In an image conscious world, people are very aware of the effect their appearance can have on other people. This consciousness can reveal itself not only in ones self, but can seep into anything that might be viewed as a reflection of them: a car, house even a partner.
The same should therefore be true of designing websites. The majority of people do want their website to look good, be appealing and stand out. However, browsing the Internet can often reveal quite the opposite.
A number of elements make up a recipe for a good website. The readability and the ability to easily navigate are a couple of factors that should certainly be considered. One major impact that you can have with your website is to make it visually appealing. Making your website design alluring and visually pleasing can help to facilitate those other elements, and make it easier for you to create and maintain a website that is a positive reflection of yourself, the service or product that is being represented and avoid negative judgments.
The onus on good design for modern websites is less about flashy images, and more about adaptable designs that can be quick to load, accessible, and still remain visually striking. A simple, minimalist design can often make a bigger visual impact, while serving not only the functionality of the website, but also often improving search engine prospects.
An easy way to simplify your existing design is by viewing your website and removing any unnecessary elements within your pages. Ensure that you are not too brutal and do not sacrifice components that are actually effective. Try to reduce the amount of images and color used within your website. Experiment with different solutions, replacing elements with simpler alternatives to reach similar results.
When thinking about color and selecting a color scheme, a limited palette is always best. Try to stick to two to three main colors, and one or two accent colors to add dynamic to your design. If you have a background color, or colored text, ensure that you use highly contrasting colors, i.e. white on black, as this will make your website more accessible to people with visual difficulties.
Another consideration when designing your website, especially from an accessibility point of view, are your font choices. Sans serif fonts, such as Ariel or Helvetica are often the better option, as they are easier to read, and should certainly be used for the bulk of your content. If you wish to experiment with different font types, try to restrict these to the headings. When sizing your text, try to use relative measurements such as ‘%’ or ‘em’, as this will allow your users to easily increase or decrease the text size to suit. Which means that you don’t have to restrict yourself by worrying about the perfect size, however setting your paragraph default size to between 0.8em and 1.0em (12px - 16px) should be perfectly readable.
Depending on your level of experience or knowledge or HTML and css, you may wish to recreate your page layout, or contract the help of a designer. Which ever you decide, the main aspect involved in creating a layout that works well and that is pleasing to the user is to make it user friendly. Create a navigation that can direct the user easily around the website, ensuring that no pages are any more than three clicks from one another. Make your pages as simple and uncluttered as possible and fit horizontally within the average browser window, without scrolling. As with your color choices, to key to layout is really simplicity.
For modern websites it is has become standard to design the layout using table-less css. The benefit being that your website will be flexible, faster and more accessible to all users. The biggest benefit to you being flexibility, as you will be able to make small or complete design changes to your entire website, with one css document. CSS can often be difficult to execute correctly, therefore if you have only a limited knowledge it is better to consult a designer or use a css layout template as a starting point.
Michelle S Roberts, Design2Go
http://www.design2go.net - Affordable Graphic Design
Design2Go work in partnership with new businesses and SMEs to magnify their potential through effective design. Our low prices, high quality design and excellent service make us one of the best value graphic designers online.
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