branding

What is Branding?

Branding is the characteristics that give your company a personality, a voice, and unique attributes that identify you. Your business’s personal profile, with a combination of visuals, colors, and strong written copy together brand your work in a unique way that will help your name and services stay fresh in your audience’s minds. Websites are created for different reasons and understanding why you’re building one is the first step in making the right choice in your digital marketing brand strategy. A branded website will instantly build your credibility if you use similar fonts, colors, and images across all of your platforms so you’re easy to recognize everywhere.

Here are a few examples of some topics on brand strategies for websites for you to read about from our top branding specialists.

What Is Above-the-Fold in Web Design? Why It Matters, and 8 Best Practices

March 14, 2026

Author: Eleanor Hecks

For small business owners, designers and marketers, above-the-fold design is where clarity wins or quietly loses the sale. If a visitor lands on your page and cannot quickly tell what you offer, why it matters and what to do next, the rest of the page may never get its chance.

In web design, “above-the-fold” refers to the part of a webpage users see before they scroll. It is crucial because that first screen shapes attention, trust and action in seconds.

Understanding Above-the-Fold in Web Design and Its Importance

The term “above-the-fold” comes from newspaper publishing, where the most important headlines and visuals were placed on the upper half of the front page so they were visible when the paper was folded. In modern web design, it describes the content visible within the initial browser viewport before a user scrolls.

There is no single universal fold line because users view websites on many screen sizes and devices. It is recommended to place the most critical content as high on the page as possible while also designing the layout to encourage scrolling.

People still spend most of their viewing time at the top of a page, making above-the-fold content a gatekeeper for deeper engagement. That means your first screen has to do more than look attractive — it has to communicate value immediately.

The business case is even clearer when attention is short. Studies suggest that you have only eight seconds to capture the audience’s attention. Weak messaging, cluttered layout and unfocused visuals can cost conversions fast.

Performance matters here, too. The above-the-fold section should load quickly enough for visitors to see it before growing impatient.

8 Best Practices for Above-the-Fold Design

An effective above-the-fold section does more than look appealing. It helps visitors understand your offer instantly, build trust and create a clear path forward. These eight practices will help you design a top-of-page experience that is strategic, user-friendly and built to perform.

1. Include Key Elements for Clarity

A strong above-the-fold section usually includes a clear headline, a concise supporting message, a primary call to action (CTA) and visuals that reinforce the offer. That combination works because it supports the three questions visitors typically ask within seconds:

What is this?
Why should I care?
What should I do next?

If your website answers those quickly, it has a much better chance of earning the scroll.

2. Put the Most Important Message First

The top of the page should communicate the core information right away. The visitor should not have to scroll to figure out what the business does, what the product is or why the offer matters.

A good rule of thumb is that if a visitor sees only the first screen, they should still understand the basics of your offer.

3. Make the Primary Call to Action Obvious

A strong CTA tells visitors what to do next and makes that action easy to see and understand. Buttons like “Book a Demo,” “Start Free Trial,” “Shop Now” or “Get a Quote” work because they are direct. They reduce hesitation. They also pair well with clean visual contrast, generous spacing and placement near the main message.

4. Use Visuals That Clarify the Message

A relevant image or video can strengthen the above-the-fold section by making the information faster to grasp. A good visual should show the product, demonstrate the service, illustrate the result or reinforce brand trust. Use imagery that resonates with the target audience and visually supports the message.

5. Keep the Layout Simple and Easy to Scan

Users scan webpages, especially in the first few seconds. A clean layout helps them process information without effort. There should be a strong hierarchy, readable typography, enough white space and clear grouping of elements.

Avoid clutter in the above-the-fold section because too much copy, graphics, badges and navigation options can bury the actual message. A tidy layout is strategic.

6. Design for Mobile-First

Above-the-fold changes with every device, so the design must work on mobile, tablet and desktop. Place critical content high enough to remain visible across device sizes and utilize responsive design adjustments for different screens.

7. Optimize Speed as Part of Design

Loading speed and responsiveness are essential parts of the user experience. Google notes that 50% of people leave a website if it takes more than three seconds to load. Compressing images, reducing unnecessary scripts and prioritizing critical resources above-the-fold help improve webpage performance.

8. Test and Refine What Works

Perform A/B testing of above-the-fold content to see what actually improves engagement and conversion. For instance, examining different headlines and CTA approaches over time can give comparative insights rather than assuming the first version is the best.

Final Thoughts

Above-the-fold in web design matters because first impressions are also crucial. The top section of your page should communicate your value fast, feel easy to navigate and make the next step obvious.

For small business owners, it is a business opportunity. For designers, it is a hierarchy and usability challenge. For marketers, it is the opening argument. Done well, above-the-fold design gives your visitors exactly what they need right away.

