The 65 Essential Principles of Website Design

01. Clarify the Content

If you want to be a website designer and want to build a website, you should first Consider the content of your website, including its functionality and what your users need. Your entire design should be centered around these aspects.

02. Capture users

If users cannot quickly enter your website, or the operation is not convenient, the website design will fail. Don’t disappoint users by switching to your competitor’s website.

03. Optimize content

Content is the core. About two years ago, a corporate website looked like an advertising brochure. To make matters worse, the website used a lot of images that seemed to take centuries to download.

The Chanels website (www.emju.com) is successful in some aspects of design, but the content is too sparse and it takes a long time to find what you are looking for, so it cannot be considered a success. website.

04. Fast downloads

There is nothing worse than a page that takes a long time to download. As a rule of thumb, a standard web page should be no larger than 60K and should take 30 seconds to load over a 56K modem. Some designers say that web pages should load within 15 seconds.

05. Website upgrade

Always pay attention to the operating status of the website. A host with good performance may run slowly as the number of visitors increases. However, if you don't want to lose visitors, be sure to plan your upgrades carefully.

06. Stick to the basics

Even if you don’t understand HTML, you just need to buy a copyrighted WYSIWYG web design tool, such as Adobe PageMill or Microsoft FrontPage Express , you can create a website that looks reasonable. However, by design, these packages slowed down the site even though they did not require HTML.

In order to successfully design a website, you must understand how HTML works. Most website designers suggest that newbies on the Internet should find answers from books about HTML and use Notepad to create web pages.

07. Learn HTML

Using HTML to design websites can control the entire design process. However, if you are just new to website design, you should look for a software package that allows you to modify HTML. HomeSite4 is a great web design tool. During the design process, HomeSite4 can help you learn HTML. It also allows you to switch to WYSIWYG mode so you can preview your site before sending it to the web.

08. Use a pen to draw the framework of a website

The sage said: The pen is more powerful than the sword. Before using a computer, use a pen to draw the framework of a website, showing the interrelationship of all web pages. Plan how your users will navigate your site in the least amount of time.

09. "You can never find a good solution on a computer." ——Expert Advice

10. Site Map

Many designers put their site map on the website, but this approach does more harm than good. The vast majority of visitors go online looking for specific information and have no interest in how your website works. If you feel like your website needs a map, it's likely that you need to improve your navigation and toolbars.

11. “Keep your eyes open and notice everything.

The best inspiration can come from observing the most irrelevant things. Observe the structure and design of a site . Understand the key elements of site structure and make sure your design is centered around site browsing." - Expert Advice

12. Click Rule Ever heard of the 3-click rule? For small websites, no piece of information on your homepage requires more than 3 clicks. For large sites, use navigation and toolbars to improve operation.

13. Use of special fonts

Although you can use special fonts in your HTML, it is impossible to predict what your visitors will see on their computers. To what.

A page that looks great on your computer may look terrible on a different platform. Some website designers like to use custom fonts, which allow you to use special fonts, but still require some workarounds in case the font you choose doesn't display on your visitors' computers. Cascading style sheets (CSS) help solve these problems, but only the latest browsers support CSS.

14. “Use practical and simple naming rules.” ——Expert advice

15. Check for typos

Good spelling is the most important thing in people’s lives. skills. But unfortunately, many designers lack this skill. Make sure you spell correctly and pay special attention to common typos.

16. Avoid long text pages

Having many text-only pages on a site is tedious and wastes the potential of the Web. If you have a large number of text-based documents, they should be placed as files in Adobe Acrobat format so that your visitors can read them offline.

17. Don’t use scroll bars

People hate using scroll bars online. The Trouble website (www.Trouble.co.uk) is a classic example of a poorly designed website. It is based on a floating architecture, and in order to read all the text, the viewer has to use the scroll bar.

18. Experts’ Favorite Web Design Tools

1.Adobe Photoshop

2.Macromedia Flash

3.Adobe Illustrator< /p>

4.Adobe ImageRead

5.Dreamweaver

6.Macromedia Fireworks

7. Allaire Homesites

8 .Microsoft Notepad

9. Macromedia Director

10. Lightwave

11. Macromedia Freehand

12. Others: Adobe Acrobat Exchange, Allaire ColdFusion, BBEdit, HTMLValidator, etc.

19. Website introduction

You should have a very clear website introduction, telling visitors what your website can provide, so that visitors can find what they want. However, many designers fail to do this. Effective navigation and search tools make it easy for people to find useful information, which is important to visitors. Tell your visitors that you have exactly the information they want.

