Great websites are well-designed

A well-designed website does more than look good: it meets its intended purpose.

Typography should be clear and easy to read. Colours should be balanced and reflect your organisation's personality. White space should give elements room to breathe. Common patterns should make the site feel familiar. All of these elements combine to create a site that is easy to use, trustworthy and aligned with your goals.

Good design balances beauty and function. Beautiful design for its own sake, at the expense of performance or accessibility, is bad design. Keep returning to your website’s goals. What are you trying to achieve? Are your design decisions helping your users get what they need? Refer to your user personas: is the design helping them or getting in their way?

Many organisations make the mistake of prioritising visuals over usability. This leads to slow-loading sites or decorative elements that hurt readability. Even the most attractive site will lose users if it takes too long to load or if text is difficult to read. No amount of design flair can make up for weak or unclear content.

Start with the basics to get design right. Adapt your brand guidelines for the web, ensuring font sizes are legible, colour contrast meets accessibility standards, and layouts work on all devices. Keep asking whether each design choice serves your users. And look for opportunities to add personality — something unique that makes your site unmistakably yours.

Once your site is live, measure whether the design is working. Track the key metrics, whether that’s form submissions, event sales, or other actions. Let real data guide your refinements so your design continues to work for your users.