5 Design Best Practices for Website Search Functionality

February 26, 2026

Author: Eleanor Hecks

Almost all websites have one thing in common — the search bar. Regardless of whether you run an e-commerce store or a blog for your plumbing business, you need one. However, not all are created equal. When building your own, you must follow design best practices. Here are five design best practices that differentiate truly helpful search bars from unhelpful tools that leave users feeling frustrated.

Faceted Filtering

Let users manage and refine search results with filters. Enabling them to narrow results by media type, category, date or tags can help you meet user intent, even if your search algorithm is not advanced. If you are selling products, let them filter by product feature and allow for multiple stacked filter selections.

Predictive Suggestions

The United Kingdom’s Government Digital Service updated the GOV.UK site to increase usability and make the experience more user-friendly. It conducted an A/B test on the live website to see how search behavior changed. It found searches with autocomplete suggestions had a 92% click-through rate, demonstrating the value of autocomplete.

You want to streamline the search process, especially when users don’t know exactly what to search for. Say you are an HVAC provider selling fluid-filled and dry type models. Predictive suggestions would guide potential customers to products you have in stock instead of bringing them to a page that says “no results.”

Result Statistics

Show how many results each query returns. You can also display the date range or list the pages you pull the information from. Organizing the page gives visitors context, helping them know whether to scroll through the results or adjust their query.

Result Relevance

Automatically filter results by relevance rather than by date or popularity. Who would want to see new but irrelevant results at the top of the page? The keyword here is “automatically” — this approach is the default, but you should still allow people to filter by publish date, downloads or price so they can see the latest, most popular or cheapest items first.

Search Filter Reset

People should be able to clear search filters with a single action. However, this should not be the only way to adjust their query. Say you run a fashion e-commerce website. They should be able to change the color without having to reselect the price, material type and size.

Why Search Bar Functionality Matters

Regardless of user intent, your website visitors rely on practical, predictable search functionality. For many, it is the only way they will proceed through the sales funnel. Recent research found 44% of people search for product details, recommendations and comparisons before making purchases. People also depend on the search bar for navigation and information-seeking.

Effective site search is a must-have, not a nice-to-have. Knowledge workers already spend almost 30% of their workweek searching for information — an effective, well-designed site search reduces this burden, particularly for content-heavy sites.

Website search functionality can also empower your sales and service teams. The less time they spend looking for information, the faster they can help customers. Ensuring they have access to the information they need to do their jobs well will help them feel more confident and competent in their roles.

Functionality, Visibility and Placement

Aside from functionality, consider the search bar’s look and location. You should generally display it prominently at the top of the page, where visitors expect to find it. Additionally, it should be on every page, not just the homepage.

An empty box may be evident to some, but not all, and you only have a few seconds to make a good first impression. Consider using clear placeholder text, such as “search for products” or “search website,” to help people recognize the search bar. You can even cycle through popular products or trending searches to increase click-through rates.

As a general rule, use high-contrast colors and keep the user interface elements to a minimum when designing the search bar. You can use graphics that make their purpose obvious, such as a magnifying glass.

You have flexibility with colors, shapes and sizes to align with your website’s branding. Remember, there is no need to reinvent the wheel — your search bar can improve your website’s overall usability if you follow best practices. The easier people find your website to use, the better their experience will be.

Search Bar Design Mistakes to Avoid

In addition to knowing search bar design best practices to follow, you should also know what not to do. One emerging trend that some people find frustrating is forcing artificial intelligence interactions in the search bar.

The Microsoft Edge search bar used to show users a full-screen chatbot that pushed search results down. What’s worse, searching for “Chrome” used to generate a list of Microsoft Bing features. Not only did it fail to respect users’ search intent, but it also served them a full-screen advertisement. If you want chatbot search functionality, make it a separate feature.

You should also avoid the dreaded “no results” page. Say someone misspells “hair dryer” as “hair dyer” or “vacuum cleaner” as “vaccum cleaner.” Unless your search bar is typo-tolerant, they will not find what they are looking for, potentially causing them to leave your website entirely. It should handle misspellings and synonyms.

The last search bar design mistake to avoid is directing users to a download page or forcing open an app instead of showing the results directly. Such interactions may seem harmless, but they can quickly frustrate information-seekers.

Design With User Intent in Mind

Put yourself in visitors’ shoes. What are their goals when they search for something on your website? What information do they hope to find? Consider these questions from consumer and employee-facing angles. Answering them can help you enhance the user experience. Following best practices will help you apply your ideas in a meaningful way.

