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How Do Cultural Differences Impact the Web Design Process?

Author: Eleanor Hecks

Designing websites for audiences of different cultures can be complex, as it requires a deep understanding of how they influence design preferences and user experiences. Yet, web designers can create meaningful digital experiences by adapting their approach. Cultural differences majorly impact web design, and several strategies can help navigate these challenges.

The Influence of Culture on Web Design

When designing for a global audience, designers must remember that cultural differences go beyond language. Every aspect of a website can garner alternate perceptions based on cultural values and norms.

For instance, when it comes to visual aesthetics, Western cultures often lean toward minimalist designs. They prefer clean lines, ample white space and simple color schemes. Conversely, many parts of Asia have visually stimulating websites with bright colors, dense layouts and intricate details.

In North America, users expect streamlined navigation with a focus on speed and functionality. However, in regions where relationship-building is central — like some Middle Eastern cultures — websites may include more social elements. These components typically involve an integration of collaboration and personalized content. Cultural differences impact web design in various ways, and designers must adapt to them to build trust and engagement.

Cultural Considerations in Web Design

To design for a global audience, web designers should have a deep understanding of cultural preferences and practices. This involves a few key considerations, such as language and localization. Beyond merely switching languages, localization means adjusting the design to reflect cultural differences, such as regional symbols, idioms and colors.

Cultural backgrounds also heavily influence reading patterns and website layouts. In Arabic regions, people read from right to left, which differs from Westerners. Therefore, everything from menu placement to scrolling behaviors should align with the website’s intended audience.

Lastly, symbolism and meaning are crucial. From images to icons, each can carry varying connotations across cultures. For instance, a thumbs-up can be positive in one culture but may be offensive in another. While gaining this understanding of symbolic meanings may take time, designers can ensure they use symbols that communicate the right message.

Designing for Clients of Different Cultures

When designing with cultural differences in mind, web designers must adapt their approach to ensure the final product resonates with diverse audiences. Several key strategies are available to help.

1. Research Cultural Norms and Preferences

Before starting any design project, researching the culture is essential for attracting the client’s target audience. This includes studying popular design trends, color symbolism and cultural attitudes toward technology.

In Japan, communication tends to be more contextual and reliant on shared understanding. This can affect how a designer presents content on a website. However, the U.S. and Germany prefer direct communication, where clarity and straightforwardness are key. Web designers should understand these preferences to align the site with users’ visual and emotional expectations.

2. Structure Client Meetings for Participation

Effective communication is critical when working on site designs across cultures, especially when face-to-face meetings are impossible. For example, it can be hard to understand someone on the other line of a phone call when facial expressions and body language are nonexistent.

Therefore, it is important to structure meetings with international clients to encourage participation. Particularly when access to nonverbal feedback like body language is limited, people with marginalized identities or those from more reserved cultures often find it harder to jump into discussions during phone calls. To mitigate this, incorporate nonverbal communication such as chat functions or reactions, or specifically invite others to chime into the conversation. This ensures everyone can share their input and create a more productive meeting with clients.

3. Use Flexible Design Frameworks

Designers should allow for flexibility in their frameworks to meet the needs of different cultures. This means creating layouts, color schemes and features professionals can easily adapt to suit various audiences. A modular design that allows for changes in visual elements makes it easier to cater to specific regions without starting from scratch.

4. Study the Six Dimensions of National Culture

Geert Hofstede’s six dimensions of national culture include cultural insights such as power distance, masculinity versus femininity and uncertainty avoidance. These dimensions appear on world maps and provide a valuable understanding of how cultural values shape behaviors.

In turn, these dimensions help designers comprehend how users interact with websites. For instance, cultures with higher power distance mean hierarchical structures are more common, so formally structured websites are preferable.

5. Use Testing and Feedback

Testing and gathering feedback are surefire ways to understand whether a design is relatable. Conduct usability tests with users from the target culture and solicit input on key design elements. This will uncover cultural blind spots and allow a website to evolve in a way that meets audience expectations.

Adapting to Cultural Differences in Web Design

Cultural awareness and adaptability are key in designing for global audiences. Take the time to understand peoples’ norms and streamline the process using a flexible design framework. Leveraging these strategies will strengthen the workflow and strengthen relationship-building with clients worldwide.

