A useful website helps the right person understand an offer and take the next step. Visual design contributes alongside content, navigation and how the site works. Before changing colors or adding animation, define the job each page needs to perform.
This update to our 2023 article offers a practical review, from the first screen a visitor sees to the moment they try to contact you.
Answer a specific visitor question
The first screen should explain what you offer, who it is for and how to continue. “Innovative solutions” leaves a lot to interpret; “A booking app for your team” identifies a problem and an offer.
Not every visit begins on the homepage. Search may bring someone directly to an article or portfolio project. Each page needs enough context and a useful next step, without requiring visitors to reconstruct the story through the menu.
Check the complete mobile journey
Opening the homepage on a phone is not enough. Try reading a long page, using the menu, examining an image and filling out the contact fields without submitting. Check that the keyboard does not cover the action, that text can grow and that errors explain how to fix the input.
Content needs to adapt to the available width. Responsive design preserves a page’s hierarchy and usefulness rather than just shrinking its columns.
Measure performance where people experience it
Google distinguishes loading, interaction responsiveness and visual stability using LCP, INP and CLS. Core Web Vitals help examine those dimensions with real usage data when available. A laboratory test can help diagnose problems, but does not represent every visitor’s connection or device.
Start with resources used on the first screen: image sizes, video, fonts and code that delays reading. Declare image dimensions and avoid late-loading elements that move the button someone is about to press. Prioritize improvements using the evidence rather than a single score.
Make the main actions accessible
Try using the site with a keyboard: focus should be visible and navigation order should make sense. Fields need labels, informative images need descriptions, and error messages should not rely only on color.
Accessibility helps people perceive, understand and use content, including people using assistive technology. The W3C WAI introduction provides a foundation for including it during design.
Preserve pages people can already find in Google
A redesign needs an inventory of existing URLs. If a page keeps its purpose, retaining the address supports continuity. If it moves, prepare a redirect to equivalent content. Sending every old address to the homepage does not answer the specific intent behind an article or project search.
Then review titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, internal links and the sitemap. Check the published site against Search Console: a page built locally is not necessarily accessible or indexed.
Design and measure a next step
A service page might invite someone to describe a project. A portfolio case could lead to related work or a request for a similar scope. Choose an action that fits what the person has just read.
Measure visits, clicks, form starts and received requests separately. Opening WhatsApp does not prove a conversation started; that distinction changes how conversion should be interpreted.
The UCAPSA website case shows how a project can organize information and services around a community. It is a reference for scope and structure, not a promise of results for another organization.
Review before committing to a redesign
Choose pages that receive visitors or represent your main services. Record each page’s task, where clarity breaks down and what evidence you have. That helps prioritize a broken route, a confusing form, a heavy image or a new page with a distinct purpose.