5 Creative Strategies to Increase the Visual Appeal of Your Lettermark Logo

January 27, 2026

Author: Eleanor Hecks

For small and midsize businesses, lettermark logos may be a better option than ones with icons or illustrations, thanks to their relative simplicity and versatility across devices. However, simplicity can be a disadvantage for a brand if the lettermark appears generic. Designers must use typographic strategies to give lettermarks a simple, clear and consistent look.

The following are five creative strategies for increasing the visual appeal of your lettermark logos as a designer, including examples of small businesses who have utilized each.

1. Use Negative Space as an Active Design Element

Negative space serves a functional role in lettermark logos. It can improve legibility, reduce eye fatigue and enable logos to be scaled. Rather than filling the negative space, effective lettermarks deploy whitespace to lead the viewer’s eye.

Source: https://www.abl.com

An example of a logo that utilizes plenty of negative space with a lettermark is the Allied Bank logo. The center crossbar of the A is a swoosh that extends beyond the letter’s lines, drawing the eye to the white space and giving the user a break from all the other details. Small businesses can use blank areas to highlight words for easier reading on billboards, websites and social media, while retaining character. Some logos adjust the angle of the letters to create an image in the whitespace area.

2. Modify One Letter to Create a Visual Anchor

Visual memorability, a measure of how well visual stimuli are encoded and retained, has been shown to influence the formation of early visual memories, with distinctive visual features being better encoded and recalled even during very brief visual exposures.

Taking a single letter and making a subtle alteration can give a lettermark personality and stick with users. For example, shortening a crossbar or making a small cut results in a mark with a distinct center. Small businesses often use this technique to showcase a well-known symbol but make it uniquely theirs.

Design research shows that controlled irregularity produces memorability because people’s brains notice differences between the expected and unexpected. Altering a single letter can create enough contrast to produce visual recognition while retaining legibility. Repeating the visual idiosyncrasy across other brand applications makes it a signature, not a gimmick.

Source: https://www.mannequinmadness.com

Mannequin Madness uses the letter M as a focal point, bringing the tail of the right line down between two words and creating sharp angles to grab the user’s eye.

3. Interlock Letters to Create a Custom Ligature

A way to achieve a custom look for a lettermark without manipulating the forms’ shapes is to show connections between the letters, such as shared strokes, overlapping letterforms, and interlocking letterforms, which visually unify the mark.

Research on the distinctiveness of logos suggests that logos with integrated shapes are more memorable because they reduce visual fragmentation, and logos that use integrated letters aid faster processing.

Source: https://www.npcweb.com

Looking at NPC Web’s visual branding, the letters interlock to form a logo, thereby suggesting stability and purpose across digital formats. The way the letters support one another suggests strong connections and foundational support within the company’s identity.

4. Use Weight Contrast to Add Depth

Weight contrast creates hierarchy without adding visual noise. By varying the weight of each element, the rhythm and emphasis are implicit, without the need for additional color. Contrast works for brands that use black-and-white applications or operate in conservative industries.

Source: https://louisvilleathleticclub.com

Contrast can increase both legibility and aesthetic appeal in moderation, with the optimal amount of weight contrast making a lettermark appear interesting at every size. LAC has varying heights and weight-stroke options that simulate motion, making it a perfect choice for a physical fitness facility.

5. Keep Scalability in Mind While Designing

Scalability determines whether a lettermark can work in less generous space than the mock-up, such as in browser tabs, invoices, social media avatars, email signatures and signage. The wisest approach to protecting the mark from illegibility is to design for the smallest use case. Thin strokes and forms that rely on detail tend to fail.

Vector construction, unlike raster construction, keeps edges crisp at all sizes. While raster images become pixelated or blurry when enlarged, vector images can be displayed on a small mobile phone or a storefront sign and remain clear. Flexibility is essential because a logo may be scaled automatically without a designer’s assistance. Infinite resizing without loss of quality is one of the core advantages of vector-based logo design.

Source: https://firmcollective.org

Tapping into the power of a letter turned icon is the Firm Collective logo. With stroke thicknesses and joins remaining consistent throughout, the logo highlights how designers can take a single letter and add meaning to a brand image within a larger logo. The company uses the lettermark and its favicon. The design maintains a clear structure and sharpness even for small applications, down to a favicon. The logo’s design allows for easy scaling on screen or in print.

Why Simplicity Continues to Perform Well

Simple logos are more memorable than complex logos. Limited typography improves usability and trustworthiness for small businesses. If all components of a lettermark logo are functional, including structure, spacing, contrast and scale, then a few letters can represent a brand for years. The best lettermarks provide clarity and flexibility as a brand grows.

Why Are We So Affordable? (But Not Cheap)

January 5, 2026

Author: Sean H.

Sometimes people ask us how we keep our prices so reasonable. It’s a fair question. There are web developers out there charging $20,000 for a basic five-page website. We are not those developers.

