Designing websites for kids is a difficult task, because they are not the worlds biggest online users until they grow up a little. They also have no money or means of acquiring more money. Any selling you do to them will have to encourage them to approach their parents, and if the parents feel that a website is manipulating a child then they will put a stop to it. There is also the element of having to keep the child interested. Most kids are very hard to please in long doses. Their interests are usually sharp, focused, and very quick. A child can be bored of something within minutes of telling people that they loved it. Your website has to account for all these factors.
1 – Add attractive pictures and stay away from long articles
Attractive pictures are going to help you to keep the attention of the children, and long articles are going to scare them away. So be mindful of how you use either one of these factors when designing children’s website.
2 – Use bright colors and establish a happy atmosphere
Brighter colors are often seen as more positive, and even if the child is not the biggest fan of bright colors. You need to add in bright colors and a positive attitude so that the children’s parents will think that your website is a happy one.
3 – Add educational games to appease their parents
Parents are going to look over the shoulders of their children, so if you want children to keep attending the site then you need to add in a few educational games for them to try.
4 – Avoid using too much text because kids don’t like it
Text may seem like a good idea in most circumstances, but it will simply not be read by the child in question. They will skim over it or simply ignore it, so do not add it in there.
5 – Consider adding a parents section to help them adjust the content
If you add a parents section that gives them the answers to questions, or a section that will help the parents to alter the age required for the content, then you will find that they will allow their children on the site more.
6 – Try adding music and sound that may entertain the children
Keeping the children entertained and keeping them reading is very difficult. So you should try adding a little bit of sound and music to entertain the children and keep them engaged with the content.
7 – Add in some custom media made just for children
This may be some sort of puzzle or game, but it could also be some sort of avatar. Just remember that the more effort you put into making your website specifically child friendly, then the higher the chances are that you will have them return to your site.
8 – Keep your navigation very simple and very large
Simple navigation is a key element for an obvious reason, but few remember that it should also be big. Bigger links, buttons and bigger widgets should be used because children have lower motivation to research into why it doesn’t work.
9 – Try using animated characters to increase engagement
This may be a little bit like adding an avatar, or a computer generated spite. It adds an element into the website that will converse with your readers. They can be the ones that tell your children what is right and wrong, and how to use parts of the website.
10 – Trust your market research and not stereotypes
Your market research may tell you that boys love the color grey, whereas your common stereotype knowledge may tell you that they like blue. You should always follow your market research, and try to make sure that you test your changes to be sure that your marketing research was correct.
About the Author
My name is Sonia Jackson. I’m a writer for many sites and blogs on different topics. I like reading, traveling, watching movies. And I’m always opened to communicate with my readers!