Ever been on a blind date? What was your first impression?

You remember, don’t you?

First impressions matter. Digital first impressions matter too.

If you want your business to stand out, you need a strong website — one that tells the world you are here.

Look at your current website. Are you ready for a little makeover? Quality website design can help you stand tall above the competition. Use these 10 tips to help your website stand out.

1. Invest In Quality Website Design

It may be worth your money to hire a website designer. Making sure your website looks professional is a good investment to make.

But how do you know who to hire?

Ask for references from people you trust.

Don’t hesitate to ask for samples or a portfolio to see examples of their work before you hire them.

Hire someone who will communicate. Open communication is essential when discussing style, brand, and timelines.

2. Keep It Simple

Even if you have a lot of information to put out there, quality website design is clean and crisp.

Place information in places that are easy to find.

Often one navigation bar at the top of the page is enough to find what your readers are looking for.

Even small details like font style and size are important. Fancy scripts are hard to read, while sans serif fonts are easier on the eyes. And size matters; Anything smaller than 16 pixels is hard to read on any screen.

3. Don’t Be Afraid of Change

Trends come and go. It’s important to update your website design to remain fresh and contemporary.

Changing up your website to fit the current trends will keep you relevant.

For an interesting reference point, check out the evolution of Apple’s website. Their website has changed many times over the year.

You may also find that your website technology is out of date. The internet is always changing and some website platforms don’t keep up.

If you find you are limited in editing choices, it may be time to update your platform.

Learn to be brilliant when it comes to recognizing if it’s time to make a change.

4. Are You Mobile-Friendly?

165 million people in the U.S. own a smartphone.

More and more, consumers are using their smartphones to buy items. They are likely searching for your website on that phone, instead of a computer.

Even Google has moved to favor mobile-friendly sites in search results.

Every quality website design needs to be mobile friendly.

If you’re wondering if your website checks outs, try this mobile-friendly testing site on Google.

5. Don’t Skip Social Media

Nine out of ten businesses use social media.

90% of those businesses increased their exposure, while 50% saw an increase in sales. Social Media will help your business if used in the right way.

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are a few of the networks you can choose from.

From there, make sure you link your social media sites to your website. This will help drive up traffic and help you gain exposure.

6. SEOs Are Key

Learn how SEO works.

They will be your new best friends.

It’s important to keep up on trends in the SEO industry. This means adding SEO-friendly elements to your site’s overall design.

Using keywords in your title is a great SEO strategy that makes your site more SEO-friendly.

If your site isn’t SEO-friendly, you won’t get as much traffic as other sites. And in turn, Google and other search engines won’t be able to rank your site accurately.

Do SEOs seem overwhelming? Consider hiring the professionals to help you out.

7. Scheming For Colors

Ever consider how colors make you feel?

CNN’s website uses a red banner across the top to heighten emotions from their readers.

Colors on a website might be more important than you think. It’s more than what catches the eye; certain colors hold certain meanings for people.

Pay attention to what colors you are using when coming up with a color scheme for your quality website design.

8. Relevant Content

Good content is what will set you apart, all visual components are secondary.

Write what is interesting and relevant to both your product and the consumer. And don’t be afraid to show personality. People like to get personal.

Think local; write global.

Quality website design starts with the knowledge that websites are international. Keep your content easy to understand and to the point.

It’s important to remember the “evergreen” rule, meaning as much as possible content should be timeless. Avoid using time references such as, “last month.”

9. Picture Perfect

Since a picture speaks a thousand words, choosing the right images to represent your business is important to connect with your customer.

If you don’t have quality pictures on hand, consider using stock photos from a stock photo site found here or here.

If you want unique pictures that are specific to your brand, hire a photographer to get the look you want. Then you will have the copyright to all the photos, and your business will stand out.

One more quick tip: make sure the pictures aren’t too big. We’re not very patient these days and no one wants to deal with slow loading pictures.

10. Brand Your Brand

This is the most important. Make sure your high-quality web design screams your brand.

Make it stand out. More importantly, make it about you.

What makes your business unique? Tell your story — people love a good story.

Be original and sincere. Understand your target audience and what they want and need.

Be consistent and have fun with it.

Let’s Design

Your website is an essential part of your business and should never be ignored. It is the first thing people see when they search for products. It’s important your website proudly represents you and your brand.

And remember that blind date?

We all know how important first impressions are, right?

With these ten tips, you can make a quality web design that gives the best first impression.

You can do this. And as always, you have us as a support system. Check out any of these articles to help you as you are building your career.