Web Design
When designing your web page it is important to keep in
mind the basic design principles of consistency, navigation, simplicity,
appearance, and organization. If you have a good design then you will be
more likely to get your message across, keep people visiting your site,
and have people talking about your site.
Consistency:
- Keep things on your site looking the same.
- Make objects the same size/shape.
- Repeat common elements.
Navigation:
- Consistent navigation.
- Make sure people know they're still on your site (logos, banners, footers).
- Make sure people know where they are and where they can go.
- Make sure you have clickable buttons and working links.
Simplicity:
- Don't provide too much information at once.
- Don't overload the user's senses with too many graphics or too much
colour or lots of sound.
Appearance:
- Use a format that is easy to use.
- Try colour coding your information.
- Use a contrast between the colour of your background and the colour
of your text.
- Use a font size and type that is easy to read.
- Use colour conservatively.
- Don't clutter your page with motion, animation, and/or sound.
Organizational Elements:
- Line up your items.
- Left justify the text on your page.
- Use ragged right edges.
- The more important your information, the closer it should be to the
centre of your page.
- Align the items on the page.
- Indent explanatory info.
Miscellaneous Tips:
- Your page will look different on different types/versions of browsers.
- Your page will look different on computers with different resolutions.
- Use tables to help with formatting.