inspirational-web-design-tipsPeople usually remember things that inspire or move them. If you can reach out to your visitors in this way, then you’ll be able to create a more memorable and lasting impact. However, there’s no easy shortcut in designing a website that aims to inspire people.

If your goal is to create an inspirational website right from the start, you need to be able to know your target audience, get the qualities that will create an influence over them, and plan how to incorporate those qualities into your website. To help you with it, here are 68 actionable tips on how you can effectively create an inspirational web design.

1. Internalize your vision

The best websites always set clear visions, so you must start by knowing your own. What makes you unique? What kind of message do you want to impart to your visitors? What can you give to your viewers?

You must be able to internalize your vision, believe in it and live with it, before you can convince other people to embrace it, too. If you don’t, it will not be clearly reflected in your web design and content.

2. Create a visual plan

Some designers go directly to Photoshop and other designing tools before thinking over what they really want the website to look like. However, it’s best if you put your design ideas on paper before you start to execute them. This way, you’ll have a clear guide during the real web design process.

You can think about your layout, content, functionality, etc. more clearly when you lay them all in a visual plan or wireframe. Since your goal is to inspire, you might want to focus your layout on keywords and visuals that will capture people’s attention and touch them personally.

3. Choose your typography and color theme

There are typefaces and colors that could be too strong and even scare visitors. You should avoid these. Choose a font that is easy to read. Moreover, do not be afraid to use big fonts and be more playful, but avoid Comic Sans for a business site, as it’s designed for comics, not business.

With regards to your color scheme, different colors have different meanings, but if in doubt the shade of green is your best choice. This color renews, inspires, opens, and stirs peaceful sentiments in people. In fact in a study made by the College Student Journal, green was proven to increase the level of positivity and comfort. Other shades that you can use include yellow, blue, indigo, and certain shades of pink and orange.

4. Visualize your website as a magazine

Divide your web page into several sections. Each section must tell a story. Your site’s layout will help highlight the content and other essential parts of your site.

It’s best to use a simple layout with a reasonable amount of white space. Also, don’t forget to add call-to-action and share buttons. If you want to inspire as many people as possible, you should allow your viewers to share your content with their friends and acquaintances on social media.

For your home page in particular envisage your website as a magazine, rather than having long blocks of text going the full width of the page, split different sections up into 2, 3 or 4 columns.  Use sub-headings and/or images at the start of each column so visitors can easily identify the topic of each section.

5. Evaluate your overall design

Once you’re done with designing your website, you should give it one last look and evaluate if all elements like the visuals, content, color, typography, etc. are working in harmony.

Final word

One common trait you can find in all inspiring leaders is their effort to share and demonstrate something that is different from the norm. They share their experiences, traumas, failures, and successes.

To create a website that will generate a similar emotional response, you need to follow certain conventions, but also think out of the box to create something truly original, have engaging content and a powerful design.