Understanding Good Web Design Principles

Understanding Good Web Design Principles We've all heard the line 'Don't judge a book by its cover'...but let's get real for a moment.

In the real world everyone judges you (and your business) by the image you project. The same goes for your website.

For many businesses, a website is the first point of contact for potential customers so it's vital that you make a good first impression.

The three key components of any web design are:

Presentation
Functionality
Usability

Presentation refers to the way your website looks.

Great websites are easy to spot because they:

Look clean and professional
Make sensible use of colors and graphics
Attract the right target market

Bad sites are equally easy to spot, because they:

Are difficult to use
Make bad use of color combinations and graphics
Have text that is too difficult to read
Pages that take too long to load

Functionality refers to your website's ability to give users what they want.

For example, if you wanted to a book an airline ticket online, a site with good functionality would allow you to:

Easily view the available flight times
Compare pricing options
Make a booking with your credit card

A less functional site, would:

Not have the ability to check pricing or book flights
Contain vague or ambiguous information
Have a confusing payment process

And finally, Usability refers to how easy (or difficult) it is to use and navigate your website.

Have you ever visited a site that took too long to load?
A website where the text was too small and you struggled to read it?
Or a website where the menu system was confusing to navigate?

That's bad usability in a nutshell.

If you want to create a website that is functional, easy-to-use and quick-to-load, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

DO:

Immediately tell visitors what your company does.
Allow visitors to find information with a minimum amount of clicks.
Keep your menu options clear and simple.
Use decent font sizes that are easy to read.
Keep sentences short and split paragraphs into chunks.
Give your visitors relevant content.
Use dark text on light backgrounds.
Make liberal use of 'white space' as it helps break up the page.
Keep your website quick-to-load by using graphics sparingly.
Design for your target audience, not your own personal preferences.

DO NOT:

Use more than 3 main colors on your site. Try to stick to a consistent color theme across your website.
Use multiple font styles, sizes and colors. Stick to the one font style to keep your site looking consistent.
Overuse graphic effects, flashy logos or sound effects - they'll simply distract users from the main message of your site.
Use lots of industry 'buzz' words.

Understanding Good Web Design Principles
Weve all heard the line Dont judge a book by its cover...but lets get real for a moment. In the real world everyone judges you (and your business) by the image you project. The same goes for your website.
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