Balancing creativity and functionality can be difficult when it comes to web design. On the one hand, creative elements like animation and interactivity can make a website stand out from the crowd. On the other hand, though, when people come to a website, they want to find the information they are looking for quickly and easily. The user experience should therefore be the most important thing. But there is a place for creativity in web design. You just need to ensure that the creativity serves the overall user experience and not the other way around. 

So how do you balance creativity and functionality? There are different ways you can approach web design so that your website will have the perfect amount of creativity while focusing mainly on the user experience. 

Creating a Positive User Experience

In order to focus first on user experience, pretend you are an objective visitor of the website. Go through a user’s journey and see if the experience flows together or if it’s awkward and difficult. In order to put yourself in the user’s shoes, ask yourself the following questions:

• Why does the user want to visit your website? What are their values, views, and motivations?
• What is the user looking for in her experience? What features and functionality will they need?
• What level of accessibility do your users require? What aesthetics will enhance their experience?

Answering these questions will give you a direction for your creativity. These UX considerations will help you to determine exactly who your website visitors are and what kind of an experience they are looking for. Then your creativity (or the creativity of your web designer) will have more of a purpose. And you will be able to express your creativity in a more productive way.

Creativity with a Purpose

If you are designing a website, you should put all of your creativity into building the best possible user experience you can. If you have a purpose in which to channel your creativity, you won’t just be designing a site that’s great for your portfolio, but bad for the users. 

The important thing to remember when you are designing a website is that websites are not for designers; they are for the user. They are meant to deliver information, to entertain, to provoke thoughtful discussions, etc. Determine the purpose of your website before you even begin designing it, and this will help you to stay on track.

If you need a new website, contact us today. Let us help you create a simple and easy-to-use user experience that also looks amazing.