Wireframe vs. Mock-up vs. Prototype: Differences and Use Cases in Design

Author: Eleanor Hecks

Design is an ever-changing field, as trends shift and more people go online. Twenty years ago, very few businesses had a digital presence compared to the millions operating brick-and-mortar stores. Today, most companies of all sizes have websites. Because each brand has a unique focus and customer base, determining the best design methods for each client requires meticulous planning.

You must fully understand a business’s needs before developing a website, app or product. How you set things in motion depends on the end user and company goals.

What Are the Differences Between Design Frameworks?

According to Cognitive Market Research, the global web design market is worth an estimated $56.8 billion and will grow 8.5% annually through 2031. With a growing market comes a lot of competition for design work. The more organized you are with your processes, the happier your clients will be and the more referrals you’ll get.

You may use one or more methods to design a site. Understanding what each does and when to utilize it allows you to move between structures and present a viable product to your clients. It’s also easier to make big changes during the planning stage.

Wireframes

Wireframes are one of the most commonly used formats in design. In its simplest form, the wireframe shows the basic layout plan for the site and features that may be added. They work great for early collaboration to get a vision in place for the finished design.

This stage is about effectively communicating the basic ideas of the site effectively to stakeholders, as getting a client on board with the overall design sets the tone of the entire project.

Mock-ups

A mock-up shows the aesthetics of the design and gives the client some things to consider. These are often utilized to show options for the finished product. They are usually based on the wireframe and contain the basic look agreed upon but include a lot more detail, graphics and colors to begin bringing the design to life.

Here, a designer’s job is to do more than just present a visual — the designer essentially becomes a verbal and visual storyteller that narrates to the client how each element will look and function together to meet user needs. As 60% of an innovation leader’s role lies in effective storytelling, and first impressions are 94% design-related, this phase could arguably be the most important when getting clients on board with a final design.

Prototypes

A prototype is usually the final stage before approval. It gives you a chance to test that everything works as intended. Some people call this a staging phase. The client can interact with the interface and see how it functions.

This phase mainly involves guiding clients through different scenarios and use cases, demonstrating the site’s value and effectiveness at meeting consumer needs. It gives the designer’s clients a final chance to ensure they feel confident with their investment before moving forward.

Examples of How to Use Each Type of Model

Most designers will use all three at various stages of the design process. To better understand how each functions, consider a mock design job and see how the designer moves through the different phases of the project.

Phase 1: Concept

The designer meets with a new client and collects ideas to determine what they want for their website design. The customer signs a contract and the designer gets to work. After a bit of research into the industry and what competitors offer, they use a wireframe to lay out what the website will look like.

The client receives a rendering that shows the different pages that will be on the site, as well as the navigation structure and content. Any special features of the design plans for the site are also laid out in the image. Some back and forth tends to happen at this stage.

Phase 2: Aesthetics and Tweaking

Once the client approves the basic concept, the designer gets to work coming up with a design that matches the brand’s personality. They use the wireframe to lay out a background, hero image, icons and headings.

The website is starting to look more like a site, but the elements of the design are not yet clickable or interactive. The client still receives a two-dimensional image for their consideration. At this juncture, they may have a few style changes.

Phase 3: Testing and Final Approval

The final phase of the design process usually moves the concept into a prototype. Webpages are created in a staging area that the designer, client and key players can access.

The designer clicks through each link or button to ensure the site functions as intended. They may also run tests at this time to see how long the pages take to load and what the overall impression from the target audience is. Work is ongoing after approval because the designer must ensure the client is happy with how the site functions.

Use Each Tool at the Right Time

The key to successfully using wireframes, mock-ups and prototypes as a designer is tapping into them at the appropriate time. A strong wireframe can help you sell the website or app concept to a lead, but the prototype shows just what you’re capable of designing and why it will help your customer’s business.

Municipal Welcome Guide Print and Digital Design

Author: Sean H.

Design Web Louisville created a comprehensive welcome guide for the Louisville Downtown Partnership that served as an essential resource for visitors, new residents, and locals exploring the downtown area. The guide seamlessly blended informative content with engaging visuals to highlight downtown Louisville’s attractions, services, and unique character.

The print version featured a thoughtfully organized layout that prioritized easy navigation through different downtown districts. Color-coded sections helped readers quickly locate information about dining, entertainment, cultural venues, and essential services. The designers incorporated striking photography of iconic Louisville landmarks alongside custom illustrations that captured the vibrant energy of downtown life.

