Web Design Fundamentals – Basic Tips For Amateur Web Designers
There are about a million ways to design a great website. But there are a few basic techniques, fundamentals, that a website can’t succeed without. Every year hundreds of individual learn how to design a website, but only a few of those go on to create a website that is great and stands the test of time. These few individuals know the fundamentals of great website design.
If you want to be able to craft a successful website, first you need to learn the basics. Forget about CSS and HTML5, the new stuff. For now you need to focus on the small details.
Here are some tips to create a great website:
1. Pick a basic color scheme and be consistent with it
Every successful website consists of a consistent color scheme. Check out Microsoft’s official website – blue and white; Rotten Tomatoes’ website – red and green; CNET Asia – red and yellow.
If you’re creating a website for a company, look to their logo or company emblem for ideas on color schemes. If the company doesn’t have one yet, you might want to consider using common color schemes like white, gray and yellow; orange, blue and white; white, gray and red, etc.
2. Make navigation easy
One of the biggest mistakes of most modern websites is they simply do not make navigation easy for the user. When a user enters a website, most of the time he has no idea where to find what he’s looking for. Instead of helping the user find what he needs, the website bombards him with useless information, banner ads, etc.
As a web designer, keep this in mind. Include an easy-to-use navigation bar on the left or right side of the homepage. If possible put one on the bottom of the page so the user won’t have to keep scrolling back up.
3. Working with external links
I’ve seen a lot of modern websites where I click on an external link and it opens in the same window as the website I’m viewing.
This is a big blunder. External websites are fine, but they shouldn’t get in the way of the user’s experience in viewing your website. You want people to view your website, not other websites. So instead, make sure all external links open in a separate window.
Don’t forget these basic web design techniques, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a great web designer in no time.
