Graphic Design, The Most Important Things To Consider
Designing and publishing a web site is easier than ever using modern software tools. These easy-to-use software tools provide a simple, intuitive, graphical interface to take the place of cryptic computer codes. However, a simple interface does not guarantee the production of a good web site. For people who disregard thoughtful web site design, the simplicity and usability of these programs makes it easier to produce lousy, unreadable, unusable web sites. This article offers general guidelines for good web site design applicable to any web design software package.
The most important rule of graphic design is that the web pages that are designed must be easily read. A lot of people have encountered web pages with complicated backgrounds behind text that they couldn't read. The text color and background color should be opposites, such as white and black. If you want a fancier background to improve the look of the page, offset blocks of text with one vivid, opposite background color.
Text size should be large enough to read, but not so large that a small block of text dominates the page. Link colors should likewise be easily distinguished from regular text. Text should be centered for headlines, and justified on both sides for paragraphs. Most modern browsers support fully justified text. Older browsers which don't support fully justified text will simply disregard the command and present the text aligned only on the left side. Fully justified text will make the page more appealing to the majority of web site visitors.
The next set of graphic design guidelines pertains to easy navigation of a web site. Every page of a web site should be accessible within three clicks. A table of contents or other menu is useful for keeping a site organized and easy to navigate. The use of frames, which are pages within pages, is helpful. A frame for the table of contents can be placed on the left side of the page, while each link opens in a frame on the right side of the page. In this way, the user remains anchored to the main page.
A web site that is hard to find might as well not exist. The proper use of keywords is critical to making a web site a popular web site. Keywords pertaining to the subject matter of the site, invisibly peppered throughout the site, will make the site easier for search engines to find and properly categorize. Search engines also provide forms for search engine submission which will further help the search engine serve your site to people who are seeking sites on a particular subject.
By using modern software tools and following these guidelines for good graphic design, the novice web designer can create a site that captivates a wide audience and presents the content in a clear, appealing manner. With practice, a beginning web designer can even prepare themselves for one of the many professional web design jobs available today.
With the assistance of modern software, developing a web site has never been easier. Attention must still be paid to the elements of good design, as well as navigability, usability, and readability. This article offers insight into the fundamentals of good web site design that can be applied to any web design software package. The most important thing to remember about using graphic design to create web design jobs, is to keep the page easy to read. Remember that search engine submission will further help serve your site to people who are seeking sites on a particular subject.
Published September 24th, 2008
Filed in Ecommerce, Internet, Web Design, Web Hosting