Website designers need to know that learning the technical features of a script is not as important as understanding user emotion. They should stand in the users' perspective and consider why they land on this website—whether it's for quality trivia or something else. Technical aspects can be tweaked, but that alone is not going to serve users properly.
When we decided to re-imagine our platform, what surprised me the most was how a simple photograph of a guide and just a few sentences about who they are worked in practice better than fancy animations or intricate layouts. To provide a real example, a table with handwritten neighborhood recommendations from our Tokyo guide received 45% more bookings on that same destination gallery page compared to the clean style we had before. I always say, I learned that the delivery of genuine content is more powerful than fancy design tactics when it comes to making actionable user experiences.
One of the most time-consuming tasks that you can do is spending a lot of time with real users to realize what their emotional journey is like through your design. See how they organically interact with the content and flag where they are able to create real connections contrasted to where they might be lost or distracted. The most effective website designs foster genuine relationships between users and brand faces or stories, leveraging tenets of visual design to deliver content that isn't generic.
Instead, start with simple, plain layouts that efficiently display real stories and actual images. Employ the fundamentals of visual hierarchy, engaging animation, and symmetry & hierarchy for creating an emotional connection with users. Your website should be designed around experiences that are people-centric and seamless.
