Important Guidelines for Effective Web Design

It goes without saying that the content of the site should be relevant and interesting to potential customers but it is equally important that the web design should be attractive as well. Otherwise, it won't matter how excellent your content is - if the website is designed poorly, nobody will stay on the site long enough to read what is in it.

It's not really that difficult to create an effective design or layout for a website. By following the simple but effective guidelines listed below, you will be able to come up with a well-designed website that is sure to draw clients toward your business.

• Use a font that is easy to read. There was a time when tiny fonts became the trend, especially in personal blogs. But it really doesn't make much sense if you make your fonts too small that people would have to squint in order to make out the words. Keep your font size large enough for easy reading but not too large that the words are jumping out of the screen.

• Place navigation buttons prominently. Make it easy for your site visitors to move around your site by positioning the navigation buttons where they can easily be seen. Don't put them in an obscure spot that is difficult to see. If your site is fairly big and has so many pages, it would be a good idea to have a site map on each page.

• Hold back on the graphics. Too many people mistakenly think that the more graphics they place on their website, the more attractive it will be to prospective clients. That may be true, if your clients are 10-year-olds who still prefer looking at picture more than text. As a rule of thumb, it is advisable to tone down the graphics contents of your website because these will only make your site messy and also make for a longer loading time.

• Break your text content into small paragraphs. People will be more likely to read your content if it is broken up into smaller paragraphs rather than if it comes in a single huge block of text. Two to three sentences per paragraphs is just about right. You should also use subheads and bullets if necessary as these will make it much easier for the readers to understand what is posted on your website.

• Use coordinating colors and design elements. If you want to make your web design look professional, you have to make sure that the colors and other elements you use match each other. You can't just use so many different colors just because you like them all. Too many colors and mismatched elements make a website look cluttered and highly unprofessional.

If you follow these simple guidelines, you should be able to come up with a decent web design that won't be an eyesore for your visitors. But if you ever have doubts or feel that you are not capable of producing the outcome that you have in mind, you can always hire a web design specialist to do the job for you.