When you start developing your website, the messaging strategy and design are already done. Now, you need to bring them to life. Think of it as a builder getting plans from an architect.
You might even have chosen a platform to build your site with but what do you have to keep in mind that the design alone won't tell you?
Here are some key points to think about as your evaluate your development:
Checking the Design
Is the approved design on your site just like the plan, or can you spot changes? Sometimes, website builders have limits and can't replicate the design perfectly.
Using a design system helps. It sets your colours, grid layouts, fonts, sizes, spacing, and styles ahead of time. This way, your page looks consistent all over.
Preparing your development project ahead of time is important to be efficient with your built.
Interactions
Is your website easy to scroll through, or does it have glitches and loading issues? Think of it as a digital journey for your visitor. Any interruptions could cost you more than just attention.
Subtle interactions that reveal content can really enhance the feel of a site. Adding mouse hover animations makes a website more fun to use. Just remember not to overdo it and always keep the site clear and easy to use, even with those cool animations.
Speed & Loading Time
You have about 5 seconds to grab your client's attention and explain how you solve their problem. A slow-loading site will make this really difficult. Plugins and countless integrations all slow down your site and should be added intentionally.
The right content file size is also very important:
When you export your design files you need to be mindful of their respective sizes.
- Icons that are not vector based might look pixelated,
- videos that are too large will slow down your site
- and images that don't have the optimal resolution will either be too large or of poor quality
Even your fonts and scripts all add loading time to your site, so it's important to only load what is required, when it is required.
Responsiveness
Can people visit your site on a computer, tablet, and phone? Nowadays, over half of internet use happens on mobile devices. This trend is likely to continue. Your website should follow the same development rules for mobile as it does for other devices.
What looks good on a desktop might be too large on mobile, and vice versa.
Images can take up too much screen real estate and disrupt the user experience. Ensure your site adjusts well from large to small screens.
Technical and On-page SEO
Your SEO settings, like sitemaps, alt tags, schema markup, interlinking, and 301 redirects, might not be obvious to people, but they're key for search engines. They help explain your site's structure, titles, and meta data to browsers. It's crucial to get these details right to give search engines the right info about your site.
SEO goes beyond headlines and keywords and should be considered way before development actually begins.
We've all seen the famous 404 number explaining that a site had moved or is not available anymore. This should be avoided.
Accessibility
If a site is accessible to you, it doesn't mean it's accessible to everyone else. Different browsers and different settings can suddenly make your site look different.
When you consider a visually impaired user there are suddenly new things to keep in mind.
- Do your images have alt tags that describe the image?
- Can your site be enlarged and still work properly?
- Do you have sufficient contrast for colour blinded people?
Accessibility is a huge topic and there are even official "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1 AA)" that make using the web more inclusive for anyone.
Functionality
Ever clicked a link expecting something to happen and then nothing did? That's a poor user experience. Most times, you want users to do something—like submit a form, book a call, or visit a page. But is that feature working? It's shocking how often links break, forms fail to submit, or buttons don't respond.
Check that your scripts and custom code function correctly, and test every action on your website.
You should use a comprehensive checklist covering all areas to make sure the user experience on your new website is flawless.