For the digital version, Design Web Louisville developed an interactive PDF with embedded links to downtown businesses, attractions, and transportation resources. This allowed users to quickly access websites, directions, and additional information while navigating the downtown area. The digital guide was optimized for both desktop and mobile viewing, ensuring accessibility for users on any device.

Special attention was paid to wayfinding elements within both versions, including detailed maps with clearly marked parking facilities, public transportation routes, and pedestrian-friendly pathways. The guide also highlighted seasonal events and community gatherings that showcase downtown Louisville’s vibrant culture.

Logo Created from Client Design Inspiration

Author: Sean H.

Design Web Louisville transformed the client’s initial concept sketch into a professional, versatile logo for Shift Happens that maintained their creative vision while meeting all technical requirements for both digital and print applications. By carefully enlarging the design concept and refining the elements, they created a scalable vector version that preserved the character and intention of the original artwork. The transparent background ensured the logo could be placed seamlessly on any color surface or image, creating a cohesive brand presence across Shift Happens’ website, business cards, signage, and promotional materials.

Logo Updated for Size and Transparency

Author: Sean H.

Your logo is the face of your brand, and ensuring it looks professional across all applications is essential. Our logo enhancement service takes your existing logo and optimizes it for your new website, creating a version that scales beautifully while maintaining perfect clarity. By removing the background and correcting colors, we’ve created a versatile asset that can be placed on any background without visual artifacts, ensuring your brand identity remains consistent and professional across all digital platforms.

Tourism and City Visitor Map Design

Author: Sean H.

Designing a visitor map for Louisville, Kentucky’s Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) involves a strategic and thoughtful approach that benefits various stakeholders including local retail, tourism, wayfinding, corporate partnerships, and overall Louisville business development. Here’s a detailed case study:

Project Overview

Client: Louisville, Kentucky
Project: Downtown BID Visitor Map Design
Objective: To create an informative and user-friendly map highlighting local businesses, restaurants, entertainment, hotels, and hospitality services provided by the BID.

Research and Analysis

  1. Stakeholder Assessments: Collect data from local business owners, hotel managers, and tourism officials to provide accurate data and provide what they hoped the map would achieve.
  2. User Studies: Gathering information from tourists and locals about their navigation challenges and interests in the downtown area.
  3. Competitive Analysis: Reviewing existing maps and visitor guides from similar districts in other cities for best practices.

Design Strategy

  1. Content Selection: The map includes prominent local businesses, popular restaurants, key entertainment venues, and hotels. Each category is color-coded for ease of identification.
  2. Wayfinding Elements: Clear street names, landmarks, pedestrian pathways, and public transportation hubs are highlighted to assist navigation.
  3. Accessibility: The map is designed for print and digital use, ensuring accessibility for all users, including those with disabilities.

Benefits

  1. Local Retail: By featuring local shops and boutiques, the map drives foot traffic and supports local commerce.
  2. Tourism Enhancement: Tourists benefit from a comprehensive guide to the city’s attractions, increasing their likelihood of extended stays and repeat visits.
  3. Wayfinding Improvement: The map simplifies navigation, reducing the stress of exploring a new city and enhancing visitor experiences.
  4. Corporate Partnership Opportunities: Local businesses can be featured on the map or advertise it, creating resources for the BID and promotional opportunities for businesses.
  5. Boost to Louisville Business: A well-designed map can be a tool for economic development, encouraging investment and interest in the Downtown BID area.

Implementation and Distribution

  1. Production: The map is produced in both print and digital formats, ensuring wide accessibility.
  2. Distribution Points: Maps are distributed at key entry points to the city, including the airport, hotels, visitor centers, and participating businesses.
  3. Online Presence: A digital version is available on the Louisville BID website and through a dedicated mobile webpage.

Evaluation and Feedback

  1. User Feedback: Regular surveys of map users to assess its effectiveness and areas for improvement.
  2. Business Feedback: Ongoing dialogue with local businesses to measure the impact on foot traffic and sales.
  3. Analytics Tracking: For the digital version, usage analytics help understand user behavior and preferences.

Conclusion

The Louisville Downtown BID visitor map represents a significant step in enhancing the visitor experience, supporting local businesses, and promoting the district as a vibrant and welcoming destination. Its strategic design and thoughtful implementation are crucial in realizing these benefits. Continued evaluation and adaptation will ensure the map remains an effective tool for visitors and locals alike.

