Principles of Eye-Catching Website Design

A website used to be a standout asset. Now, it’s just the starting line. Almost every organization these days is online, so it’s no longer enough to simply have a website. However, far fewer organizations have a website that’s visually compelling and thoughtfully designed to resonate with their visitors, which is where organizations like yours can stand out among competitors or alternatives with intentional design. 

What makes a website truly eye-catching is the right combination of clarity, cohesion, and creativity that makes people want to stop and explore. From the moment someone lands on your site, your layout, visuals, and structure should work together to guide their attention and leave a lasting impression. In this post, we’ll break down the visual design elements that elevate a website from ordinary to unforgettable.

Simplicity

Simplicity might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about eye-catching website design, but it’s often what separates good website design from a great website design. In a world full of visual noise, a clean, uncluttered design allows the mind to relax and take in what the eye can see. 

Apple is a masterclass in simplicity. Their website and overall brand is famously minimal, yet they never feel dull. Instead, they’re perceived as bold, sleek, and even sexy. That’s because simplicity, when done well, doesn’t strip away personality; it sharpens it.

In practice, simplicity shows up through clear navigation, concise messaging, limited color palettes, and generous white space. It’s about removing anything that doesn’t serve a purpose, so the most meaningful elements can draw the eye.

Full-Width Visual Elements

Think about the difference between watching a movie on your phone and watching a movie on a theater screen. There’s something to our visual preferences that demands the BIG screen, and it’s that bigger visuals create a more immersive experience. Naturally, the same goes for web design. 

Our eyes are naturally drawn to wide, high-quality imagery. That’s why full-width, high-quality photos and videos have become a go-to for websites aiming to make a strong visual impact. They immediately elevate the user experience and signal professionalism. 

To keep things clean and uncluttered, let these visuals breathe. Give them an entire section or strip on the website page to themselves with little to no overlapping text, images, or other elements. Allowing the visual to stand as one bold, captivating monument in the section grabs the attention of your website visitors and sets the tone for their experience on your website. 

Motion

The human gaze has always been drawn to motion and movement – almost as if it’s innate. Your website design can tap into this element of human nature by introducing motion in tasteful and strategic ways.

Video is a great way to incorporate movement into your website. Videos can be set as backgrounds in certain sections of your website or can be dropped in as smaller visual elements to accompany text. The type of video you can add to your website will depend solely on what resonates with your intended audience, what your organization does, and what your brand guidelines allow.

Hover and scroll effects can and should also be applied to your entire website so each page doesn’t feel static or dull. For efficient and consistent implementation of hover and scroll effects, it’s best to create page and element templates or to configure the effects in the website’s settings, so you don’t have to add the effects to every element (e.g. buttons, text boxes, images, etc.) manually. 

Hover effects

Hover effects are subtle animations that happen when a user moves their mouse over a clickable or interactive element such as a button, image, navigation menu, or link. They help indicate that something is interactive and add a layer of visual feedback that makes a website feel more alive. 

Hover effect animations include but are not limited to:

• Color changes

• Expansions and contractions

• Rotations, flips, and bounces

• Shadowing and fading

• Sliding (left, right, up, or down)

An example of a hover effect would be when a website visitor hovers over a “Learn More” button with their mouse, and it slightly changes color and enlarges to show that it’s clickable.

Scroll Effects

Scroll effects are visual transitions that occur as the user scrolls down the page or as new pages and elements such as text, buttons, images, videos, etc. load into view. In addition to adding movement and depth to pages, these effects keep users engaged as they move through the content and can draw attention to important information, visual elements, or calls to action (CTAs). 

Common scroll effects include but are not limited to:

• Sliding in and out (left, right, up, or down)

• Fading in and out

• Rotations, flips, and bounces

• Parallax (when scrolling down the page, the background moves slower than the content that sits on top of it)

• Color shift (color palettes change upon scrolling past them, e.g. from black and white to color)

An example of a scroll effect would be when a photo gently fades in from the side of the screen and a block of text rises up into place from the bottom of the screen as the website visitor scrolls down the home page. 