Here is where we invest: good artists, good tools, good developers. That’s it. We can scale using trusted contractors when projects need it. We don’t mark up local services like hosting or photography. We just pass those costs along at what they actually cost, because adding a margin there felt strange to us.

What we really like is making genuine connections with people and figuring out exactly what you need. Not what sounds impressive in a proposal. Just the thing that will actually help your business or community.

What You Won’t Get From Us

We don’t meet in your office anymore. We don’t have a big office with a fancy boardroom. No chandelier. No barista.

That stuff is nice, I suppose. But someone has to pay for it, and it’s usually the client. We decided a while ago that wasn’t for us.

If you want to be wined and dined, we don’t mind that, but it’s not really our thing. What we get excited about is cool technology and making websites that actually work for you. That probably sounds less glamorous than a catered lunch meeting, but it’s honest.

So Why Aren’t We Cheap?

Affordable and cheap are different things.

Our work holds up. It’s built well. We use tools that aren’t proprietary locked-down services you get trapped in. We use standard products with excellent longevity because we know you want something great now and something great years from now.

Something you can keep updating. Something that can grow with you. Something you can edit and maintain yourself.

And here’s the part that matters: at the end of our relationship, you keep everything. No strings attached. If you want to work with someone else or need to bring it in-house, we make sure that process is easy. You maintain everything you’ve built over the years. It belongs to you.

One More Thing

We also focus on supporting nonprofits with free websites because it makes Louisville a better place to live. That’s not a business strategy, really. It just feels like the right thing to do. that is where we prefer to invest. It might not make us look fancy, but we are ok with that.

So no, we don’t have the fancy office. But we will set you up quickly, answer your questions honestly, and give you an excellent product for a great price.

Turns out you can have something that’s quick, affordable, and well-made. It just comes without the unnecessarily fancy overhead.

Why pay for your developer’s chandelier when you don’t have to?

Hiring a Writer vs Hiring a Voice Clone

December 27, 2025

Author: Sean H.

We talk to a lot of small business owners. One of the most common things we hear is this: “I know I need to be putting out more content. I just do not have the time to write it.”

This is a real problem. Written content (emails, social media posts, blog articles) are often the biggest bottleneck for small businesses. The owner knows their business better than anyone. They know what makes it special. They know how to talk to their customers. But they are also running the business, which does not leave much time for writing.

The Usual Solutions are not always solutions.

Most business owners try one of two paths.
The first is AI. Tools like ChatGPT can generate first drafts quickly, and that is genuinely helpful. But the output tends to sound like ChatGPT. It is polished in a generic way. It does not sound like you.

The second is hiring a writer. This can work, but it is tricky. Professional American writers are expensive, and many small businesses cannot afford them. Writers on platforms like Upwork can fit the budget, but the results are often disappointing. You send them a ChatGPT draft and some direction. You get back something that is not much better than what you started with.

The writer is polishing AI-generated content rather than actually writing in your voice.

The core problem is that most writers do not know how you think, how you talk, or what makes your perspective different from everyone else in your industry. And teaching them is hard, especially when you are already short on time.

There is another option that has worked well for us, and for the clients we have recommended it to. It is called a voice clone writer.

Here is how it works. You spend about an hour on the phone with the writer. They interview you. They ask about your business, your customers, your goals, your opinions. They are not just gathering information. They are listening to how you say things. The rhythm of your sentences. The words you reach for. The way you explain complicated ideas.
Then you provide a few examples of your existing work. Emails you are proud of. Social posts that performed well. Anything that sounds like you at your best.

The writer takes all of this and creates a style template based on you. Not a generic brand voice guide, but an actual model of how you communicate. And then they use that template to write content that sounds like you wrote it yourself, on a day when you had plenty of time and a clear head.

It is a little wild, honestly. The first time you read something back and think “that sounds exactly like me,” it catches you off guard.

What does a voice clone cost?

We charge around $55 an hour for this kind of work. That is not nothing, but it is also not the $150 to $300 an hour that top-tier American copywriters charge. And the return on investment is significant, because you are not just getting content. You are getting content that actually represents you.

The interview takes about an hour. After that, you have a style template that can be used again and again. The ongoing writing becomes much faster because the writer already knows your voice.

Your voice is one of the few things that cannot be commoditized. Anyone can use the same website template. Anyone can run the same kind of ads. But nobody else sounds like you, thinks like you, or has your specific perspective on your industry.

The problem is that capturing voice is hard.

It requires someone who knows how to listen, how to ask the right questions, and how to translate what they hear into written words. That is a real skill, and it is worth paying for.

If written content is your bottleneck (and for most small businesses, it is) this might be worth exploring.

