Like many other forms of media design, good web design is based on several elements that should always be followed. These essential elements form the framework of good visual design and good visual functionality. But before even going to your computer and firing up Dreamweaver or the like, start at the beginning and make notes, and draw sketches of what you would like your site to look like and how each page will relate.

To help you do this, you need to consider these three important design concepts.

1. Function

Function deals with how the site actually works. It\’s like the engine of the car, so you need to ensure that the code is correctly formatted and there are no errors, or extra bits of code floating around. Anything out of the ordinary could slow the page down for instance.

2. Aesthetics

This deals with the visual appeal of the site, how it will attract someone\’s attention, how it will help keep a visitor on the site, colors used and so on. This can be broken down into smaller segments to help you understand the concepts involved here.

i. Contrast

Contrast is usually used to attract attention. It could be in the form of two contrasting colors, two similar elements that are made different by size (eg fonts), or shapes and so on. Don\’t be a wimp here, all good designs have contrasting elements in them, and the bolder you are, the more interesting your design could be.

ii. Repetition

This deals with having a theme on your site. It\’s probably one of the most important visual elements on a web site. The entire site should have the same feel, color scheme logic and graphics throughout. This helps organize the information and tell the viewer what is a header, what is content and so on.

iii. Alignment

Nothing should be just arbitrarily placed on the site. Everything should be aligned in some form. In general, it is best to use only one form of alignment, anything more just gets confusing. But try to avoid center alignment if at all possible, it looks very amateurish, and is always the \’safe\’ way out, but shows the designer doesn\’t really know what they are doing. Alignment specifically also deals with how all elements line up together, not just text.

iv. Proximity

This may be quite obvious, but you should always group related information together on your site. It is amazing to see that even professionals sometimes make this error, and you see similar information on different parts of the page. It makes no logical sense.

3. Ergonomics

This deals with how easy your site is to use. So pay careful attention to your site navigation, make it as easy as possible for your visitor to use the site and find the information they require. People are lazy, and often don\’t want to have to make too many mouse movements, so try to keep your links and interactive elements as simple to use as possible.

Of course, your web site design should also have good content and be fully optimized for search engines (SEO).

Web design is an extremely fun thing to do, but it does take a great deal of thought and design know how in order to make an effective site that not only has good content, but works well, looks great and is easy to use.

For more information on guaranteed seo, visit web design derby. For more articles by Steve Shaw and permission to reproduce these articles on your own website, visit: Free Articles.

For more information on guaranteed seo, visit http://www.sbwebconsulting.co.uk. For more articles by Steve Shaw and permission to reproduce these articles on your own website, visit: http://www.sbwebconsulting.co.uk/free-stuff/free-content

Author Bio: For more information on guaranteed seo, visit web design derby. For more articles by Steve Shaw and permission to reproduce these articles on your own website, visit: Free Articles.

Category: Internet
Keywords: web design,web site design,SEO