When used with intention, these forms of motion can make your site feel more dynamic and help guide your visitors through your content more effectively. However, it’s critical that you incorporate video, hover effects, and scroll effects with moderation, so they don’t overwhelm your website visitors or distract them from getting the information they need to take the next step in engaging with your organization. 

Balance

A well-balanced layout is one of the simplest ways to make a website look polished and professional. Balance in design means arranging elements so that no one part of the page feels heavier or more crowded than another. When balance is off, your site can feel chaotic—making users uncomfortable and less likely to engage.

There are a few main types of balance:

Symmetrical Balance

Symmetrical balance means both sides of the page mirror each other. This layout style is clean, traditional, and creates a sense of order. It's commonly used in traditional industries like legal, finance, and healthcare, as well as on About or Services pages where clarity and trust are key.

Asymmetrical Balance

Asymmetrical balance occurs when different elements are arranged to feel balanced without being identical. This style gives a more modern and dynamic impression. It's frequently used for startups and tech companies, creative agencies, consulting firms, and IT firms, especially on homepages, product pages, and landing pages.

Radial Balance

Radial balance is achieved when content radiates outward or inward from a central focal point. In this style, components such as objects, colors, or textures are arranged at equal distances around a core element. This layout naturally draws the viewer’s attention to the middle of the page. Radial balance works well for pricing pages, product or service showcases, comparisons, or any page where a central call-to-action needs to stand out.

Mosaic Balance

Mosaic balance is a grid-like layout that distributes visuals evenly across the page. It creates a sense of rhythm and consistency by giving equal visual weight to each element, regardless of size or shape. This approach is especially popular for portfolios, photo galleries, resource libraries, blogs, or ecommerce category pages that feature a large volume of content or imagery.

Contrast

If balance creates harmony, then contrast provides the spark. It draws the eye, establishes order, and guides users through your website’s most important information. At its core, contrast refers to the degree of visual difference between two or more design elements, whether that’s color, size, shape, spacing, or the type of content you’re using. When contrast is used thoughtfully, it creates clarity, improves accessibility, and turns static layouts into visually compelling experiences. It is a cornerstone of effective visual communication that shapes how website visitors perceive visual hierarchy, interact with elements, and navigate your site with ease.

There are several ways to introduce contrast throughout your website layout. Each brings its own visual and functional benefits:

Color

Color contrast is one of the most immediate ways to make something noticeable. When there’s a strong difference between two colors, for example, white text on a dark background or a bold-colored button on a light background, it becomes easier for website visitors to read and take action. 

This technique is especially useful for calls to action (CTAs) such as “Donate Now,” “Request a Quote,” or “Sign Up.” Good color contrast also improves accessibility for people with vision impairments. Aim for strong contrast between text and background colors to ensure readability across all devices and visitor needs.

Size

When something is larger, it naturally feels more important. That’s why section titles are bigger than body text and why a key message or testimonial may appear in a larger font. Using size contrast helps create a clear path through your content, so website visitors know what to pay attention to first.

Space

White space, also called negative space, is the blank area around your text, images, graphics, and other content. Rather than filling every inch of the screen, thoughtful and adequate spacing gives your content room to breathe while helping visitors focus on what matters most. It also creates a more polished, professional, and modern feel.

Foreground and Background

Every element on a website page sits either in the foreground or the background. The foreground is where the main content such as text, buttons, graphics, and calls to action live, while the background is what sits behind it all. Backgrounds are often high-quality photos or videos, textures, solid colors, or gradients. This is especially true for wide-format visuals, which we discussed earlier as powerful tools for setting tone and making a bold visual impact. 

Thoughtful and strategic contrast between the foreground and background will add a tangible depth to your content while keeping it engaging and easy to read. It’s important not to overcomplicate the contrast between the foreground and background. If both are visually busy, they can compete for attention and reduce clarity. 

