for the DIY method, the learning curve will be steep and you will not have much time to concentrate on other aspects of your business. But this provides you 100% control and more options. We do not recommend this method unless you have the time and energy to build one by yourself.

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Option 3: Web Development Agency

Compared to the above options, this one is perfect. It will give you full control with unlimited options. A good web development agency in UK will be able to create a professional bespoke website. You need to not dig deep to figure out how to build a website. The agency will take care of it. While the cost is certainly not cheaper compared to the other options, but it will be worth it.

We recommend you choose a good web development agency like ColorWhistle who will provide excellent support for building your website. And the price will also be competitive.

Things to Expect From a Website Design Process

Another thing you are supposed to know when hunting for talent is understanding their website design process. Before you go with website design or website redesign process, understanding how things are done will give you an idea of how they work.

Many web design companies in UK will follow a slightly different process. For example, at ColorWhistle we follow the following process. This is just a general overview, the actual process will vary according to the nature of your requirements.

• Step 1: Gather information – Identifying purpose, main goals, and target audience
• Step 2: Planning – Create sitemap and wireframe
• Step 3: Design – Create page layouts, review, and approval
• Step 4: Content writing and assembly
• Step 5: Website development
• Step 6: Testing, review, and launch

For entrepreneurs and business owners, the right web development company with a good process can create an amazing website and offer a reliable platform for your products and services. That is why we recommend you go with a good company like ColorWhistle because they will help you own and operate a website for your business in UK.

If you Want to Improve Sales, Here’s a Bonus Tip

After you have a professionally built business website, you must ensure that your customers are able to locate your business. With a website, you will have a place to tell about your business, but customers will not necessarily know how to get there.

As a new website owner or even if you are already established, you may not get the visitors you expect. This means that you need to focus on the modern aspects of marketing such as SEO, SMM, PPC, etc. in total — Digital Marketing!

Implementing digital marketing strategies such as search engine optimisation (SEO), social media marketing (SMM), and pay per click (PPC), you will be able to set a goal and work towards it. Additionally, you will be able to measure your success and choose the most successful way of marketing your business.
If you want to generate leads quickly, you can opt for paid ads that is PPC. Suppose if most of your customers are on social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, then you need to opt for SMM.

You must be well aware that we are living in the search engine generation. If most of your potential customers find you or your competitors through search engines such as Google or Bing, you should invest in SEO from a reputed digital marketing service provider.

SEO is considered as the best long-term marketing strategy for many businesses. According to HubSpot, 60% of marketers say that inbound (SEO, blog content, etc) is their highest quality source of leads. The company also says that SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate.

So, once you have set up an online presence through a professional website for your UK based business, the next crucial steps should be to invest in any one of the digital marketing tactics.

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Final Thoughts

We hope that you now have a better understanding of what to expect when you plan to create a website in UK.

When planning your web development requirements with your designer or developer, you may want them to think outside the box. We’d suggest to not back away from trying the latest graphic design trends.

At the end of the day, your business website must be relevant for your target audience so that you can earn some revenue.

If you need any help with web design or digital marketing, do send our ColorWhistle team a message or give us a call at +1 (210) 787-3600. We are happy to help you.