Design Web Louisville is an employee-owned web development company. We build websites, and we believe your voice is worth preserving.

How Design Web Louisville Works: Your Partner in Website Development

May 12, 2025

Author: Sean H.

In today’s digital landscape, having a professional website is essential for any business. But understanding the process of website development can be overwhelming, especially when you’re juggling a full-time job and other responsibilities. That’s where Design Web Louisville comes in – offering transparent, flexible, and comprehensive web design services tailored to your specific needs.

Our Pricing Structure: Simple and Straightforward

At Design Web Louisville, we believe in transparency when it comes to pricing. Our service operates on a one-time fee basis, giving you complete ownership of your site once the project is completed. Understanding that financial flexibility is important, we offer several payment options:

50% deposit to start the project and 50% at launch
Customized monthly payment plans
Tailored solutions based on your specific project needs

The only ongoing costs you’ll need to consider are hosting and domain fees (approximately $200 annually), which are paid directly to providers like GoDaddy, Namecheap, Green Geeks, or SiteGround. We’re happy to help you set these up on auto-pay with your preferred provider.

Full Control of Your Website

One concern many clients have is maintaining control of their digital assets. Rest assured, Design Web Louisville provides you with:

Full administrative access and control of your website
An administrator account on your dashboard
Complete access to edit anything on your site
No limitations on your site controls

Our team will need temporary access to complete the work, but this access can be completely removed at the end of the project if you prefer. All accounts are set up in your name and under your control.

Comprehensive Training Included

Your website is only as useful as your ability to manage it. That’s why we include training as part of our service package at no additional cost. Our training options include:

One-on-one site walkthroughs via Zoom or similar screen-sharing platforms
Digital PDF manuals upon request
Personalized guidance tailored to your comfort level with website management

Seamless Transitions from Other Platforms

If you’re currently using Wix or another platform, we’ll handle the transition process with minimal hassle on your end. Our team will:

Complete the new site development
Assist with transferring or updating content from your existing platform
Guide you through decisions about which services to keep or migrate
Provide recommendations based on your specific project needs

Third-Party Tools and Resources

To create a fully functional website, certain third-party services may be necessary. These typically include:

Stock photos (approximately $10 each, or we can help you source free alternatives)
Google Ad accounts and Google My Business
Payment processors for e-commerce functionality
Optional plugins for specialized functions

All these accounts will be set up in your name, giving you direct control over your digital assets. We’ll guide you through selecting the best options for your specific needs.

Analytics, Backups, and Security

Understanding your website’s performance is crucial for business growth. We help set up:

Google Analytics and Yoast for comprehensive tracking and monitoring
Regular scheduled backups through your hosting provider
Security tools like Wordfence for additional website protection

We recommend high-quality hosting services like Green Geeks to enhance server security, and we can advise on best practices for maintaining website security, including secure passphrases and two-factor authentication.

Flexible Time Commitment

We understand that you’re busy. Our process is designed to minimize the time you need to dedicate to the project while still ensuring your complete satisfaction:

Initial one-hour discovery meeting to establish your goals
Option to have our team handle content creation based on your outline
Review and edit requests at your own pace
Additional one-hour meetings as needed to review progress
Approximately one hour per week for reviews is typically sufficient

Ongoing Support Options

Once your website is launched, we offer various support options:

Full year of hosting management (monitoring uptime, assisting with hosting updates)
Monthly maintenance services (content updates, reporting, tracking)
Hourly as-needed assistance for specific changes

Many clients choose our ongoing support for tasks like converting social media content into blog posts, which saves time and improves SEO.

Our Commitment to You

At Design Web Louisville, we tailor our services to your specific needs. Whether you want us to handle every aspect of your website development or just need guidance with specific elements, our flexible approach ensures your project’s success without overwhelming your schedule.

Ready to transform your online presence? Contact Design Web Louisville today to discuss how we can create a website that perfectly represents your business.

How Designers Can Unify Unique Brand Identities Post-Merger

September 12, 2024

Author: Eleanor Hecks

Mergers and acquisitions are common among small businesses. These changes can drive value for each side of the deal, but they come with some unique design concerns. Most notably, how do you create a unified identity for the two parties that suits both existing audiences and appeals to new ones?

Thankfully, the long history of successful past M&As reveals some helpful best practices. Here are five tips to consider when designing a new website for a merged brand.

Identify the New Audience

The first step is to pinpoint the combined audience. In a horizontal merger, the target niche is likely the same as each company’s pre-merger user base, requiring little adaptation. Conglomerate mergers or acquisitions, by contrast, may introduce new markets to consider or alter the primary demographic.

