FIVE EASY DESIGN

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FIVE EASY DESIGN ENHANCEMENTS TO MAKE YOUR SITE MORE MAGNET I

You know your website is one in a million

The reality, though, is that your site is one in 350 million and counting. What can you do to make your site stand out from the others? How can you take full advantage of the split second you have to make a good impression when someone lands on your pages?
The first opinion people form when they hit your site is based on visuals. They take in the colors, white space and images you use before they start reading your words. If your site looks like it was put together by an amateur, you lose points. If its hard to read, cluttered or difficult to navigate through, you might lose your visitors altogether. Youre about to find out five ways to engage visitors from the moment they hit your pages. Read on to learn easy design enhancements to make a magnetic site that draws people in and keeps them reading.

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Grow your business with great design & marketing

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FIVE EASY DESIGN ENHANCEMENTS TO MAKE YOUR SITE MORE MAGNET I

1. Color: brand your site with 2+1

Colors : The Rule of Two
2 MAIN COLORS ACCENT

To establish a look for your site, theres nothing more effective than color. But if its not used correctly, your site can look messy. Whats the rule for choosing and using colors on your site? I like to start with my Rule of Two. Pick two colors not including black text or your white content area and use them throughout your site. If you use these two colors consistently, the +1 part of this equation will be even more effective. Find an accent color thats different than your two main colors. It should be brighter and bolder, and stand out. This accent color is perfect to use wherever you want to direct peoples eyes. If you have an optin form or an ad, use this color there. If theres a headline you want to emphasize, run it in this color.

+
2 MAIN COLORS ACCENT

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2 MAIN COLORS ACCENT

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Grow your business with great design & marketing

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FIVE EASY DESIGN ENHANCEMENTS TO MAKE YOUR SITE MORE MAGNET I

2. White space: breathing room draws people in

Want to make your first-time visitor want to click away fast? Fill your site with text and images right up to the edges. It works every time! Ample white space invites your visitor in and gives their eyes a place to rest as they absorb your words. Theyll want to kick off their shoes and stay a while! Try adding it here: Museums set off their 1.  Around your content area. Dont cram your text right up to the edge of your content area: more space means it is more inviting to read. 2. I n between lines. You should add line space of anywhere from 2050% over the pixel size of your font, so a 16 px font would have line spacing of anywhere from 1924 px, for example. 3. A  round important text like headlines or calls to action. White space around text says look at me: Im important! (See page 7 for more on designing an effective call to action).

of white space. You can

placing it in the middle do the same on your around your content

most valuable art by

site: add white space

area, between lines and

around important text.

White space makes text more readable, and so does the right font. Read on for more about fonts on the web.

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Grow your business with great design & marketing

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FIVE EASY DESIGN ENHANCEMENTS TO MAKE YOUR SITE MORE MAGNET I

3. Typography: add personality and readability

Fonts: The Rule of Two
HEADLINE

Lato Black
TEXT

Unique fonts are a great way to make your site more magnetic. But choosing and combining them isnt easy! Pick no more than two (not including the font in your site header or logo) and use the guides below to make the most of them: 1.  Think about your audience. Take your typical readers age into account. Make sure your font looks good on mobile devices. 2.  Aim for compatibility and contrast. Combine fonts with similar letter forms: look especially at the shapes of the lower case a, g and e. Make your headlines larger and bolder, and your body text smaller and lighter. 3.  Serve up the good stuff. Font services like typekit.com and Google Font API (which is free) will serve up custom fonts for a unique style.

Lato Regular

HEADLINE

Tahoma Bold
TEXT

Georgia Regular

Found the perfect font but its a little hard to read? Ditch it. Typefaces exist to facilitate communication, and if the one you like isnt clear, look for a different one.

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Grow your business with great design & marketing

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FIVE EASY DESIGN ENHANCEMENTS TO MAKE YOUR SITE MORE MAGNET I

4. Images: invite, provoke and make em smile

When you choose them right and position them carefully, images will help make your reader want to dive right into your sites content. Use them to add shades of meaning to your words, to provoke curiosity and add a touch of humor. Most images point in one this to your advantage when Use picnik.com or other direction or another. Use To find great images, try using online stock photography sites like istockphoto.com, shutterstock.com and bigstockphoto.com. You can find free images by searching the Creative Commons archives on Flickr: just click Advanced Search, then choose Creative Commons at the bottom of the page.

placing them on your page. photo retouching sites to emphasize your text.

crop and flip photos so they

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FIVE EASY DESIGN ENHANCEMENTS TO MAKE YOUR SITE MORE MAGNET I

5. Call to action: use design to get commitment

TextingTimes
TEXTING NEWS READERS STORIES SUBMIT YOUR BEST TEXT

Effective web pages start with a plan, and that plan hinges on what youd like your site visitor to do after theyve visited each page. This is where your call to action comes into play.
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4 Tips for Better Texting

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YOUR GUIDE
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Type your email address below:

Your call to action may be an optin form, or some text asking your visitor to contact you, request a quote, get your white paper or buy your product. To make your call to action impossible to miss, use all the design enhancements outlined in this report. 1.  Use your accent color, and surround it with white space. Both techniques will draw attention to your call to action. 2.  Use your headline font. Get your call to action seen with a bold headline. 3.  Add a compelling image. Show the free report theyll get when they opt in, feature a beautiful product shot, add an image of a phone if you want them to call.

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white space, font and image draw attention.

because the accent color,

This call to action works

BRAND SYSTEM
Grow your business with great design & marketing

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FIVE EASY DESIGN ENHANCEMENTS TO MAKE YOUR SITE MORE MAGNET I

Keep learning
Click here to learn more about color. Get a free downloadable guide to choosing your two main colors. Its easy once you know how! Click here to learn more about fonts. Download a free resource with 28 font combinations you can use right now. Want to know more about how good design and strategic marketing will grow your business? Click here to get the free Marketing Toolkit, which includes the Design 101 series. Youll learn more about using design to attract and keep the attention of your site visitors, and improve your business marketing.

About the author: Pamela Wilson is an award-winning graphic designer and marketing consultant who believes your business might be small, but your brand can be BIG. Find her at BigBrandSystem.com

BRAND SYSTEM
Grow your business with great design & marketing

TM