20. “Once a website is launched, the strengths and weaknesses of the design are made public to the world.

There is no way to learn from your own mistakes, listen to other people’s suggestions, and Learn a lot from user feedback” - Expert Advice

21. Flashing is a pain in the ass

Draw visitors’ attention to specific parts of your homepage by using logos. But it also creates a headache for your visitors. If you want to keep visitors coming back to your site, use this method sparingly.

22. Background color

Background color can also cause some problems and may make the web page difficult to read. You should stick to white backgrounds and black text, and you should also stick to universal fonts.

23. Forward and Backward Buttons

Forcing users to use the Forward and Backward buttons should be avoided. Your design should enable users to find what they are looking for quickly. Most good sites have the same navigation bar at the same location on every page, allowing viewers to access any part of the site from every page.

24. "Stick to your beliefs. Strictly follow the rules. Avoid taking things for granted. Never stop learning" - Expert Advice

25. Click Counter

Don't be tempted to consider placing a prominent click counter on your website. You design your website to provide a service to your visitors, not to sell something you think is important.

Most viewers think counters are meaningless, they can be easily faked, and viewers don't want to see ads. If you show how popular your site is, you'd better provide a link that shows access logs.

26. Don’t use frames

Like counters, frames are becoming more and more popular on web pages. On most websites, there is a frame on the left side of the screen. But the designer immediately discovered that many problems occurred when using the framework. It is almost impossible to display the entire website without a 17-inch display when using frames. Frames also make it impossible to bookmark personal home pages within the site. Perhaps more importantly, search engines are often confused by frames and fail to list your site.

27. Remove images

Even if you remove the image function in the browser, you must ensure that visitors can get satisfactory results on your website. Visitors who use an ISDN connection and turn off graphics will also get good page loading performance. You can satisfy your visitors by providing additional links at the bottom of the page and using alt text instead of images.

28. Reuse images

Some websites miss the opportunity to use better techniques by using a lot of non-repeating images. When creating a logo, it's a good idea to use the same images multiple times on a web page, and once they're loaded, future reloads will be fast.

29. Avoid using images that are too large

Don’t use images that span the entire screen. Prevent visitors from scrolling to the right. Taking up 75% of the screen width is a good suggestion.

30. "Avoid using show-off techniques." - Expert advice

31. Choose to use Flash animation

Many visitors use slower computers It was found that animated icons can easily exhaust system resources and make operating the website difficult, so users should be given an option to skip using Flash animations.

32. Use Flash plug-ins as little as possible

Although many Web designers believe that Flash is very powerful, and Netscape5.0 will support Flash, there is no need to download any plug-ins when using it.

However, it is best to cancel the idea of ??using Flash for each interface.

33. Let users preview small images first

If you have to place large images on the website, it is best to use Thumbnails software to display the preview effect of a reduced version of the image. , so users don’t have to waste money and time downloading large images they don’t want to see.

34. Animation and content should be organically combined

Ensure that animation and content are related. They should be integrated with the page, not dry. Animation is not just a simple accumulation of things produced by Macromedia Director and others.

35. Use sound with caution

The use of sound should also be vigilant. Inline sound is another forbidden area for web designers. Because excessive use of sound will make the download speed very slow, and it will not bring much benefit to the viewer. Hearing your mouse make noises may be funny the first time, but it will definitely become annoying after many times. Before using sound, you should carefully consider what it will do to you.

36. Use Java and AxtiveX less

Java and AxtiveX should be used as little as possible on web pages. Because not every browser needs to use it, only those users of early versions of Netscape and Explorer need it. In addition, Mac also has problems when processing Java. Excessive use of Java will cause Mac to crash.

37. Design a successful website

www.emju.com

www.bmw.co.uk

www.yugop. com

www.comicrelief.org.uk

www.dreamcast-europe.com

www.newsunlimited.co.uk

www.newbeetle.com

www.swoon.com

www.viaduct.co.uk

38. Use plug-ins with caution

In web design, if you rely on some special plug-ins, it will reduce the attractiveness of the website. If the visitor does not have the requested plug-in, he will have to go to another site to download it, so the visitor may not return.

