12 WEB DESIGN BEST PRACTICES FOR 2024

12 web design best practices that will help ensure your website’s
success in 2024.

1. Consistent branding
We’ve talked about the value and importance of creating a
strong brand identity. Because your brand is the foundation of your
business, it’s important to keep branding consistent across all of your
customer touchpoints. That includes your website.

Your logo, colour scheme and iconography should remain consistent.

The same holds true for your brand voice and key messaging. You
want to reinforce a clear value proposition, aesthetics, and tone across
your website.

Make sure to build off the foundation you laid down during the creation
of your brand. A focus on consistency will enable your marketing
efforts and help build brand equity.

2. Strategic CTAs
Your calls-to-action (CTAs) motivate your customers to convert,
whether by purchasing your products, subscribing to your content or
booking a call or appointment.

So, how do you make sure your CTA is as powerful as it can be?

Let’s use Netflix as an example.

There are a few things to take note of here.

1. What’s being offered is immediately clear: The messaging is

enticing users with unlimited movies and TV shows. The
messaging sets the stage for the CTA.
2. Potential objections are addressed right away: Users can cancel
anytime.
3. Bold, coloured CTA in a highly visible location: The CTA itself is
instantly obvious. It’s coloured and unmistakable. To drive
conversions, users can enter their email address to get started
immediately.

Spur your users to action with a powerful CTA and you’ll see stronger
results.

3. Intuitive navigation
Your website might give your users a solution to complex problems or
access to lots of helpful content. But it shouldn’t be a treasure hunt.
Your navigation and buttons should be clear and obvious so users can
explore your content intuitively.

There are a number of ways to accomplish this:

• Clear language: It’s typically recommended to use simple,

recognizable terms like “About”, “Services”, and “Contact” in your
navigation. Don’t use unique language just for the sake of doing
something different as it could confuse your users.
• Tailor your navigation to your content: You might only need a
few navigation links if you have a website with limited content.
With heavier content, you might need more detailed navigation.
Descriptive mega menus give your users a clear path to find the
information they need when there’s a lot of available content.
• Breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs track and display where a user is
on a website. They let a user easily return to a previous page by
retracing their steps. Breadcrumbs are especially useful for
content-heavy websites and ecommerce shops.

If you make it easy for users to navigate your website you’ll give them
a deep, engaging experience, and a clear path to convert.

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4. Clean design
It’s important that your website is easily scannable and your content is
digestible.

It’s a good practice to be sensitive to your user’s cognitive load. You

don’t want to overwhelm people with an explosion of colours, images
and copy. Instead, make your website easy and enjoyable for them
with clean design and meaningful (and only meaningful) content.

One way to do this is to establish a visual hierarchy. It’s the

arrangement of all the design elements of a website in order of
importance. For example, if a headline is large, contrasting in colour
and centred on a page it immediately comes across as being more
important than something smaller, not uniquely coloured, and offset.

It’s also important to use white space effectively. White space is the
‘negative’ space between the layout elements, paragraphs and visual
components. Designing with white space in mind will make your
content more scannable, digestible and easier on the eyes.

5. Storytelling
Stories are the most common way that humans make sense of the
world and connect with one another. We all have insatiable appetites
for good storytelling.

The very best stories deliver emotional impact. That’s one of the
primary ways they break down barriers to engagement and
understanding. That’s why you can connect more effectively with
customers by leading with storytelling rather than with facts. And
websites, in particular, can benefit by integrating brand storytelling and
narrative techniques.

Imagine a group of people traveling across rough waters. They’re on a

quest to change the world but so much of what lies ahead of them is
unfamiliar. And the journey is long and potentially treacherous. They
need someone who knows those waters to help guide their ship away
from danger and to safe harbour across the sea.

The Tillerman is that guide.

That’s actually where the name Tiller comes from. It’s often the first
story we use to illustrate our company’s purpose. It’s particularly useful
because the metaphor translates directly: it’s our role to help our
clients navigate brand, website, and product design. We know those
waters well and we’ll help you cross them safely.

We could list facts and statistics about how we’ve enabled other
companies in the past, and we do, but that first story is so important in
telling people who we are as a company and how we can be of
service.

