Ever wondered which websites were rated the most visually appealing?
We will help you find some inspiration for your own website and give tips to help you along your way.
“Did you know that it takes a mere 7 Seconds to make that first impression when a visitor lands on your website before retreating? – Carissa Meiring”
This is exactly why we at Banter cannot stress enough why your homepage is one of the most important pages on your website. It should be powerful.
The hard fact is that if a new visitor doesn’t like what they see, their instant reaction is to hit the “back” button. We are sure that you have experienced this reaction on numerous occasions already! Bleh!
On the lighter side of web surfing, browsing the Internet can actually be fun. Aside from the unlimited information that is available for the taking, you can see a synergy of creative design and user experience just about anywhere. Ultimately we all love to benefit from inspiring and beautifully designed digital canvas palettes don’t we? We managed to gather a list of beautiful and functional websites that (In our humble opinion) will surely give you inspiration for that project that is up and coming. The following sites may not always be the best lead generation websites – some are intended to build brand awareness instead. Regardless, it has been great fun gathering these 5 different industry types websites that will surely inspire you.
Here are our top 5 Beautiful Websites (in our humble opinion)
1. Mahedine Yahia
Personal Portfolio: Working on a personal portfolio site? Some marketers can’t take design cues from this personal website! Case in point: This sleek innovative site for Parisian designer Mahedine Yahia just blows us away. This site acts as a resume and portfolio for Yahia, who most likely will never be out of work again given the site’s flawless design work and concerted focus on great imagery. Wish we could have him on our team!
2. Arcade Fire: Just a Reflektor
New Album Release: For Arcade Fire’s latest album release, the marketing machine was in full force and with the launch in mind, they came up with this interactive website. This site allows you to control the focus and lighting of the video whilst listening to their launch track. The passionate fans think that this site is simply terrific! Making for an interactive and kind of trippy user experience!
3. Soyuz Coffee Roasting
Building your Brand: Now this Russian-based coffee roasting company does a superb job in not only showing off its great product (that coffee in the middle makes me start salivating), but also in telling its story. Consumers want to know the businesses they may decide to buy from. By sharing their background and mission with website visitors, Soyuz can build brand awareness, garner a loyal following, and ultimately boost sales.
4. Etch Apps
Business Services: Etch apps is our personal favourite, perhaps because it is so similar to what we at Banter Media offer our clients. It’s completely unique in its design. The website is influenced by the Metro style. This was made popular by Windows 8 and is derived from the Swiss-style design. It is usually characterised by square blocks acting as containers for menu and content. Our Website has some similar features in this aspect.
5. The House of Eyewear
Sale of products & goods: This site is selling their sunnies in the most visually appealing way, in fact we could purchase some for all our staff in a heartbeat after visiting this website. The House of Eyewear uses image heavy and minimal homepage design techniques. Like we said before, this is an experience most web users love. And when you want to dive deeper into each section of the navigation bar, a clever little animation takes you to the next page. These design elements may just excite you in such a tiny way, but they tie the whole website experience all together.
Try out these 7 simple tips when masterminding your next website design project.
- The aesthetic and user experience should be off the charts
- Keep your design crisp, clean and clever
- Use the correct colour palette that synergises with what your project has on offer
- Find exciting new typefaces that will form a part of the artistic design
- Ensure your page design loads really fast
- Work out the best navigation possible using clever new trends
- Avoid using copy such as “click here”
Lastly, until very recently, we had wondered if there were any awards programes for these gorgeous sites. Well, it turns out that there is a global jury of roughly 60 web designers, creative directors, and other big wigs in the world of digital design and marketing, where they do indeed hand out Awwwards to these genius minds! It is inspiring to see that there is recognition for those who are behind the world’s most chic, beautiful and innovative sites.
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