39. Use well-known plug-ins

If there is sound or video on the website, make sure that users can hear or see it by using a well-known plug-in. Many sites use QuickTime, RealPlay and Shockwave plug-ins. Because, many visitors are not willing to waste a lot of time and money to download plug-ins that may only be used once.

40. Use advanced technology

Keep up with new technologies. Advances in web technology will never stop, so take some time to research new products and develop technologies.

41. Create your own images and sounds

Use images and sounds that you create yourself or download from a commercial website. When making a business website, enough money should be spent on creating graphics to enhance the company's promotion. ——Expert Advice

43. Platform Compatibility

For the sake of users, you must test your website on at least one PC and one Mac to see how compatible it is .

44. Use software analysis tools to find errors

Use software analysis tools to check HTML. The software analysis tool Doctor HTML can help check for any problems in HTML. If you have many web pages to check, you can use software analysis tools. You can find more effective HTML tools at www.weblint.org/validation.html.

45. Avoid wrong links

The website may have links to other useful sites. However, if you have links on your pages, be sure to check them frequently to make sure they are valid. There may be many sites to link to, but don’t link to sites that have nothing to do with your content.

46. Give your audience something mature

If the site is not finished, don’t send it to the Web. All good websites are done behind the scenes before being published.

47. Register your website on a search engine

The chances of anyone discovering your website are slim unless you register your website on a major search engine.

48. Design a message board

Visitors are willing to spend time on a good website, so it is best to have a message board, which can encourage visitors to return to your website again. Website, it also helps to expand the content of the website.

49. Test the website

Before your website is officially launched, useful testing must be carried out. Use the latest software when designing your website, but don't forget that people don't use the latest browsers, so take care of older browsers. Also test all links and navigation toolbars when uploading your site.

50. "Test the website you design as many times as you can until you can discover nothing new" - expert advice

51. Demonstrate the website you are about to launch

Have someone demo your site before it goes live. During the demo, people will tell you whether the website you designed is easy to use.

52. Animation embellishment Only use one animation at most on the web page.

53. “Tilted buttons don’t look good, so it’s best not to use them.” - Expert advice

54. Content organization

In the beginning Before creating a new web page, carefully consider the organization of your site content. Decide what content you want your visitors to browse, and then design the navigation system.

55. "Long live blank space"

Be careful to leave blank spaces. Don’t clutter your web page with images, text, and unnecessary animated GIFs, which should be avoided in your design even if there is enough space.

56. “Use white space to attract attention.

To attract attention, web designers use various methods, such as flashing, rotating, etc., but using white space will attract more " - Expert Advice

57. Image Compression

To keep your images small, use a program like GIF Wizard, which automatically compresses your images. Declare the size of the image first

It is best to specify the image size attribute in detail before the image is displayed. You can save this attribute in the IMG tag. This can make web pages appear smooth because the browser can display the entire web page on the screen before the image is downloaded.

58. Website design failure

-It takes an hour to find a T-shirt;

-The service promised to customers is too low There are many, but too few are actually realized;

——The design level two years ago ignored the needs of customers;

——It is not attractive and the homepage is too similar

——The design is too poor

.

——No new ideas

——The navigation is unclear

59. The image size attribute can save this attribute in the IMG tag. This can make web pages appear smooth because the browser can display the entire web page on the screen before the image is downloaded.

60. User registration

If you can know who browses the website and how they browse the website, you can get a lot of useful information. However, requiring visitors to register before browsing your site runs the risk of driving away people who are unwilling to register. Another way to obtain information is to conduct prize contests or monetary rewards so that users can actively fill in some information feedback forms.

61. Make the website interactive. Provide some tools to answer questions on the website so that visitors can obtain interactive information from the website.

62. Image updates

Change the images on your website as often as possible. People are more likely to click on images rather than text.

63. Offer games on your website

Games are great interactive tools and a great way to keep visitors coming back to your website.

64. Choose tool software

Choose web design tools carefully. Make sure to use the software that you want most and feel best about yourself.

65. Use the latest version of software

Try to use the latest version of web design software.

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Source: Second Life

Reference: /article.asp?id=237