subject: Basic Web Design Guidelines for Starters [print this page] If you're quite new to designing a site, it's important that you're aware of the main principles of web design. This way, you can easily avoid making mistakes and always come up with an impressive layout. Make use of these major guidelines for starters so you can really work on improving your web design skills.
Go Light
The first rule is to create a template that's light and uncomplicated. Choose a design that uses text, images and videos instead of too many graphics and script codes. Stay away from flash animations and JavaScript as well unless necessary because they load much longer and can turn off your users. Rather than making your website too visual, you might want to organize the site's features and pick the right colors in order to make it look good.
Provide Relevant Content
Content should be one of the things you should prioritize when coming up with a design. If you want search engines and users to give you positive ratings, be sure all the posts you make are all original, fresh of course relevant to your website's topic. Sites that copy content from other online sources are often banned by search engines and rated poorly.
Pick Colors that Match Your Website's Theme
Don't forget to consider the colors you use because they play a very important role in the success of your web design. To help you choose which color scheme to apply, think about what your website is truly about. Is it a personal or professional site? What kind of topics, products or services do you want to share to the public? For example, if you own a personal blog and are talking about saving the environment, a green scheme would be ideal. On the other hand, if you're running a company website then you must aim for a cleaner and more professional look to cater to your potential clients. White is very popular among corporate sites and they often add their logos for a full effect. You should also avoid brighter colors and pair up a lighter background with a darker font color so your users won't be straining their eyes.
Use Readable and Suitable Fonts
Make sure you select a readable and properly-sized font as well so that your users can easily view your web contents. Serif styles are advisable for corporate sites while sans serif fonts absolutely look good on personal blogs.
Make the Site Easy to Browse
Finally, your main goal in doing the web design is to make it more accessible to your users. It has to be very user-friendly and easy to navigate otherwise your visitors will no longer want to come back. Your website must have a complete navigation menu, site map, search box, contact info, FAQ, and other features that give your users a great online experience.
