In this age of technology and internet, web has become an inseparable part of our everyday lives. Be it uploading selfies on one’s Instagram account, or taking one’s business online, be it shopping or the entertainment purpose we heavily rely on internet and spend a better part of our day on the internet. Thus in this era of internet, web designing has arose to be a really valued skill and potentially a career in an industry that is not going anywhere in the foreseeable future. Now is as good a time to become a professional as any by following some simple website design principles. But the question arises what is the skill set required for web designing? And in such a competitive market what makes a website successful?
Website Design Principles to Get Success
- The first one is no brainier; one needs to be very well versed in the languages required for web designing like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The key thing to note here is one should posses the actual and thorough knowledge of these languages; just the grasp of their frameworks is not going to be enough.
- A really important website design principles to posses is the technical ability to tackle with real time bugs of the websites.
- Another desired skill in the field is a keen eye for details; the programmer should be able to locate even the minor differences between the design and the PSD he is working from.
- One should be open and appreciative of the unconventional methods and ideas to solve easy and typical problems.
- One should prize the design in general; even if you are not a graphic designer you should learn about website design principles at least well enough, to recognize one when you see it.
- Along with the front end chops mentioned above, one should have at least a brief knowledge of back end platforms. In small scale business houses and in your freelance work, this skill would come in handy.
To design a good portal certain website design principles need to be followed. These principles help you learn web design in a customer friendly manner. These principles are not hard and fast rules but a general guidance system to answer your question of how to design a website.
Website design principles:
- Visual hierarchy: when designing a web page, the importance of the topics/content should always be kept in mind. The customer eye should travel in the path the client is intending it to. For this size and placement of contents become our tools. The pecking order of the content clearly reflects in a good website design.
- Accessibility: the second of web design principles to be followed is about the accessibility of the website. The ease in finding information on a website is the key to a successful website. This includes a legible text, soothing colors, and a consistent linkage.
Fancy fonts should be avoided, colors should not be too bright and a visual contrast must be created so everyone can easily read. It is always a good idea to convey through images for better understanding but one should make sure that the images used are of high quality.
- Inherent structure: the layout of the website should be highly intuitive vis-à-vis a customer should never face any problems in deciding where to go next. The structure should be self-explanatory. This increases the usability of the website as the customers are left engaged and wanting for more. There shouldn’t be even a slightest doubt in the mind of the customer.
- Hick’s law: the law states that “with every additional choice increases the time required to make a decision. “. In simple words the more options the customers have, the more typical it is to go through that website. Distracting options should be done away with to increase the profit. In order to incorporate the law in web designing one should prepare hierarchical charts of the information to be served and place the content accordingly. Materiality of the information is key in this principle.
- Simple design: one has to remember that the last thing a customer wants to see in a website is a complex design. Simplicity of the design makes it easier for the customers to browse through a website. A web designer should not be afraid of using white spaces; all they do is make it easier for users to locate the content they desire.
Various designs like “f-pattern design”, “grid based layouts” enhance the readability of the website. Boring conventional designs are reliable and more likeable than you think.
- Fitt’s law: according to this law, time needed to move to a target is dependent upon the size of the target as well as the distance of the target. Incorporating this law in web designing one can significantly improve the design and usability of the website.
If you desire to take customers to hyperlinks and to encourage them to press a particular button you have to make it easy to locate and reduce their effort in doing so.
- Communication and content: every individual visiting the website is looking for some information, and it is crucial for you to provide that content in a manner that is engaging. Your content should be easy to understand.
Use of photographs, audio pieces, videos etc makes it easier for the customer to process the information.
Organize the structure of your website and ensure a consistent layout. Division and placement of information must be in a manner that is easy to process.
Economizing of space and minimal use of visual aids is the key to follow here.
- Test early, test often: it is another very useful principle of web designing that should be followed in every circumstance. Conducting regular testing provides designers with insights into the complications of the websites. If the issues are not done away with time to time, the website starts losing visitors.
Testing in the early stages saves cost of the projects significantly, and it is much easier to make improvements in the early stages.
One has to realize that testing is a perpetual process, and it is only through constant improvement can a website hope for succeeding in a dynamic, highly competitive world.