What makes a good web design?

There are certain aspects of every web design that makes it look good or bad. Their are some key design rules that should be abided by when designing a website. This article will outline some of the main points that make a web design a good one, or a bad one.

Everybody knows what looks good, people have different tastes and different web designs appeal to different types of people. So, to answer the question, "what makes a good web design?" ill highlight the basic points that should be considered when thinking about designing a website.

Clear Page Goal

All websites should have a clear goal or page action. Ask yourself the question what do you want the users to do when they visit you website? The goal could be to sign-up, to register, to email or to buy something. Whatever the goal, it should be the most prominent design element on the page to draw the users attention.

Design Flow

The web page should flow easily. You may be thinking what on earth I am talking about, however, the page design flow is one of the most important factors in designing a website. We naturally scan from left to right and top to bottom. Your eye should flow through the web design with ease from element to element.

Navigation

The navigation is how the user travels or navigates around the website. the navigation is normally a bar or left column that is visible on all the website pages. A good navigation bar does not have too many items. You should probably keep the navigation to under ten items so not to give the user too many options. Keep the navigation items relevant to the main website sections.

Colour Balance

The colour balance of the web page goes hand in hand with the page goal and design flow. The tones and strengths of the colours can draw the users attention to the areas you want them to look at. Most webpages use contrast and coloured panels to highlight key areas.

White Space

White space is very important. One big mistake web designers make is using all available space and not using the white space. They try to cram too much information into the web page space commonly refereed to as "above the fold". If an element has white space around it, the element will stand out compared to an object that does not have white space.

Font Styling

The font styling contributes to the balance of the web page. The main paragraph text should be the same size and have the appropriate line and letter spacing to add to the readability. The titles or headings should be a larger size that the paragraph text to differentiate it and to symbolise its importance as the heading. There should not be too many fonts in use on the page, the heading 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and paragraph text should be all you need. The headings should be used in the order of their importance and also be represented visually.