Successful Web Design for Kids: Four Important Tips

Nov 21, 2016 | Website Design

Reading Time: 3 minutes
Kevin Fouche

Successful Web Design for Kids: Four Important Tips

Posted by Kevin Fouche, Pixel Fish Director

Kevin handles the planning, design, launch and training of every website that Pixel Fish creates. He ensures that every website is highly engaging and aligned with our client’s goals. With over 20 years of design and web industry experience to draw upon, Kevin aims to pass on his knowledge to our clients and like-minded businesses wanting to grow their online presence.

Because digital media is often a regular part of childhood, kids have expectations and preferences about the websites they visit. To attract younger visitors to your business website, consider the following tips for successful web design for kids.

Many kids are Internet-savvy. From a young age, they’re interacting with computers and mobile devices and engaging in some way with the Internet. There’s data showing that 45% of Australian kids between ages 8 and 11 also use social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube. So how can you ensure your website has been designed in an optimal manner for a young audience?

4 Tips for Successful Web Design for Kids

1. Make sure you aren’t talking down to them

Even young kids can detect a condescending attitude and the assumption that they don’t know much or can’t think for themselves. It’s important to consider your site’s vocabulary and sentence structure, ensuring that kids at a certain age would either be able to understand the content or follow along with their parents. But regardless of whether your target demographic is 6-year-olds or 13-year-olds, treat them as thoughtful people. Remember that they’ve developed knowledge and opinions about various subjects, especially things that interest them – such as their favourite books, TV shows, and movies, fashion, sports, foods, music, toys, computers, and nature. Give them opportunities to explore independently, by ensuring your site is well-organised with straightforward navigation.

2. Use visuals that draw them into your website

Many kinds of visuals can catch the eye and engage a kid’s imagination and curiosity. Use brighter colours, larger size font, and a more fun typography that still keeps the letters readable. Add some cartoon characters, animated figures, vivid illustrations, or videos; you can do this while still preserving coherence, minimising clutter, and keeping your site easy to navigate. BeFunky offers a great tool to turn a picture into a cartoon, with a single click so you can make your project look stunning and catchy for kids. Another kind of visual quality kids may like is depth, especially when it gives your website the appearance of a physical location. When arriving at your site, kids may feel as if they’re stepping into a bakery, toy store, library, forest, underwater grotto, laboratory, or sunny playroom. It’s possible to come up with compelling visuals without breaking your budget or taxing your website’s resources. Even if you decide to keep things relatively simple, there are ways of making your site visually memorable and appealing to kids.

3. Give them opportunities for meaningful participation and interaction

Some websites ask kids to draw, design, or construct things – either online through the site or off-line – and then share their project in several ways: maybe in a contest, through social media (with a special hash tag), or in an online forum with other kids. You can also ask kids to come up with captions, names or titles for your products and share other kinds of creative writing like short poems and stories. Meaningful participation and a sense of community are essential. Small businesses can ask for feedback and highlight kids’ opinions and anecdotes. Contests promoted on your website and social media accounts can involve creative entries, raffles, or trivia. By engaging with your website in various ways, kids may also be able to earn points that go towards special discounts or prizes at your business.

4. Ensure their safety

Parents are rightly concerned about Internet safety. Security risks come from cyber criminals determined to steal private information and from certain frightening individuals that kids may encounter online. Kids are also vulnerable to cyber-bullying from their peers. As much as you can, provide kids with a safe experience on your site – protecting their account information, screening them from toxic Internet content, and obtaining parental permission whenever necessary. Address parental concerns through the sign-up process for an account on your site or in a special page for parents. Make sure you also have the proper security certifications for your site.

Please contact us for assistance with designing a business website that’s friendly to kids and reassuring to parents. Internet-savvy kids can become some of your most loyal customers if you give them a fun, engaging, rewarding, and safe experience on your site.

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Further Information:
10 Tips for Creating a Better Contact Form to Improve Conversion
Tips For Creating A Website Sitemap For Your Business
10 Common Misconceptions About WordPress
Creating Website Content that Appeals to Both Scanners and Readers
Should I have Staff Photos on My Business Website?
How to Conduct an Effective Competitors Website Review
9 Ways to Optimise your Website for Voice Search
10 Ways To Improve Your Website Footer
8 Vital Signs That Your Business Website Needs Updating
8 Successful WordPress Website Design Best Practices

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Kevin Fouché, Pixel Fish Director