6 Key Components of an Effective B2M Website

Author: Eleanor Hecks

A business to many (B2M) website must serve multiple functions and reach two distinct audience types. Juggling the different users and meeting their needs isn’t easy, but it can be done quite effectively with a little forethought and tweaking.

According to Internet Live Stats, there are 1.87 billion websites in the world. While they aren’t all active at the same time, and some simply park on top of other domains, you’re still competing for customer attention with a ton of other pages. Spending a little time on site renovations will pay off with more sales.

However, what works for one business model may not work for the next. The needs of your buyer personas are unique to your industry and perhaps even your company. How can you ensure your B2M website is effective for your users?

1. Find Common Elements

What are some of the needs and values your business and consumer customers share? Perhaps they both like quality products that stand the test of time. Maybe they have a need for speed. Perhaps you solve a similar pain point for both, but on different scales? Look for the similarities and showcase them on the main pages of your site. Think about the values all your customers care about.

When you land on the Chase.com website, you’ll see an option for personal or business options. As you browse through different offers, such as checking or savings, you’ll see a comparison of different types of banking accounts. Since many B2B clients might also want a personal account, shifting back and forth between the options is a matter of clicking a tab at the top of the page.

2. Segment Your Audience

How well does your navigation work to get your users to the section related to their needs? When serving both consumers and other businesses, it requires a smart and streamlined navigation to get the user from Point A to Point B without any detours.

Consider separating your site into two parts or more. When people land on your home page, do you direct them to the next step or do they feel lost? If you aren’t sure, hire some testers to go through your site and point out any weaknesses.

3. Choose Relevant Images

Be cautious not to focus on photos of only one type of work you do. If you serve consumers and businesses, your images should reflect how you help both. If you direct someone to a page specifically for companies, you would focus on pictures to relate your ability. However, if the page serves both B2C and B2B, you must mix things up.

Note how ADCO Garage Doors highlight images of modern homes, traditional homes and commercial spaces. By varying the photographs, they show they’re capable of a wide range of styles and options. The landing page speaks both to homeowners and business owners.

4. Check Your Headlines

The first impression a user has of your site is often via the headings. When they do a search, they’ll see your heading in the SERPs. They’ll also see it when they click and land on your page.

Do your headlines effectively pull in both consumers and businesses? How can you tweak them to make them work better for all your buyer personas? If you separate your site into pages for both B2C and B2B, then you should have varied headlines for each.

5. Revamp Your CTAs

Does your CTA make sense for both segments of your buying audience? If not, either separate out the landing pages further or tweak your CTAs. Run the words, color, placement and size of button through the filer of your buyer personas.

You may need to adjust the language or colors to better meet the psychographic profile of each customer type. Don’t be afraid to segment your pages even more if it means you can create a more personalized experience for your users.

Lamps Plus serves both commercial spaces and homes. Rather than trying to come up with separate CTAs for the landing page, they create a bright box to highlight a current sale and invite all users to “Shop Sale.”

Business owners and consumers want to save money on shipping and costs, so the CTA works for all segments of their audience. They get a bit more specific on product pages, depending on the offer.

6. Study Heat Maps and Traffic Patterns

What do users do when they actually land on your page? You can track the journey of a business owner as they stop by your home page, click on the business section and move through your site. Where do they linger? Is there a point where the majority bounce away? What can you improve?

Once you know where users linger and convert into customers, it’s easier to repeat those elements and delete clutter that isn’t serving your needs.

Experiment and Test

Every effective B2M website has some of the components above, but what works best for your site is dependent on your individual customers. Try different tactics and test each one via A/B or multivariate testing to see what performs for your business.

Try different colors, segments, language and images. Offer incentives to entice people to sign up for your mailing list. Experiment and see what works best. Once you have an idea, it’s much easier to repeat those efforts and grow your business into a B2M powerhouse.

Eleanor Hecks is editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. Eleanor was the creative director and occasional blog writer at a prominent digital marketing agency before becoming her own boss in 2018. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dog, Bear.

How to Design a User-Focused Hero Image

Author: Eleanor Hecks

A hero image should grab the attention of site visitors instantly. However, it’s easy to get so caught up in using beautiful images and grabbing attention you forget to make sure the photos are user-focused. Each hero shot should serve a specific purpose and meet customers’ needs.