When T-Mobile merged with Sprint in 2020, the former company absorbed the other into its brand. Since both parties served the same industry, it was acceptable to leave the site relatively unchanged. However, you may need to adjust some factors in a different type of M&A.

Consider using a larger font size if the target demographic skews older post-merger. Tone down the color palette if the combined audience is more business-oriented than one side’s pre-M&A user base. Every design choice should keep both audiences in mind, so it’s important to identify the target demographic early.

Integrate Design Elements from Each Side

It’s also crucial to ensure the unified design does not alienate either side of the merger. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to combine design cues from the two companies.

You could take the font from one website but the color scheme from the other. Alternatively, you might combine the primary colors of each brand into a new palette that’s similar to both sides but distinct in its own right. Combining shapes, logos and word choices poses other integrated design opportunities.

Consider how United Airlines changed their logo after their merger with Continental. The combined design incorporated Continental’s globe icon and blue shade but used United’s existing typeface.

Communicate the Merge

Clarification is also important in post-merge web design. Since more than 500,000 businesses change hands annually, it’s easy for any individual one of these to go unnoticed by the brand’s consumers and site visitors. You can avoid confusion in the aftermath by publicizing the M&A across the website and related socials.

Consider putting an announcement about the merger at the top of the page or in the sidebar — somewhere users will see it. Include links to a post announcing the transition and explaining the unified design and how it reflects both companies. Explicitly stating your purpose and actions like this ensures any aesthetic changes or name shifts don’t lead to confused and frustrated customers.

Combine Content

As you integrate visual designs from each side of the merger, don’t forget to do the same for the website’s content. The companies likely have an existing pool of blogs, announcements and other helpful posts aimed at their separate target audiences. Compiling them under one umbrella helps you make the most of this earlier work to continue serving the combined user base.

Perform a content audit on each earlier site to determine what you have to work with. Then, identify similarities between them so you can craft new categories to file them under for easier navigation. You could keep things separate, but refreshing old content under new groups will form a stronger unified brand image.

As you reorganize posts between sites, remember to update any links to these pages. As many as 23% of news sites and over half of all Wikipedia articles contain broken links, and that’s a problem you want to avoid to facilitate a smoother merge.

Test Multiple Options

It’s often difficult to tell what combination of design cues and content yields the best results. Consequently, you may want to create multiple versions of the site and compare their traffic to identify the optimal redesign.

Multivariate testing is an ideal option, as it works best for high-traffic sites, and the combined website can reach both existing audiences. This method also compares more factors simultaneously, leading to higher precision and a shorter trial period. However, A/B testing may be better if the merger involves two smaller sites or there aren’t as many possible designs to try.

A Unified Brand Deserves a Unified Design

M&A activity is most effective when the two companies plan a strong, unified brand image. As internet traffic becomes increasingly central to conducting business, a website design refresh becomes all the more important in that endeavor. Designers should keep these steps in mind to better serve their post-merger clients for improved long-term results.

Optimized UX in Backend Software: 4 Principles of Intuitive Design for Internal Tools

August 30, 2024

Author: Eleanor Hecks

Many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have internal tools like administrator panels, dashboards, approval queues and data entry platforms. However, just because these technologies are common does not mean they typically look good or are easy to use. How can decision-makers apply the principles of intuitive backend design to their user experience (UX)?

The Importance of a Well-Designed Backend

Many business leaders deprioritize the look and feel of internal tools because they believe the consumer-facing user interface (UI) is the only one that matters. While the assumption that software for employees is somehow less important may seem harmless, it can significantly impact productivity and morale.

Software developers can hardly concentrate when they bounce between pages, documents and platforms for one project. Research shows that resuming an interrupted task takes roughly 25 minutes on average, affecting productivity. As a result, businesses take longer to release updates and complete requests.

Clutter complicates things. Even seemingly straightforward tasks can be tedious if employees lack well-designed backend software. In addition to being time-consuming, it makes them error-prone. For example, they may cause version control issues when changing their copy of a file without updating the original.

While there’s never a perfect time to revisit backend software design for employees, many SMBs are already planning to make changes to their technologies. One study found that the organizations they surveyed were far more likely to adopt new technologies or migrate their existing systems to the cloud in 2023 than in the past. As more businesses continue to follow this trend and update their software or move to cloud-based technologies, the upcoming changes create a great opportunity for optimizing internal tools’ UX in the process.

Principles of Intuitive Design for Internal Tools

Standardization is one of the leading design principles for backend software. Layouts, colors, patterns, placements and shapes should be similar across employee-facing platforms to minimize the amount of onboarding and upkeep needed. Any new hire should be able to train on the fundamentals of one tool and readily apply it to others.

Another one of the most essential principles involves context awareness. Unlike consumers, employees will use internal tools for hours at a time — the average person spends over 6.5 hours on their screen daily. Relevant design decisions like adding dark mode or incorporating keyboard-friendly navigation are key.

