Well-designed websites make it easy for visitors to find what they're
looking for - be it information, a product, or anything else you might
offer on your site. A nicely designed site creates a good impression,
allows visitors to surf frustration-free, and gives them exactly what
they're looking for. If visiting your site is a positive experience for
the user, it will be easy to achieve success, no matter what you plan to
do with your site. There are companies that can help you create the
website that’s just right for your business. One such site that offers
good design at reasonable prices is
http://templatedogma.com/.
Good Design - What to Shoot For
Rule #1 - The number one rule to good web design: keep it simple.
In fact, this rule is the foundation upon which all the other good
design elements are built. It may seem obvious, but many websites miss
the mark when it comes down to the art of simplicity. It’s not always
easy to pare down a website, especially if you want to present your
visitors with a lot of information or impress them with your high-tech
capabilities.
It can be tempting to fill the site with animations, sounds, pictures,
video, and loads of text - but this is a bad idea if you want people to
feel comfortable browsing your site. Ensure that everyone can easily and
quickly navigate their way among the pages of your site without getting
stuck in the proverbial mud. Specifically, 1- and 2-column designs are
easy on the eyes, allowing you to read from top to bottom with ease. The
user feels less frustrated reading straightforward pages without a lot
of cheesy distractions and useless gobbledygook.
Rule #2 - Use 3D effects and other graphical elements, such as
cute icons, in moderation. Too much stuff on a page can be overwhelming,
but you don’t want a website to be stark. An added touch of artistic
design here and there can be just what a boring website needs to infuse
a little spice into the mix without burning your tongue off!
This also applies to the background color you choose. Most well-designed
websites these days stick to soft, neutral colors. This is especially
effective if you want to make brighter colors on the page really pop.
Rule # 3 - White space and large text are your friend. The eye
needs room to understand all the elements on a page properly, so don’t
clutter things up unnecessarily. Make room by leaving wide margins
between elements and the pages of your site will have a fresh, clean
look.
Secondly, make sure the text is large enough to read easily. At the same
time, it is perfectly acceptable to use smaller text, but to make the
most important information stand out from the crowd, ensure that it is
larger than normal. People will be able to find what they’re looking for
faster if they can scan the page for content.
Rule # 4 - Common sense navigation. The navigation buttons you
employ should not require a degree in astrophysics to understand.
Instead, navigation buttons and bars should be easy to figure out from
the get-go, and easy to use. They should also be consistent throughout
the whole website and let users know exactly where they are at any given
time, no matter what page they’re viewing. Finally, if your site is very
large, provide people with a site map to make navigating your stretch of
the information superhighway a piece of cake.
Overall, the elements of good website design are achievable if you stick
to a few simple, clear-cut rules. Following them will ensure that
visitors to your site won’t regret stopping by, so you can sit back,
relax, and reap the rewards.
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