WordPress | Kenneth Ronkowitz

Not everyone needs a web designer to design their website. There are many personal websites that can be built and maintained by individuals who are not trained in web design.

The caveat to that statement is that if your site is for a business or requires an online store, credit card handling and other more sophisticated tools, you would be wise to hire an experienced designer to build it and possibly to maintain it.

For the non-designer creating a website, WordPress offers this good infographic starter along with an article of explanation.

These 8 design dos and don’ts will help you create a site that looks good and is functional.

Use hierarchy to order content sounds so obvious – put the first information that you want people to read first. But that’s not as easy on a webpage as it is on a document. Position, font types, sizes, colors, headings and subheadings affect viewers’ attention.

Limit fonts and colors Rule of thumb: use a maximum of three colors in your site design. Rule of thumb 2: use fonts in the same family (Arial, Times, Courier)

Consider legibility/readability and (not mentioned in the article) accessibility. A highly decorative font (Curlz MT) can hurt any viewer’s ability to quickly read, and many colors of text (especially on colored backgrounds) can be hard to read or even “invisible” to people with vision problems.

(even if it looks nice with your theme). Be sure to periodically take a step back and consider the legibility of your design.

The article’s “Don’ts” can also be seen as things to do. Don’t forget about images is do use images wisely. Some basic photo-editing skills (cropping, resizing, exposures) are definitely required.

Don’t be afraid to experiment Every website is “under construction” to some degree. In WordPress.com, you can easily try new themes, change your header, or play with the color scheme. You may want to give the site a fresh look periodically without really changing the content.

I agree that you shouldn’t prioritize aesthetics at the expense of functionality, and that feedback from users or friends or other people working with websites is important. Keep an open mind. No matter how much you like a design feature, if users have a problem with it, change it.

You don’t need to be a UX expert to know that if people have trouble finding a section of your site, then the navigation needs some revision.

As I’ve said before, I’m not a businessperson with a killer instinct. I sometimes tell potential clients that I think for what they want in a website they can do it themselves.

A do-it-yourself (DIY) website has definite advantages: you have complete control over your site; you can make it what you want it to be and obviously you save money.

Disadvantages? You are limited by your web knowledge, and the platform you use.

On that first item, you considered a web design pro because you probably don’t know a lot about web design, HTML and the rest of the code and design world. But add in that second item – platforms – and you might have some help. All of the DIY sites out there (WordPress, Blogger, Wix etc.) are designed to help the amateur DIY person design a website. Most of these sites are free with options for premium features and designs.

Some photography website options from WordPress, including ones for beginners

Those DIY sites have built-in tools and help files, and there are lots of sites to help with the design. I stumbled on “Ten tips to make DIY websites look professional.”

One article won’t make you a designer but the tips are all valid.

In brief…

Use a limited color palette to avoid overwhelming visitors
Leave plenty of ‘white space’ to prevent cluttered pages and posts
Choose a legible font to ensure readability
Add high-quality personal photos to provide authenticity
Include clear navigation and search functionality to help visitors find what they need
Craft a well-written About page to build user trust and loyalty
Incorporate Call to Action (CTA) buttons to boost your conversion rate.
Keep your headers and footers consistent to build brand recognition
Prioritize mobile responsiveness to reach more users
Provide easy-to-use contact forms to help users get in touch

As the article concludes, saving money and taking control by designing your own site is a good idea – unless the website looks unprofessional and hurts your brand.

One last suggestion. You can go half and half on this deal. There are experienced designers (like me) who design sites using some of those DIY platforms. You get a good design and you can have the realistic option of then maintaining the site on your own. Best of both worlds.