According to Netcraft, the number of websites is constantly in flux. The billions of domain names don’t truly reflect how many live websites there are at any given moment. For example, the internet gained 6.28 million sites in May 2021, but also lost 4.87 million domains.

If you want to be certain your hero image hits on all the points needed for a potential customer landing on your website, follow the tips below to ensure you’re selecting the right layout and options for your users.

1. Show the Product

One of the top ways to focus on users is by using your hero image to highlight the product site visitors want to see. If you’re an e-commerce store, you’ll need to choose a category or share new arrivals.

On the other hand, if you sell a service, you can show the product in action or offer a before and after side-by-side. Think about what you’d most want to see if you were the customer. Put yourself in the user’s shoes.

Ditto Residential is a real estate firm with a focus on revamping and creating healthy, beautiful spaces. To show some of what they offer, they use a hero shot of one of their luxury living spaces. The photo helps people see their overall design concept and get a feel for the light airy look to their style.

Another advantage to the placement of their hero image is they can swap out the look for one of their other properties. If they notice a sudden uptick in consumers looking for larger homes, they might highlight an airy space, for example.

2. Choose Stellar Typography

Your hero image should capture the user’s imagination, but you also need to think through the headlines and other details on your page. To enhance the user experience (UX), choose a color and font size that stands out from the background.

Choose the hero image that allows your text to show up. You may want to overlay a solid transparent color over the entire photograph or choose a different picture with some darker or lighter areas where text will pop.

3. Gain User Trust

Your hero image can go a long way toward showing you’re knowledgeable and trustworthy. Choose an image if your technicians in the field or some other expert insight no one else provides. When people think about your product or service, you want to be seen as the go-to authority.

D.E. Gemmill chose an image of their traffic control marking experts hard at work. The employees look capable and the photo also highlights the brand’s equipment. The truck moves off to the left of the screen, creating a sense of motion and work ethic.

4. Choose High Quality Images

You may know the exact photograph you’d like to use, but when you blow it up to full screen width, it’s a bit fuzzy. Always choose sharp, high-quality photos over anything else. You may need to reshoot the photo in a higher resolution, or go with a completely different selection.

At the same time, you must optimize pictures so your site loads as quickly as possible. Use a high resolution, but compress the image. Test your pages load times to ensure your speed is up to par.

5. Add a Video

A still shot grabs interest, but a video hero image tells an entire story. You can share moments of action, inspire users with what they might gain from a product and set a unique tone for your site.

As with any image you choose, make sure the footage is relevant to your industry and your business in particular. Ideally, you’ll hire a videographer to shoot and edit a clip to use in the background of your website’s header.

Ag America offers lending to farmers. They take a moment to highlight some of the hard work farmers do in a day, showing tractors, a farmer walking the field and a close look at crops. Their target audience will see they understand the business at hand and be much more likely to trust the company with their business.

6. Remember the CTA

Your call to action button (CTA) must stand out against the hero image. You can choose the most interesting photograph in the world but if you don’t ask users to take the next step, you risk losing them to the competition.

First, your CTA button should be a color varying from the rest of your color palette. Many companies use a vivid orange, red, blue or green for their CTAs. Second, you should tweak the size, position and language on your button to see what performs best with your target audience.

Test and Retest

Try different images, headlines and CTAs on your website. Conduct split testing to see what performs best with your audience. Even a change of the wording on your CTA can make a difference in your conversion rates.

Try different options and test after each change. Over time, you’ll find the perfect selection for your users. If you want your site visitors to respond with action, you must tweak every tiny aspect of your page, starting with your hero image and moving on to what sits atop it.

Eleanor Hecks is editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. Eleanor was the creative director and occasional blog writer at a prominent digital marketing agency before becoming her own boss in 2018. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dog, Bear.

5 Steps to Write a UX Design Proposal

Author: Jessica Fender

Given how digital technology became commonplace in our society, users’ expectations from the platforms they use also evolved. According to published data, 94% of people won’t trust a website or app with outdated design, with 75% basing the business’ credibility on design alone. Statistics suggest that 52% of users won’t use a website because of poor aesthetics, with 90% who stopped using apps due to their poor performance.

Your website, app, or online platform may be due for a visual and User Experience (UX) design overhaul. This is where writing a proper UX design proposal comes into play, as it can help you outline your design in great detail. Let’s tackle UX design proposal writing in detail to enable you to build a better platform for your users in 2021.