6. Visuals
Have you ever tried to read a novel to a very young child? It doesn’t
usually go over well. They want to see pictures because it’s the visuals
that help them understand the story. Web users are similar: short
attention spans, low tolerance for text-heavy content, and an affinity for
engaging visual elements.

Many websites fail to engage users because they require that they
read endless lines of text to understand what the company has to offer
and why they should care. Conversely, websites that limit text and
incorporate plenty of visual design elements (photos, videos, and
illustrations) tell the story in a way that users can quickly digest.
Product screenshots are especially impactful in the tech and software
space. They help users understand what the product does and what
sort of experience they can expect, without lengthy and technical
descriptions.

7. Mobile-first design
Designing for mobile should be a priority, not an afterthought.
According to 2023 research, mobile devices make up 58.67% of global
website traffic.

Understanding how your target audience engages with your content

makes your website effective, enjoyable, and easy. One way you can
optimize your website is to build mobile-first and mobile friendly.

Now, there are some restrictions when you’re designing for

mobile. The screen isn’t as big, people interact with content differently
than they do on a desktop, and so on. But, these restrictions can be a
good thing. They make for a leaner, more digestible website.

With mobile-first design, you can help to optimize every user

experience, no matter how they engage with your content.
8. Accessibility
Website accessibility means designing websites and applications that
can be used by individuals who have visual, motor, auditory, speech,
or cognitive disabilities. And less than 5% of websites are considered
accessible.

Here are a few examples of how to ensure your website or application

is accessible:

• Use contrasting colours: People with visual impairments could

find it difficult to discern text from a background colour if there
isn’t enough contrast. Use a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for
normal text and 4:1 for large text.
• Use more than colour to communicate visual cues: You can
use text labels or patterns so those with visual challenges can
discern information. Other visual cues, like bold or underlined
text or using shapes and different sizes, can also be effective
ways to deliver your content.
• Support keyboard navigation: People with motor disabilities,
visual impairment, and other disabilities are often dependent on
a keyboard to navigate content. You can “scroll” through
interactive content, like links, buttons, and text fields, using the
“Tab” button on a keyboard. It’s important to put key information
into these interactive features and not just in your copy so that
users with impairments can engage with your content.
• Add alternative text (alt text): Add a written description for
every visual asset on your website, including images, graphics,
and icons to ensure that visually impaired users can use screen
readers to access descriptions of visual components and search
engines can incorporate visual content into page indexing.

If you’re unsure where your website stands in regards to accessibility,

use an accessibility auditing service (there are lots of them online).
They can help you determine whether your website works with
assistive technologies so you can make any necessary changes.

9. Prioritize search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO is far from dead in 2024. But with the rise of AI it is evolving. And
fast. Like always, if you integrate SEO best practices into your website,
you’re more likely to land a high-ranking placement on search engine
results pages (SERPs) and get more website visitors. Especially if you
focus on promoting the human experience in a way that AI can’t serve
up. Optimizing solely for Google bots is out. Now, rankings favor pages
designed that stand out

Here are some additional ways to optimize your website for search
engines in 2024:

• Optimize for voice search: With more hands-free technology,

voice search has become increasingly important for SEO. To
optimize for voice search write like your audience speaks.
Instead of optimizing for short-hand typing search terms like “AP
automation software,” use a command like, “What is the best AP
automation software?”
• Focus on long-tail keywords: Search engines now prioritize
content that addresses specific user needs rather than generic
terms. Instead of targeting “cloud computing,” a B2B SaaS
company might be better off focusing on keywords like “secure
cloud storage for healthcare SaaS” or “AI-driven CRM for small
businesses.” These longer, more specific keywords not only
capture precise user intent but also attract more qualified leads.
• Responsive design: It isn’t just a web design
standard, responsive web design is rewarded with better SERP
rankings by Google.
• Relevant header tag (H1): The header tag (or H1) will be the
headline of a page or the title of a post. Search engines target
H1’s for keywords, so make sure that you’re including the most
relevant information in your headline. You don’t want to bloat
your headline with keywords simply for SEO performance.
Remember your website is for real people, so finding a balance
between SEO performance, clarity, and style is key.
• Proper title tags and meta descriptions: Relevant title
tags and meta descriptions help search engines understand the
content on a page and index it appropriately. A page’s title tag
and meta description are shown whenever that page appears in
search engine results.
• Use short descriptive URLs: A simple URL that’s readable for
humans (not a long string of numbers) will often contain
keywords.
• Acquire relevant links from other high-quality websites: If
popular, high authority websites link to your website, there’s a
good chance those links will bring new users and increased
overall traffic.

