Four design tricks to boost sales

1. Less is more

It can be tempting to pack your website full of as much content as possible, but too much text and too many images and elements can make it difficult to navigate and turn potential customers away.

Negative space, or white space, can help draw attention to the things that matter, such as main images, product descriptions and call-to-actions.

It can also make those things easier to understand; making your content more legible, avoiding customer distractions on the way to the checkout, giving a tidy impression and separating the sections of your website.

2. Communicate with colour

Picking colours based on personal preference can be fun, but it’s important to consider what messages colour communicate to your audience. Take the time to research colour theory (for instance, blue tends to symbolise trust, and red excitement) and build up a selection of colours you’d like to associate with your business.

Once you have an official colour palette based on the kind of message you’d like to communicate, use just those colours on your website, in your branding and on your packaging: it’ll make you easier to recognize, and improve your customers experience.

It’s also good practice to use contrasting colours on your website whenever customers need to read or engage with something, for instance, black on white for font. The last thing you want is a message being lost due to colour choices.

3. Think about typography

If you want your website to be easy to read and navigate, the kind of fonts you use can make a considerable difference. By using the right font and leaving enough space between lines you can better communicate your message.

Some key things to remember is that less is more; try to use just one or two fonts consistently throughout your website, otherwise they will compete for attention. Also try to use standardized fonts; although fun or unique fonts can better convey your personality, they might not appear on all browsers and phones, and can create difficulty reading. The goal should always be to clearly convey a message; not decorate using font. It’s also important to not use all caps – we don’t scream in conversation, so we shouldn’t via text.

4. Think about the F-Pattern

When we read books we read from top to bottom, left to right. This is known as the F pattern: it’s all about how we naturally consume content. This means that, when given a page, most people will look at the top left corner first, and the bottom right corner last. When structuring your website, it’s therefore important to keep this in mind and put the most important information in the areas that will be viewed the most.

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The elements outlined in this article are all related to user experience; the kind of experience a person has when they use your site. By making this experience as pleasant as possible, and helping them find your important information quickly and understandably, you increase the odds of them staying online and converting to customers.

- Lena Klein