Web designing can be a bit tricky or difficult because of the need for a design that is functional and pleasant, is sound, and conveys information for brand building. On top of that, most designers are self-learned pros although this field is evolving and dynamic enough to change rapidly. Therefore, what one designer thinks as sound may be not so from other pro’s viewpoint. Similarly, what one may think as functional may not be the same for the other. In order to avoid these discrepancies up to a large extent and to instill some common knowledge on this dynamic subject that itself is subjective; some commandments must govern this field. Let’s check them out now!
Preference
One of the greatest tools in your armory for having a victorious Web design is preference. It means leading the visitor around the screen while navigating, which is obtained by giving different aesthetic weight to different designing elements. For example, in most sites, the user first views the logo. This is because it is big enough to grab the attention by sitting at the top left – the first place where people look. However, this is not preference as the concept goes much further. You lead the user’s eyes through a series of steps – for instance – going from logo to the main tagline, then to a stunning image, and then to the main text. You as a designer figure out what the visitor will be looking at. For this, you need to pay attention to position, color, size, contrast, and essential design elements.
Navigation
The worst experience your user can have on a site is the inability to find out where she or he currently is and where she or he can go. Therefore, navigation is one aspect that all designers must master. When it comes to ‘Where to go’, some basic rules are always applicable. For example, action buttons to go to and forth must be easy to find as well as identify. Next, they should be well described with clear text. Then, the buttons should react to the action of the user – they may change the color on clicking.
When it is the matter of “Where the user is now”, the designer must pay attention to the different ways of orienting the user. In case of small sites, this can be done by just showing a big heading. However, in case of a big site, you might need to use bread crumb trails or site map to prevent the feeling of lost.
Typography
Text is one of the most vital elements in the world of Web designing. For it to give a proper effect, a Web designer needs to consider font, font size, font style, spacing, color, line length, and paragraphs. There are different fonts to use, but you need to make the most suitable choice. Gone are those days when small font size used to do the job. As people have started to realize the importance of reading online, bigger sizes are now preferred. However, you need to ensure consistent size and style and that too in proportion with the headings and sub-headings that need to stand out aptly.
Spacing is vital between lines as well as from other items. Then, taking about the length of line, it should be kept small for proper reading. Coming to paragraphing, it is ideal to justify for having smooth appearance of edges on the sides. However, this creates strange spaces between words. Therefore, it is ideal to stick with left alignment unless the text spaces out perfectly with justify.
Consistency
This means all design elements such as heading sizes, color, button styles, font choices, and image choices should match. All of these must be themed to ensure coherent design on a page as well as between pages.
Author Bio: Greg Livingston has just started with his Web designing career by joining an IT firm. He desires to be one of the famous Web designers who can deal with any kind of project or client need with dexterity and proactiveness.