Employees — especially those who work remotely with their setups — may access internal tools in unconventional ways. You must be prepared, whether they have a dual monitor setup or use a laptop. Consider how aspect ratio and display size affect text scaling, scrolling and button size.

Maintenance is another principle of intuitive backend design. Around 57% of developers state their company has at least one full-time employee dedicated to maintaining internal applications, meaning 43% do not. What happens when they quit? Do development operations fall into disrepair? Assign someone — or two people since redundancy is a lifesaver — to this role.

5 Tips for Making Internal Tools More Intuitive

Follow these tips to ensure you create a unified, optimized backend UX for employees:

Don’t Design for the Sake of It

Overdesign has been the cause of death for many a good UI. You don’t need over-the-top animations or transitions for an intuitive, appealing UX. Your strategic use of colors, layouts and design elements is enough to make the tool attractive and enjoyable to use. Prioritize functionality above all else and allow aesthetics to come naturally to you as you progress.

Track Backend-Specific Metrics

Setting and tracking a baseline enables you to address pain points as they emerge and optimize for usability. Track backend-specific metrics like productivity, mouse movement and click volume. Your goal should be to minimize the work developers must do before they can complete a task.

Try to Accommodate Edge Cases

Your team will occasionally encounter unexpected situations. For example, what happens when they need to approve a request, but the person with authorization is out of office? That scenario is basic, but it gets the point across. Accounting for and accommodating edge cases during the initial design phase prevents operational hiccups later.

Source Feedback From Users

When it comes to ease of use, feedback is everything. Real-world usability testing should be a core component of UX optimization because a live environment differs significantly from staging. Ask your team what they like and dislike about their internal tools’ UI, getting specifics on what they would change.

Let Developers Request Features

As employees get used to the new UX, they will want additional features, options and shortcuts. Create a framework that lets them request these things, and incorporate the most popular. Minor personalization can be beneficial if you have multiple teams with their own codebases, technology stacks and release schedules.

The Bottom Line of Optimizing Backend UX

These design principles and tips can help you optimize your UX, ensuring backend employees can use internal tools effectively. Remember, big changes like these take time — do not feel concerned if your metrics seem to slide back initially. Eventually, if you make the right decisions, you should see gains.

7 Small But Vital Website Accessibility Features to Build Into Your Designs

August 9, 2024

Author: Eleanor Hecks

People of all ages, abilities and walks of life use the internet for conducting business, tracking finances and shopping. Adding a few small changes can make your site friendlier to users and help you comply with legal standards set by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and other regulations. Here are some simple changes even the smallest businesses can make today.

1. Dark Mode Toggle

The Nielsen Norman Group looked at dark mode, mobile usability and user preferences. Around one-third of respondents said they use dark mode and one-third use light and dark at various times.

Dark mode offers better clarity for people with visual impairments such as cataracts and can also reduce eye strain for those on screens much of the day. However, it can make things harder to read for others, such as those with certain types of color blindness. Giving users the choice of light or dark mode via a toggle is a great way to improve accessibility for people with all kinds of visual preferences.

2. Alt Text

Adding alternative text is an excellent habit website owners should get into. Those using screen readers won’t know what an image is if you don’t add alt tags, which should clearly describe what is in the photo.

Put yourself in the shoes of someone who is legally blind. What do they need to know about the photo to get the most out of the experience?

3. Language Availability

The global aspects of online shopping mean you may need to offer your site in more than one language to meet the needs of all your users. Failure to do so could mean missing out on a significant portion of your customer base, as 76% of customers are more likely to purchase a product if they can view information in their native language.

Offering an easy way for users to click a tab to read the text in another language can be a great way to break language barriers and make your content more accessible for all.

4. Keyboard Operation

Those with mobility issues may need to use a keyboard rather than a mobile device to access your website. In a time when mobile-first design is popular, remember to test the desktop version with a keyboard hooked up.

Users should be able to use the space bar and arrows to move from one spot on the page to the next. The enter key can help them select an interactive element.

5. Contrast

Around 90% of a user’s first impression comes from color choices. Having the right balance of contrast helps those with visual impairments view your page without strain. Someone with color blindness may have trouble deciphering between two blue shades but can see things clearly when you use blue and white with strong shade differences.

Contrast makes text more readable for everyone and can make a call to action (CTA) button pop. Grab user attention by surrounding the CTA with white space to make it stand out even more.

6. ARIA Landmarks

Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) are HTML codes that set a page structure. Screen readers can use the details to better navigate the order of elements on a page and tell users what section they are in.

