Basic Web Design Rules

published by Dan in Usability | Website Design with No Comments

As in anything when planning your web design there are certain rules of thumb to follow. There’s almost always and exception to the rule but knowing the basics is already half the battle. Below are some the most basic web design rules any good web designer should know:

1. Concept and content is more important than a good web design. This might sound funny coming from web designers but it’s the truth. A great web design might help a website with bad content but only for a short while. In the end people will realize the emptiness of a site and stop returning. That said, a good web design consultant will give feedback to a client if the content obviously sucks.
2. Graphic design is meant to highlight or support the content (whether the content be text, images, or video). This means that a good graphics design will not compete with the content, which is why the best web designs are usually elegantly simple.
3. Just because it looks good to you doesn’t mean that your audience will like it. Remember taste varies from person to person. This is why you should always get a second opinion or feedback….especially from members of your audience. At the same time make sure that being “pretty” isn’t the focus of your web design but overall USABILITY.
4. Stick to the norm. There’s a reason why most websites share the same basic layouts - because those layouts are proven to work. So unless you are really sure about what you are doing or you want to perform an experiment or study, then it is better to stick to the tried and true.

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