Have you ever thought why users can easily understand all kinds of WordPress website designs and styles and can use different websites conveniently despite every layout being different from one another? No matter in which style designers create websites, users would know the basics about browsing that are almost same on all sites. There is some commonality between the design elements like navigation menus, page header, body copy, and CTA buttons that make it easy for users to use any website comfortably. This aspect of web design, known as design consistency, adds tremendous value to the design as it contributes to the better user experience. The purpose of maintaining consistency in design is to encourage some typical user behaviors. The layout builds trust and users learn about repeatable patterns that make it easy for them to move around any website.
Meet user expectations
Website designers have to meet some basic expectations of users, which are similar for all, opines the experts at Washington Township SEO. Every user expects vertical scrolling of websites, and the navigation should be visible right from the time they land on the first page and links should be clickable. All web designers thus maintain a clear uniform design throughout the layout that builds consistency by adhering to the design elements. Being consistent in design help users to act and derive results instead of thinking and wasting time. When creating WordPress websites asking yourself which design elements should remain consistent would provide the solutions that lead to efficient designs.
Navigation must be intuitive
Even before users reach out for the navigation menus, the header of the website should help them understand the site. The header should reveal what the website is about and what it does. Besides having well-built navigation, you have to create excellent content that attracts visitors to the site and tells all about it. You can design navigation text in whichever way you like by varying the writing style, font size and interface elements for responsive navigation something like hamburger menus. However, you have to remain consistent in everything that you do while making it easy to use the links. If the navigation menu is large, you have to add links to a larger list or add sub-menus to the top category. It all depends on how you perceive the design from the point of maintaining consistency.
Recurrent layout styles
Repeating layout styles is an accepted technique for maintaining consistency in design, whether the website has a single or multiple landing pages. You will come across many sites that have similar looking pages. The idea is to stick to one layout in all pages with different graphics and content. When you are repeating some style, you are building a theme that creates comfort for users. The purpose of consistency, in this case, is to familiarize users quickly with the overall design of the website that builds confidence that leads to trust. To do away with the monotony that can arise from repetition, you can use different colors to create different styles of design. However, be careful not to overdo with repetition that can become boring and diminishes the value of design.
What to repeat
Which design elements you should repeat must be very clear to you. From layouts to page elements, you can repeat anything but must exercise restraint so that it does not end up in showing lack of creativity in design. Whatever you recreate, first understand what purpose it would serve in enhancing user experience. Only if you are convinced about the value, you can derive from repetition in design features that you should indulge in it. If the user does not benefit from repetition, they might construe that the designer lacks in creativity and has taken recourse to repeating the design elements. Have a clear plan in repeating the design elements knowing fully about how it helps to maintain consistency.
Consistency in branding
When you maintain consistency in web design, you are creating specific characteristics of the website that goes a long way in web branding. Remember that web branding is much more than merely creating an online identity. It creates the most important first impression about your company to customers. Users judge the company by looking at the brand. From choosing colors for the pages to selecting typefaces, textures, padding, and elements or icons related to the brand, you have to plan everything very well. How you can approach branding depends on your own, and there are no right or wrong ways of doing it. Looking at how other websites would give better understanding and ideas about what kind of approach would be suitable for you.
Thinking about what users would like tells you about the ways you can bring consistency in the design that any user would expect.
Author bio: Sam Radcliffe is a web designer who has the experience of designing hundreds of WordPress websites. He is also very fond of mixing with people and is a great lover of the social media. Sam enjoys his association with Washington Township SEO companies.
