Websites that win awards, and traffic.

1. Design, not just decoration

The strongest work has a clear visual system that makes the story easier to follow: pacing, hierarchy, contrast, restraint. We often obsess over the parts most people rush: the typography, the spacing, the micro transitions, and how the design behaves when the content shifts on scroll.

Lessons we've learnt:

• Dark backgrounds and edge to edge visuals increase dwell time
• Define contrast between sections
• Don't rely on Unplash images from the first 10 that appear on searching
• Use quirky designed typefaces sparingly for hero's and never long quotes
• Always consider your designs across multiple break points.

‍

2. Usability, not just easy

Award-winning sites have UX that keeps the pace moving and users able to quickly find what they need. The best ones use scrollytelling to pull you down the page (you don’t want it to end), while still giving you clear ways to jump around when the experience is bigger than a single scroll. A huge unlock for us has been building microsites with CMS-driven sections, so the experience stays alive long after launch, without us being involved.

Lessons we’ve learnt:

• Scrollytelling should reward every few scrolls, try and avoid “dead zones”
• Give people orientation: chapter markers, progress cues, clear section titles
• Mega menus are worth it when there’s depth, don’t bury your best content
• CMS sections keep microsites up to date without redesigning the whole thing
• Test nav and interactions on mobile first, not as an afterthought