Reasons to Write a UX Design Proposal

So, what are UX design proposals all about? They are documents that help businesses outline their UX redesign plans for an app, website, or online product. Typically, companies don’t write UX design proposals if everything in said product is working well and their user bases and revenue continue to grow. However, businesses also want to outperform their competitors and position their brands properly on the open market.

According to reports, 80% of users are willing to pay extra for better UX, with 70% of business leaders seeing UX as a competitive differentiator. It’s not enough for a mobile app or a website to simply “work” – it has to be aesthetically pleasing, engaging, affordable, and functionally up-to-date. This is where UX design proposals come to the forefront. Writing such a document before tackling a major UX design overhaul of your product can lead to several benefits, including:

  • Full understanding of your product’s current pros and cons
  • Assurance that the new UX design won’t be worse than the current iteration
  • Making sure that the new UX design has long-term viability
  • Ability to outline the development timeline and budgetary needs properly
  • Freedom to pilot the new UX design with test groups and spruce up defects

Writing a Great UX Design Proposal

  1. Outline the Pressing Issues in Current Design

The first item on your agenda should be to audit the current state of your product. What exactly leads to your writing of a new UX design proposal? Is your website or app underperforming, experiencing technical difficulties, or is lagging on UX design trends?

UX redesign is a major project, one which will take your team months to implement properly. This is why your team will want a clear outline of exactly are the issues with the current build of your product. If your writing skills are lacking, you can order product review writing from a trustworthy service to help in the product review and auditing stages. Use your strengths as a software developer and UX designer to describe what caused you to write a UX design proposal before moving further.

  1. Define the Outcomes of Implementing New UX Design

What would the hypothetical results of implementing a new UX design look like? As we’ve mentioned, rolling back a non-functional UX design to a previous build will take up unnecessary resources. For your UX design proposal to hold under scrutiny, you will need to outline the very objective benefits of its implementation. Depending on the extent and specific areas you want to address with your UX redesign, some outcomes can include:

  • Improved product stability and visual appeal
  • Better user engagement and market acquisition
  • Optimized future updating and development processes
  • Elimination of outdated code and visuals from the UI
  1. Describe the Development Timeline and Budget Needs

Once you’ve outlined the cause of writing a UX design proposal and the benefits of implementing it, you should proceed to describe the development timeline. How long will it take you to test the new UX design and implement it on a live build? Subsequently, what do you need in terms of manpower and resources to develop your UX design?

It’s best to be as objective and critical as possible when writing this section of the proposal since your team will want concrete referential information. Be realistic about how much time and resources you need, and your proposal is more likely to be approved for full production.

  1. Back your Claims with Social Proof and Statistics

You can help your cause by including references and statistical research based on UX design. For example, studies show that 88% of people are unlikely to return to a website after poor UX.

Your colleagues and decision-makers within your company need to be aware of current UX design trends to make an informed decision on UX redesign. You can go a step further and collect user feedback on your app or website and include it in the UX design proposal. Social proof coming from your user base is essential, as it will indicate what works and doesn’t work for your audience.

  1. Create a FAQ Section to Cap Off the UX Design Proposal

Depending on how tech-savvy the decision-makers in your company are, you may want to write an FAQ section into the design proposal. This can serve as a great referential segment for people who are not designers or programmers but still have a say in approving your document. Some questions you should aim to answer include:

  • How do we define a “successful” UX design?
  • Why do we need a UX redesign at this stage?
  • What will we do in case the new UX design doesn’t catch on?
  • What will happen if we go over budget or breach the development deadline?
  • How will we test the new UX design before going live with it?

Answer each of these questions with a short 2-3 sentence paragraph to show foresight and critical thinking. Answering “taboo” questions in a FAQ section will increase the likelihood of your UX design proposal being approved.

Making Good Use of your UX Design Proposal (Conclusion)

Once your UX design proposal is greenlit, you should stick to it as much as possible. Don’t deviate from your plans to justify the trust put into your hands. If any changes need to be made to the UX design proposal, you should ask for additional approval before course-correcting. Going into a redesign with a concrete plan is an amazing way to showcase that you are not only a designer but a decision-maker.

Author’s bio. Jessica Fender is a copywriter and blogger with a background in marketing and sales. She enjoys sharing her experience with like-minded professionals who aim to provide customers with high-quality services.

