Being able to design a good-looking news or online shopping website is one thing, but being able to design a website that children and teenagers find interesting is an entirely separate thing. Most websites are designed for adults; they are big on written content and not as focused on fun and interactivity.
When designing a website that will mostly be visited by kids
and teens, it is extremely important to keep in mind that children are low on
patience and they are always looking to have some fun. If your website has a
busy design, loads slowly, has a couple of glitches, or any other slightly
annoying issue, it’s pretty likely that children won’t spend much time on it.
Children and adults do have one thing in common; they both
look for quality content. But, while adults might find things like reviews on
an ecommerce website to be interesting,
children prefer interactive and educational content like videos and games. Moreover,
while adults feel more comfortable with darker shades, children like bright and
bold color palettes.
There was a time when children’s websites used to have a
really busy design but thankfully, things have changed for the better. Here are
some of the latest design trends and practices being followed today:
Designing for the age
group that’s most important
Designing your website for children is not enough, to ensure
that your website really engages them, you need to design the website according
to the tastes of the age group that’s most important to your website.
Let’s suppose that the most important age group to your
website is 9-12 years. If your website uses really bright colors, small and
simple texts, and adds cartoon characters everywhere, it’s really likely that
this age group will look at the website as too “childish” and quickly move on
to something else.
Each age group has slightly different tastes. Let’s talk
about ages 3-5 first. For such a young audience, you will need to use bright
colors, a simple layout, as little text as possible, and make sure to add friendly
looking cartoon characters. Use only the simplest interactive content for this
group.
Talking about ages 6-8, they still prefer bright colors but
the layout and images used on the website can start to get a little more
layered and detailed. Only simple words should be used but one-word
instructions can be replaced by small sentences. For this group, the
interactive content should increase both in variety and number.
For the age group 9-12, you can start using bright as well
as muted colors. Words should remain simple but you can add a lot more text to
your website now. This age group also prefers more human-like cartoon
characters. Feel free to use complex interactive content for this age group.
When making a website for the age group 13-16, bright colors are left out and the layout can get more traditional. Words start to get more challenging and you are free to add as much text as you want considering it’s presented in a readable manner. Replace cartoons characters with images.
Build a happy,
welcoming environment
One thing common in all age groups of children is that they
prefer fun over everything else. So, the only way you can make sure children
will spend a long time on your website and remember to visit the site again is by
making your website really entertaining.
Use happy and welcoming content. For example, you can add
cute, smiley cartoon characters on your website. You can even add funny
animations or catchy rhymes and songs that entertain the kids while also adding
to their knowledge.
You can also convey the feeling of a positive atmosphere
through the design elements of your website. The colors you use on your should
be bright and high contrast. The font that you use for your website should be
fun and easy to read. It helps if you use a font that gives off a “handwritten”
feeling.
Your website’s interactive content can also be made more
welcoming according to the tastes of the age group that you are making the
website for. For example, for 13-16 year olds, you can add 2-5 minutes educational
videos. For 9-12 year olds, you could add fun little games on the website.
Large design elements
are your best friend
One of the design elements that have proven to have big
impact on all kinds of web traffic is the large-sized elements. Whether it’s
the large sized text, a big call to action, or a huge welcome screen, this
design change can be noticed on almost all kinds of websites. This design
improvement is especially useful when the target audiences of the website are
children and teenagers.
The reason children are attracted to large sized design
elements is because children prefer simplicity and recognizable words and
objects. Hence, using a big and simple call to action or adding large buttons
on your website can be a great way to engage children.
Another important design strategy to entertain children and
keep them on your website is by adding a big animated character on your
website. This character should “speak” and “move” according whichever link is
opened or whatever action the user takes.
These are the most common design trends and techniques that experts rely on these days when making a website for kids. Be sure to try them out on your website!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jamal writes about the influence of social media on modern-day business activities. He’s best known for designing social media strategies for some of the well-known global brands. His recent interests are in helping a local footwear brand elevate their Peshawari Chappal sales using the power of social.
