Saturday, July 30, 2005
5 Rules of Good Web Design
Since you had to suffer through my last rant on bad web design, you may as well suffer through this exposition of good web design.
1. Attractive
The early years of the web consisted of static pages of text that contained information but little or nothing in the way of design elements. We've come a long way since then.
Today good web design needs to consist of attractive layouts and good color schemes. Saying that however, you don't want to get bogged down in your design so much that you visually overload the reader. Here is a good example of that. Visually the style is unique and creative, but I just can't suffer through the design getting in the way of the content.
2. Content
Your web site must have a reason to be there. Every day hundreds of web sites are added to the web and many of these are fluff sites with no valuable content. Want to ranked higher in Google? Your site needs to deliver well thought out and useful content to its readers, even if those readers are only your friends and family.
3. Navigation
People need to be able to navigate with ease through your web site. Design an appropriate navigation structure and always leave it in the same area on every page of your site. Although Site Maps are used more often for search engines to spider your site, it may still be a good idea to include one on your site.
Readers shouldn't have to guess where a button or link is going to go on your site. Clearly label all your buttons and use standardized language for all your links. It may be fun to have a link labeled "What up?", but "Contact Me" is much more succinct.
4. Keep it up to date
Keep adding content to your site and check for broken links periodically. Things that you wrote two years ago may no longer be valid. Users will be more likely to come back if you continue to offer them something new.
Your design also needs to be kept up to date. Certain design elements like frames have gone out of style. Don't be afraid to offer your readers a new look from time to time.
5. Branding and uniform look
Readers need to know that they are still on the same site while they are browsing. That means having a uniform style across all your pages by keeping your colors and layout the same. Sites designed around CSS have the advantage by setting your style and keeping it.
1. Attractive
The early years of the web consisted of static pages of text that contained information but little or nothing in the way of design elements. We've come a long way since then.
Today good web design needs to consist of attractive layouts and good color schemes. Saying that however, you don't want to get bogged down in your design so much that you visually overload the reader. Here is a good example of that. Visually the style is unique and creative, but I just can't suffer through the design getting in the way of the content.
2. Content
Your web site must have a reason to be there. Every day hundreds of web sites are added to the web and many of these are fluff sites with no valuable content. Want to ranked higher in Google? Your site needs to deliver well thought out and useful content to its readers, even if those readers are only your friends and family.
3. Navigation
People need to be able to navigate with ease through your web site. Design an appropriate navigation structure and always leave it in the same area on every page of your site. Although Site Maps are used more often for search engines to spider your site, it may still be a good idea to include one on your site.
Readers shouldn't have to guess where a button or link is going to go on your site. Clearly label all your buttons and use standardized language for all your links. It may be fun to have a link labeled "What up?", but "Contact Me" is much more succinct.
4. Keep it up to date
Keep adding content to your site and check for broken links periodically. Things that you wrote two years ago may no longer be valid. Users will be more likely to come back if you continue to offer them something new.
Your design also needs to be kept up to date. Certain design elements like frames have gone out of style. Don't be afraid to offer your readers a new look from time to time.
5. Branding and uniform look
Readers need to know that they are still on the same site while they are browsing. That means having a uniform style across all your pages by keeping your colors and layout the same. Sites designed around CSS have the advantage by setting your style and keeping it.
Labels: Web Design
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