Design research is what makes our approach to understanding users methodical and well-structured. It is a necessary part of creating a user-oriented design for a product.
A user-focused approach to design research is different from a self-focused design. A self-focused approach often relies on assumptions and projecting your own behavioural model, taste, and preferences onto users to creating a working product. Instead, the user-focused approach helps develop a product through objective results based on how users would actually use and interact with it.
“If you want to have massive success with your websites and create experiences that resonate with your customers you have to figure out how to understand and solve the how much, the what and the what else.”
- Avinash Kaushik
Look out for the competition's websites, find out what's working for them. By doing this you can help the users to feel more comfortable with your platform because they can recognize certain patterns they have seen before.
Try design platforms like dribbble or behance. This websites are filled with project references you can use as inspiration to develop your own designs