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Web Design in a Nutshell
By: Rony Chandaria
Are you confused about the ruling principles of good web design? It's not surprising. With the technology that powers web design and the World Wide Web changing almost by the minute, it's a given that the principles of solid web design would change right along with it. But some things never change. Here are some web design in a nutshell guiding principles that will help your designs stand out above the crowd.
Web Design in a Nutshell Principle #1: Functional is Beautiful. A pretty web site that does not work is just a pretty web site. Solid web design is based on functionality. Before you ever choose a color, know the purpose of your web site, and then design everything you put into it to further your purpose.
Web Design in a Nutshell Principle #2: Accessibility is Key. Choose to be accessible to as many people as possible. That means creating web design that complies with the latest web standards as defined by W3C, and then working in fixes and shims for cross browser compatibility. It's all well and good to be snobbish about noncompliant browsers, but if you leave their users out of your big picture, you are shutting out a valuable market/audience.
Web Design in a Nutshell Principle #3: KISS it for luck. Yes, you know the acronym -- keep it simple. By making your website simple to navigate, you make it functional and accessible -- and I have already told you how important those things are. The same goes for the design itself. Keep the number of colors and patterns to a minimum, do not clutter up the page with heavy background files, make your design clean and simple and easy to read.
Web Design in a Nutshell Principle #4: Less is more. That holds true for everything from file size to menu options. Despite the fact that broadband access is more widespread than ever, more than one-third of internet users are still on dial-up connections. Big file sizes and database intense operations can seriously slow down the speed with which your web page appears on their screen -- and most of them won't wait for it. Who needs them? See #2 for the response to that one.
Web Design in a Nutshell Principle #5: Rules were made to be broken. Do not be a slave to 'design principles'. Tastes change, and your audience should always come first. Lean and clean may be in, but if you are designing a site for a homey, folksy, arts-and-crafts site, then go for the kitsch.
In other words, to sum up web design in a nutshell, make it simple, make it accessible and make it work. If you do those things, your web sites will always qualify as good design.
