4 Web Design Lessons From Newspapers

With web designers having access to a variety of web design tools, it’s easier than ever to create engaging websites that can become instant trends. However, although good web design improves user experience, making something without knowing its roots can cause the project to lose its significance. To preserve web design’s forward-thinking and innovative qualities, it’s good to look back and appreciate its humble origins. In the case of websites, their roots are connected to newspapers.

When you view a newspaper and a website side by side, you’ll notice that these two mediums share similar design principles. This is because many web design practices can be traced directly back to news design. With this in mind, web designers can benefit from studying the design principles of a newspaper and incorporate their findings into the way they approach web design. This allows them to create better and more engaging websites.

With that out of the way, here are four web design lessons we can learn from newspapers:

Taking Inspiration from Nameplates When Creating Website Headers

Branding is an important part of creating a website. Not only will it give users a good idea of what your business is all about, but it also makes your online presence more distinct. To do this, you need to keep your website header clear and consistent. Like the nameplates on newspapers, creating a unique nameplate for your website will make your brand easier to remember and recognize. Make sure to put this nameplate, as well as your logo, on your website’s header so people know they’re on your website the moment they land on any page. 

Between nameplates and website headers, however, website headers have more functionality because websites are in the digital space. With the help of good web designers, like the ones working for a web design company Philippines-based businesses can trust, your header can further improve your website’s user interface. For example, apart from displaying the website’s name and logo, the header can also be used as a navigation tool to help users explore the website’s pages. Here, web designers can implement a variety of clickable components like a login/signup link, navigational tags, shopping cart, and social icons. They can even include a search bar to personalize their users’ search experience.

Looking at a Newspaper’s Front Page as Basis for a Website’s Home Page

First impressions matter, and when it comes to impressing your target audience, you have to make sure that your website’s home page is pleasing to the eye. After all, in most situations, the home page is the first thing users will see when they visit your website. A great way to ensure a pleasing home page aesthetic is to take a look at the front page of a newspaper.

The front page of a newspaper usually contains the main headline and cover story, the table of contents, as well as sections that show a bit of information about the newspaper’s contents (e.g., sports, entertainment, and classified ads). It also features a photo that’s connected to the main story on the front page.

Even if you’re not running a news website, you can use a structure similar to a newspaper’s front page to guide you in creating your website’s home page. Highlight what your business can do for your targeted audience by summarizing the products and services you provide. It’s also a good idea to include a navigation bar, which can act as your website’s table of contents. This is so users can go to the page that interests them or caters to their needs the most. Finally, you should upload high-quality images that advertise your products and services. Doing so can help your targeted audience get a clearer idea of what they could expect when they purchase from you or hire your services.

The Importance of the Space Above the Fold

When it comes to incorporating content into the design, you should make it a habit to keep the most important, interesting content in the upper half of your web pages. In a newspaper, this is where the main story and/or photograph is often located.

This principle is called “above the fold” because of the way a newspaper is often folded in half when displayed for sale. With the most impactful content printed above the fold, it’s easier to pique a reader’s curiosity. Obviously, a web page cannot be folded in half. In this case, above the fold refers to the area of the page that doesn’t require scrolling down to be seen. Any content that is placed on this location will be the first thing users will see once the page loads. 

It’s important that the content above the fold can immediately catch a person’s attention. Otherwise, your online users may be disinterested in scrolling further down because their first taste of your content isn’t as engaging. The same goes for newspapers. If the photo and cover story on above the fold isn’t compelling, people won’t be interested in picking up the paper.

Incorporating the Gutenberg Principle

Once your website has garnered the attention of online users, the next step is to ensure that they stay on your page long enough for search engines to consider your website useful and reliable. A great way to keep your viewer’s session durations as long as possible is to keep the Gutenberg Principle in mind.

The Gutenberg Principle is a design principle that describes the general movement of the eyes when a person is looking at a design. According to this principle, humans follow a “Z” pattern when looking at homogenous content. The Gutenberg Principle works well in the newspaper, but because of the layout of websites, the principle is also beneficial to web designers.

Although people can get their news on a variety of websites, the newspaper still holds a huge significance in the digital age. For most people, the newspaper is a great way to sharpen their minds and learn about current affairs. But for web designers, newspapers can also be used as a medium of inspiration for creating tomorrow’s best websites.

 


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