Which website design basics should you know if you are looking to build a modern website? In this article, there are five principles that are a hybrid of what you learn in college and what you learn from raw experience.
Traditional web design principles still matter, but they need updating, so here is what you need to know.
1. White Space Does Not Equal Readability
We get taught in college that white space makes a web page more readable, but it is not strictly true. A lack of white space may make a web page less readable, but that is as far as the rule goes. Concentrate more on where the eye lands and where it is led because even very cramped web pages can be cleverly laid out so that it is very readable.
2. Stick to Website Design Basics and Conventions
Do not try to break conventional rules or the basics of web design because it makes your website less usable. For example, people expect to see a search bar in the top left or right corner, so do not put it on the sidebar. People expect to be able to click text that is underlined, so do not underline text unless it is a link, (WordPress removed their underline function for that very reason).
3. Bold Colors Should Not Be Part of Your Design
It is fine having bold colors for your images and ads, but they shouldn’t be part of your overall website design. The only way you can get away for using bold colors for your website design is if your pages are only meant to be viewed for a few seconds.
For example, the Nickelodeon website uses bold colors, but its web pages feature almost no writing/text/ It is all embedded videos and advertisements.
4. Integrate Traffic Generation into Your Designs
There are many ways you can generate web traffic, and it is important that you integrate as many into your website design as possible. For example, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a big player, so your designs should have easily accessible meta tag areas that can be filled in later.
The web design principles are that a website should be responsive, social media ready, easily shareable, and should even have things like the Ads.txt page already installed so that the new owner need not worry about it.
5. Make Branding an Aftertaste
The problem with using websites for transforming brands and businesses is that branding is often overstated. There is no need for a massive home page title, nor is there a need for the company logo to be plastered all over the screen. Page branding should be subtle and lasting, like the aftertaste of a delicious meal.
What Do You Hate?
If you are looking for the most important website design basics, then consider what you hate about other websites and make a point of not including them in your website.
Some people love infinite scroll matched and lazy loading, but are you sick of trying to find something on a web page and hate having to scroll down an ever-loading web page? You are probably on the internet quite a lot, so consider what you hate about your online experiences and eradicate such annoyances from your own website designs.
We have other articles on marketing and web design. If you are interested, then read some of the other articles on ReputationResults.com.