Types of Content

Combining different types of content and media such as text, photos, videos, illustrations, icons, and graphics adds variety and can help bring your services or mission to life. Photos might show your team in action, while icons can quickly summarize key offerings. A skilled eye for design understands the interplay between different types of content and will strategically use their contrast to capture attention and highlight what should matter most to your website visitors.

Shapes

Using different shapes is a simple yet effective way to introduce contrast and to break up your content visually. This kind of contrast helps guide your website visitors’ eyes and keeps each section of your page feeling fresh and engaging. Varied shapes can also signal a shift in content or spotlight a featured message, making it easier for visitors to navigate and stay focused.

Minimal Use of Text

When it comes to website design, less is often more, especially with text. Outside of blog posts or resource pages, most visitors aren’t coming to your site to read long paragraphs. They’re skimming to find key information quickly. Large blocks of text can make a page feel dense and visually overwhelming, which not only makes your content harder to absorb but also dulls the overall visual appeal. A text-heavy design can crowd out your imagery, disrupt your layout, and make your site feel cluttered instead of captivating.

Keeping your copy minimal contributes to an eye-catching design by allowing space for your visuals, layout, and key messages to shine. It creates a cleaner, more open experience that draws people in rather than pushing them away. Instead of trying to say everything at once, focus on what visitors need to know to take the next step in engaging with your organization, then present it in headlines, short blurbs, or bullet points that are easy to scan. This balance of brevity and clarity helps your site feel both visually appealing and effortlessly usable.

Brand Aesthetic Alignment

A visually striking website looks polished, but it also feels cohesive and intentional. That sense of instant recognition and trust stems from strong brand alignment. When your colors, fonts, imagery, and tone all reflect your brand consistently, your site becomes a clear and confident representation of your organization. This kind of visual and emotional unity helps your website stand out in a way that feels authentic, inviting, and memorable.

If your brand identity is still evolving, take a step back to clarify your visual direction, messaging, and personality before jumping into design. Defining your brand up front makes it easier to design a website that captures attention and builds trust. For help getting started, check out our posts on understanding the difference between Brand vs. Brand Identity vs. Branding and how to Build Your Brand Identity.

Consistency Across All Pages

Although there can be slight variations between pages on your website based on the purpose of the page or the content that is being presented, your website pages should follow a similar format or flow. This allows website visitors to quickly learn how to navigate your website and adapt to its layout creating a more intuitive experience as the website visitors explore your website. It also ensures a uniform look and feel across pages while adhering to and strengthening your brand. 

The best way to maintain a consistent look and feel across pages is to build a set of page templates that can be used throughout the website. These templates will standardize the content sections and groupings, visual hierarchy, fonts, headings, colors, and information flow. Another benefit to building out templates is the ease and speed at which you can build new pages. The design and layout is already hammered out and all you need to do is fill in the content. 

Responsiveness (Mobile, Tablet, and Desktop)

A website can incorporate every eye-catching design element imaginable such as striking visuals, thoughtful motion, clean layouts, and a strong brand alignment, but if it only looks good on one screen size, the entire experience falls flat. That’s where responsive design comes in. Responsiveness guarantees your website looks just as strong and intentional on a phone as it does on a desktop and tablet.

With more and more website visitors browsing on mobile devices, it’s essential that your website adapts smoothly to different screen sizes. That means layouts adjust to fit the screen, text stays easy to read, buttons remain tappable, and visuals scale the right way. A true eye-catching website design meets your audience wherever they are while delivering an experience that feels sharp, polished, and professional at every size.

Time to Put These Design Principles to Work

Every visual element on your website has the potential to attract, engage, or distract. When design choices are made intentionally, they come together to create a digital experience that not only looks great but leaves a lasting impression. If you’re ready to create a website that’s not just functional, but visually compelling and aligned with your brand, contact us to learn how our team can bring your vision to life using these exact principles. You can also learn more about our website design services by clicking here.