There’s a fine line between adding humor to the website design and coming across as distasteful. Humor is subjective so what’s tongue-in-cheek or laugh-out-loud to some goes completely over the heads of others.

Of course, there are ways to add humor in the design and copy that make it fun and enjoyable without pushing boundaries. Doing so can add a unique spin to the brand and sets it apart from others that come across as “dry” or “boring”.

Want to get a laugh and make fun improvements to the website design?

Humor in Website Design: 3 Entertaining Tips

A note worth mentioning: Not every type of business benefits from humor. A business that needs to act professional and stern should maybe avoid being a goof. It depends on the audience so take that into consideration before you begin changing up the website design.

Okay, onward!

Hilarious Story, Serious Attention

Brian Swichkow of ghost influence found out what it’s like to add humor to the site. He shared a detailed, hilarious story about how he pranked his roommate using targeted ads on Facebook. This resulted in the story being shared across many major tech-news outlets and social media.

Underlying the humor was practical advice on using Facebook ads. He leveraged this viral story to promote his services & business. Win/win!

Try this: Take an industry topic and add a unique spin by pairing it with humorous accounts. I’m sure you have a few funny stories. Turn them into content, get a boost in SEO from the shares, and be proud of the goofiness!

Fun Confirmations, Follow-ups, and Quips

There are a few examples that come to mind:

• Adding the pets to the employee profile section
• Using caricatures and mascots to emphasize what’s happening
• Pushing comics and tongue-in-cheek videos
• Being blunt to the point of it being laughable

It’s like making quick remark or pun at the right time. It gets the user to stop and enjoy themselves. It slows them down so they can appreciate what’s displayed.

Try this: Place funny quips on 404 pages, the about page, confirmations during sign ups, or buried in the site as Easter eggs.

Going off the Deep End with Contests

Contests are a great way to get people sharing the site. It also helps via the submission of emails and social profiles which are later used in marketing campaigns.

Want to try something out of the ordinary and go off the deep end — to the point people can’t help but talk about the business? Do a contest with the silliest, wackiest prize. Go big!

Try this: Let the creativity flow. All ideas are worth entertaining. It could be something silly like having customers submit their pet pics or go as far as having them tattoo their mascot!

Let’s Get a Round of Applause

Adding humor to the website design is a fun opportunity to add something different to the presentation. It encourages people to dig around because they never know what bits of entertainment they may uncover.

A site that’s funny is also the type that gets passed around. The “you’ve got to check this out!” factor. This tends to help in link building, surprisingly. So why not? Give a bit of comedy and humor a try and see how it goes.