Integrating SEO principles in your website will increase the organic

traffic, potential customers, and visibility you receive.
10. Monitor site speed
A slow website doesn’t just frustrate your users. It can have real
consequences for your business as users will often abandon a slow
site. In 2024, 47% of users won’t wait more than two seconds for a
website to load. Google also considers site speed when determining
your search rank, so if you want to be visible you should make sure
your website is fast.

There are a number of free tools, such as Pingdom and Website Audit,
that can quickly provide you with site performance metrics. They
measure key performance indicators like load time, page size, and
image compression.

A website with lots of design features will be slower than a leaner

website. Multiple typefaces and font sizes are an example. Loading a
library or framework for animations can also make your website slower.
It’s important to seriously consider each element of design so you don’t
slow your website down unnecessarily.

11. Heatmaps
Heatmaps present visually striking feedback on where users are
spending time on your website. They track your users’ mouse
movements so you can identify the areas that receive the most
attention.

With this information you can:

• Use data to optimize your design: You can capitalize on the

elements of your design that are attracting users and improve
those that aren’t. Heatmaps let you test real data against
speculative theory or hypothesis so you can make sure you
implement the most effective design choices.
• Optimize CTA placement: You can place your valuable CTAs in
the locations that receive the most traffic, increasing the
likelihood of conversions.
• Refine your navigation: You can monitor if your navigation
buttons are working effectively. If they aren’t attracting user
attention, it’s a good design practice to make them more obvious
and intuitive.

With a heatmap, you can make improvements with the confidence that
these improvements are data-driven.
12. A/B Testing
A/B testing is a method of comparing different versions of a webpage
to see which variant performs the best for a given goal. This could
include assessing how effective a CTA is, what headline works better
or what images and other visual content elicit positive responses.

There are two types of variants:

Micro variants: Small, focused changes like changing the color of a

CTA button or adding a word to a headline. These can add up to
a 2% change conversion impact.

Macro variants: Major revamps such as wireframing the page or

recreating every design asset. These can increase conversion by 40-
300%.

Even though macro variant testing usually leads to a greater impact on

conversion rates, it comes with an opportunity cost. To limit resource
burnout, consider these strategies:

• Draw inspiration from one of your competitors’ pages.

• Reposition your value proposition to target a new audience.
• Focus on redesigning only half of the page.
• Take a stronger stance in your messaging.
• Combine multiple micro variant changes.

Collecting the right data takes the guesswork out of website

optimization. When enough data is collected, Google Optimize can
determine whether the changes you made had a statistically significant
effect on conversion and if you should consider implementing them.

Conclusion
There’s a lot of information here, but the most important takeaway is
that if you want business results you can’t just build a website and then
leave it. Your website requires ongoing optimizations and
improvements to serve your customers and company. This is
particularly true if you’re going through a full website redesign.

Here are three of the key things to remember, whether you’re making
tweaks to your site, refreshing it, or building it from the ground up:
 • Ensure that your branding and key messaging inform your
design choices. Starting with a defined brand gives you clear
guidance for all the choices that follow.
• Make design choices that are user-friendly. They’ll help make the
user experience as clear, engaging, and easy as possible. That
will pay dividends in conversions and brand value.
• Use data-driven analytics to take the guesswork out of optimizing
your design. Understanding hard metrics around site
performance helps you adjust the experience to deliver better
business results.

At Tiller, we can help you with every step of the website design
process. From planning out your website’s design to delivering ongoing
maintenance, and conversion rate optimization, our team has the
expertise and skills to help you get results.