Web design is all about building a visually appealing, and practical website that users will want to keep coming back to. And one that will generate sales or sign ups and help grow your business. To achieve this, web design blends creativity with practicality to create website features that will get results. This includes headings, call to action buttons and animations. But one important feature that can often be overlooked is the iconography. Icons are used across webdesign to replace or support text. For example, a phone icon might be used instead of the words “Call us” or “Phone now”. And making sure these are thoughtful and well designed is incredibly useful. Here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester, we are Manchester’s leading web design specialists. We work with companies and businesses across Manchester and the North West, including Blackburn and Chorley , to deliver top quality web design results. As a result, we have produced this guide to the advantages of effective icon design.
What are the advantages of effective icon design?
Designing icons effectively can bring a range of benefits to your website. These advantages include:
- Intuition- Your users will instinctively know how to interact with your website, and what each of the icons will do, without having to experiment with them. Intuitive design is what made Apple so successful, and its a great way of relaxing your website visitors and consequently encouraging sales.
- Visually appealing- Icons are part of your visual web design. And as such, effectively designed icons will form part of the websites visual hierarchy, and fit in with the rest of your design choices. This includes the size, style, and colour of the icons. All of which will result in a more cohesive, and stylish, end result.
- User expectations- Users are used to icons in all aspects of their digital world. From social media, to mobile phone apps, they know what icons are and how to use them. They also expect your website to use icons, especially for common things such as contact links. So one of the biggest advantages of effective icon design is that your website will meet user expectations. This results in a more positive user experience, and an increased opportunity for sales.
- Professional finish- Icons that are well designed, intuitive to users, and used appropriately, can present a professional image to your audience. Professional design can quell any fears your website visitors might have, and actually result in more sales or sign ups.
How to make sure your icon design is effective
So how can you make sure your icon design is effective? Well, here are some top tips:
- the icons need to be easily and universally recognised. Choose shapes that are not ambiguous and can be easily processed even with just a glance.
- keep to the same style and size across the website for visual consistency and a more professional finish
- research icon positioning and choose an option that will most suit your company website
For more information or advice, get in touch with the professionals today, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester.