Did you know there are more than 1.5 billion websites on the internet? With so many sites, this means one thing: you have a lot of competition.

In order to stand out, you should make sure your website is designed effectively. But this can be easier said than done.

For this reason, we've outlined 6 website design tips that you should follow. Keep reading to learn more.

1. Identify Your Purpose

Before you start designing, think about this: what is the goal of your website? What is the purpose?

Start with the end in mind. Do you want to sell products on your site? Gather leads for your sales team to later call?

Perhaps your goal is to entertain or provide information. Whatever your goal, it's important you clearly identify it.

Also keep in mind that you can have more than one goal, including a primary and secondary one. Just make sure you know which is most important.

Next, think about your individual pages. What are the goals for each of these?

Once you've thought through these things, the design process will be much simpler and effective.

2. Make It Mobile Friendly

It's no surprise that mobile phone use is on the rise. In fact, 96% of Americans now have a cell phone.

With this in mind, it's important to realize the implications on your website. People are now accessing your site from many different sizes of devices, so it's crucial that your website is mobile friendly.

Whether someone is on an iPhone, Android, tablet, or desktop, make it so they have a great experience. One way to do this is to make your website responsive.

When you use a responsive builder, you don't have to worry about coding an entirely new website for each size of device. Instead, you can simply code one version that automatically scales to fit every screen size.

Want some professional web design help? Get in touch with our experts today.

3. Utilize White Space

When you're designing a website, it's tempting to include all the information you can. Once someone gets to your site, you want to help answer all of their questions, show them what your products look like, and provide detailed information about your offering.

But if you try to do this all without a balanced layout, it will be incredibly overwhelming. And it can actually turn people away.

Instead, make sure you utilize white space. You don't need to pack in all kinds of images and copy in a small space. Spread it out and add in white space to give people's eyes a break.

4. Work on Your Forms

Website forms are extremely common. And in most cases, they're really important.

Whether you're gathering people's payment information, email address, or phone number, you want to make sure you get the information you need.

The biggest thing you should work on when it comes to forms is making them as simple as possible. The last thing you want is for people to stop filling out a form because it's too long or complicated.

Consider this: what information do you absolutely need? What information would be nice to have but not crucial?

For example, if you're gathering payment information, you need the correct credit card number. But you don't have to have a phone number, although it may be nice.

In this case, make the things that you need required to complete the form, and make the rest optional.

5. Avoid Generic Stock Photos

We've all seen photos that are obviously stock photography. Big cheesy smiles, awkwardly posed group shots, and pictures of people that we've seen a million times.

One of the biggest website design tips? Avoid these generic stock photos at all costs.

However, this doesn't mean you shouldn't stock photos at all. In fact, this is a great option for many businesses, especially smaller companies.

But the key is to pick images that haven't been overused. Spend some time to find pictures that feel natural and in tune with your brand.

6. Don't Forget about the Fonts

If you go to a website and see that everything is written in Comic Sans, what is your impression of the brand? What if you open a webpage and notice 7 different fonts on the same page?

Both of these situations send the same message: we are unprofessional.

To avoid this issue, be consistent with your fonts and don't use too many. Choose two or three and only use them.

If you're having a tough time deciding which fonts match your brand, do some research. See what your competitors are doing and also look at some of the biggest brands like Facebook, Google, and Apple for inspiration.

Also make sure that your fonts are easy to read. Script and cursive fonts can be beautiful to look at, but impossible to decipher when used as body copy.

Website Design Tips to Take Your Site to the Next Level

Now that you've read through these website design tips, it's time to put them into practice. Take a look at your current site and see where you're doing well and you can improve.

Next, prioritize your findings. Where do you want to start? What will have the biggest impact?

And last but not least, consider working with a team of web design professionals. At Optuno, we have years of experience helping companies of all sizes revamp their websites.

Get in touch with our team today. We're happy to help.