Designing a website is all about making an instant impact, grabbing attention, holding it long enough for visitors to the site bookmark it for future visits. Possible, more than possible, but only if a web page has been designed to capture the eye of the beholder, and there are many ways to do so, the most common being to change a headline’s font size. For example, doubling your banner headline font size from 20px to 48px, is enough to highlight the message you wish to convey.
“I want you to read my message” doesn’t have the impact as “I WANT YOU TO READ MY MESSAGE”.
Typography Gets The Attention
Using typography by changing font sizes to get attention is not a new bag of tricks. However, before making your headlines 48px or larger, a few simple rules have to be followed.
- Ask yourself if it’s really important. Announcing a 30% off book sale might be important for avid readers, but the huge font size may act as a turn-off for others.
- It also depends on the standard font size used on your web page. If, everything is in 20 pt. and your headline is in 30 pt., there is no noticeable difference. However, 8 pt. text and a 16 pt. headline makes all the difference.
- Set down a font size standard for all company events that may trigger and increase in headline size. But, changing the font size is not the only way to get attention. Play with the font e.g.
- For emphasis switch from Arial (family) to Arial Black (family).
- Use a colour that attracts attention e.g. red.
- Change the style or weight of text by italicising or making it bold.
Other Ways to Get Attention
There are other ways apart from changing the font size or colour to get attention, such as:
- Images / Graphics: Always, attention-getters, the correct images and graphics enhance and emphasise the message your words are trying to convey. Since, people are visual, the aphorism ‘a picture says a thousand words’ has never been truer. See Google, and you will see that it uses pictures to emphasize various holidays and events.
- Layout: Completely change the layout of your web page to attract attention to an event, just as Amazon did by replacing their front page with a letter from its President, thanking customers for their loyalty.
- Animation: Use animation instead of flat images to attract attention. Many web designers use this in splash pages to showcase their skills and make their site more interesting.
Within Limits
However, it is easy to go overboard with these techniques. If, every other line of your site is bolded or in red or is blinking, then nothing will stand out. Be discreet when using these techniques, as announcing 30% off for a book sale with the same intensity as a newspaper announcing a murder, war or robbery, will only drive away visitors to your site. Adopt a ‘less is more approach’ for a even-handed outcome.