How to Design the Perfect Portfolio Page to Best Represent Your Brand’s Quality

Author: Eleanor Hecks

One of the best ways to attract new clients is showing them your top projects. Your website portfolio page is your chance to highlight your expertise in specific areas. You can use it to stand out from the competition and make a strong impression so they remember you when they are ready to hire someone.

According to Internet Live Stats, there are approximately 1.86 billion websites online. However, not all are active and some park on top of other domains. Still, you’re competing with a lot of noise to get your portfolio page noticed. People have many options on where to spend their time. Make your page interesting enough that they want to devote some of their day there.

What is the secret ingredient that makes one portfolio page stand out from another? You must grab attention, showcase the wide scope of your work and instill the idea your brand is high quality all with a few photos and text. Here are the steps to achieving the perfect online presence.

1. Choose Your Best Work

Selecting only the photos highlighting the top quality work you do might seem like a no-brainer. However, it’s easy to hone in on the project you completed and not realize the photos don’t truly do it justice. Your portfolio is about more than just great projects. It must encompass great pictures to highlight your abilities.

Make sure any photos you use clearly show the before and after of your work. Take the time to invest in photo editing and excellent equipment so your images aren’t filled with shadows and poor lighting. Select only the best images.

Ronald L. Receveur, DDS offers dental implants. They showcase their best work in their “Smile Gallery.” You can scroll through the different images to see the beautiful smiles they’ve created.

Something they add to their portfolio page that works particularly well is a link to patient testimonials. Click on any video to hear more about what their service did for the person and get a glimpse of what their smile looks like in real life.

2. Add Trust Factors

When people land on your page, they have no reason to trust you. Even if a friend or family member referred them, they’ve not done business with you before. You must show them you can be trusted. You can add several trust factors to your portfolio page to show you’re honest.

In addition to reviews and testimonials, make your contact information easy to find. People want to know they can get in touch if something goes wrong after their purchase. Add any organizations you belong to, such as professional trade associations or the Better Business Bureau.

3. Utilize Case Studies

There may be times when you have a particularly challenging task to complete. Highlighting how you were able to overcome difficulties shows clients you don’t stop until you find the right solution. Case studies give you an opportunity to share photos of the finished project, but also dig deeper into the story behind the job.

Illuminated Integration shares the details of a job they did for Otterbein Church. The task was to convert a gymnasium into a church sanctuary. They had to figure out how to create a welcoming atmosphere that suited the needs of a large, modern church. The company worked on lighting, acoustics, audio, video, curtains and atmospheric controls.

4. Tell Them Who You Are

In the midst of sharing stories about your projects, make sure you show potential clients who you are. While telling customer stories, tell your own story. What do you stand for? What is at the core of why you do the work you do?

At a minimum, include a short about section and a link to more details. Your portfolio page is an excellent location to share a video about your brand story.

5. Share the Details

Your portfolio is about more than just the finished product of your hard work. People want to know you understand the steps involved in getting from Point A to Point B. You must tell a story as you share examples of your work. What was particularly challenging about the job? How is it unique from other projects of a similar nature? Show off your expertise.

Walnut Ridge Landscape Design shares their three-dimensional plan for the space next to a photograph of the finished project. By showing site visitors their concept, they prove they can come up with a plan and bring it to life.

6. Include a Call to Action (CTA)

You might not naturally place a CTA button on your portfolio page, but the goal of the page is to seek new leads. When someone views your images, the ideal result will be they want to hire you.

Make your CTA easy to find. Ideally, you’ll include a link near the top of the page offering a free consultation or quote. Some people will click the button right away and others will spend time perusing your portfolio, so you may want to add a second button under your gallery or to the side.

Try different placements until you find the one your users respond best to. Conduct split testing, adjust the wording, try different colors and keep tweaking until you’re satisfied with your conversion rates.

Quality Over Quantity

Your photos are the face of your brand online. It’s better to have a few high-quality images taken by a professional photographer than a ton of pictures with fuzzy focus or dark shadows. Ideally, you’ll choose a wide range of projects so you can showcase your abilities, but don’t be afraid to limit yourself until you have the right ones to prove your worth as a business.

Eleanor Hecks is editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. Eleanor was the creative director and occasional blog writer at a prominent digital marketing agency before becoming her own boss in 2018. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dog, Bear.