7. Direct Language

In the early days of web development, some designers thought it would be cute to have themed pages and navigation. For example, a site about pirates might have an area called “booty” to indicate shopping. Unfortunately, indirect language makes it difficult for those with cognitive problems or secondary languages to understand what they’ll find when they click on the link.

It’s much better to use simple, clear directions so users know what they are navigating to. Stick with first- and second-person commands using active verbs, such as “Get Info on Garages,” or “Shop Now.” By doing so, you’ll avoid situations where people grow confused and bounce away to a competitor’s site.

Little Changes Make a Big Impact

Small fixes can make your site more accessible to those falling under ADA rules. It also shows your customers you care about their experience and are willing to add elements that help them navigate your site easily.

Test everything to ensure it works on various devices and with software that reads for them. A little extra function goes a long way toward an excellent user experience.

6 Legal Requirements to Keep in Mind When Designing Company Websites

August 1, 2024

Author: Eleanor Hecks

When designing websites for companies — particularly those with specific regulatory bodies — ensuring compliance is paramount. Whether operating in health care, finance or legal sectors, these businesses must handle a web of regulations and legalities to protect their users and themselves.

While website design considers general legal standards — such as data privacy laws and accessibility guidelines — certain industries are subject to additional ordinances that companies must adhere to.

1. ABA Compliance

For law firms and legal practitioners, adhering to the American Bar Association (ABA) guidelines is critical to consider when designing a website. The ABA sets a range of ethical rules that govern law practice, including advertising and communication with the public.

One concern is ensuring all information presented on a legal website is truthful and not misleading. This includes:

Clear disclosure of attorney qualifications.
No exaggeration of past successes.
Avoidance of creating unjustified expectations for potential clients.

Additionally, attorneys must clarify that any information provided does not constitute legal advice and an attorney-client relationship.

2. Disclaimers

Disclaimers help businesses communicate the limitations and scope of their product’s benefits. For instance, if the company is in the health foods and beverages industry, it must follow regulations set forth by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Typically, disclaimers on these websites clarify that the products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any diseases. They also often include statements that the FDA still needs to evaluate the claims made about the products.

This is especially crucial when the products contain ingredients marketed as having health benefits. Moreover, disclaimers should always advise customers to consult with a health care provider before making changes to their diet. Doing so will reduce legal liability and increase customer trust.

3. Labor Law Postings

Labor law postings are crucial for compliance — they keep employees informed of their rights and responsibilities under the law. Traditionally, you would see these notices displayed in a physical workplace. Yet, the labor market has shifted since the rise of remote work, so recent changes require new communication methods.

States across the U.S. are starting to implement labor law posting requirements for company sites. For example, Illinois employers must now provide four labor law notices to remote workers via the company’s website or intranet, while New York employers must provide digital versions of all labor law posters through either their website or email.

The postings should include information on minimum wage, equal pay, child labor and rights under the Wage Payment and Collection Act, among others. For businesses operating out of these states, ensuring these notices are easily accessible on their website is key to compliance.

4. HIPAA Compliance

Health websites that handle sensitive health information are subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements. HIPAA compliance is crucial for any website operated by health care providers, insurance companies and other entities involved in patient information management. This compliance ensures that protected health information (PHI) is confidential and secure.

The key aspects of HIPAA compliance for health websites include:

Secure transmission protocols
Health data security
Strict access controls

Additionally, HIPAA mandates that health websites have clear privacy policies detailing how patient information is collected, used and shared. These policies should also include procedures for obtaining patient consent before using or disclosing their information for non-treatment purposes.

5. Data Security Controls

In the financial industry, banking institutions are custodians of highly sensitive information. To guard this data against breaches, these companies must adhere to stringent regulatory frameworks such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

Regulations like these mandate security measures to keep data encrypted and prevent unauthorized access. Approximately 62% of companies in the U.S. have already recognized this need and have started investing in cybersecurity to remain compliant. For example, financial institutions ensure they implement multi-factor authentication to verify user identities and reduce the risk of fraud.

6. HTTPS

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is essential for ensuring the safe transmission of data between the user’s browser and the website. Implementing it encrypts sensitive information, making it more difficult for data misuse.

E-commerce websites must have this system, especially since they deal with online transactions. Without it, unauthorized parties can access customers’ credit card information, personal details and login credentials.

The PCI DSS requires compliance for this. Otherwise, businesses exposed to security breaches are legally liable, so they must enable HTTPS on their websites.

Ensuring Compliance and Trust in Specialized Industries

Building websites for companies with legal needs requires a thorough understanding of industry-specific regulations. Regardless of the sector they operate in, it pays to take the time to research the laws and how to meet legal obligations. Additionally, the online world is constantly evolving, so staying informed about legal compliance is essential for long-term success and integrity.