FUNDAMENTALS OF EFFECTIVE WEB DESIGN
In my daily web-browsing ventures, I frequently stumble across websites that basically shine. But what makes an internet site truly stand aside from the rest? Is it their awesome usability factor? Their color scheme? Their simplicity? during this post we’ll explore the foremost important web design principles to recollect so you’ll make an internet site visually engaging, effective, easy to use, and memorable.
PURPOSE / OBJECTIVE
Before touching any web-building application, you initially got to clearly define your website’s main purpose or objective. This sounds obvious, however, designers sometimes tend to skip or ignore this step and make assumptions about what the client is seeking. This finishes up with the client expecting A-B-C, while the designer delivers X-Y-Z, leaving both parties unsatisfied and frustrated with the top result.
PRIORITY
A great thanks to determine the importance of what elements are found on a selected page is to easily rank them. Determine their rank supported how closely aligned elements are to the most purpose or objective of the web site .
The first thing that you simply are introduced to may be a promo for clearance items from designer names. it’s employing a very aggressive action color (red) to capture your attention.
CLARITY / WHITESPACE / SIMPLICITY
Clarity, whitespace, and ease directly relate to at least one another. so as to realize clarity, the UI should be simple, easy to use, and uncluttered, employing many various facets of whitespace to offer importance to or take attention faraway from elements.
RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN
You may have heard about responsive design, because the thinking has been around for a short time now. Responsive web design (RWD) may be a technique utilized in web design that aims to supply to site viewers the simplest viewing experience possible across a good range of devices. When building responsive websites, the location is made employing a proportion-based grid, flexible-sized images, and media queries via CSS.
NAVIGATION
Have you ever tried finding a selected destination with none directions whatsoever on the way to arrive there? The likelihood of reaching your destination was probably on the brink of zero. this is often what users face once they encounter a replacement website. To alleviate their struggle, it’s key to use a transparent , simple, and easy-to-use navigation
USABILITY
The most beautiful website within the world is worth nothing if it is not usable. As websites lately become more interactive, it is the designer’s job to form absolutely sure the web site functions well and is straightforward to use. Always make certain to seem out for usability issues
The best and most cost-efficient thanks to test for usability issues is with prototypes. The prototypes don’t even need to be coded up – they will simply be design mockups that link each page to a different . Invision may be a great prototyping tool that transforms static screens into clickable, interactive prototypes.
GESTALT PRINCIPLES
Covered at length during a previous post, the gestalt principles help immensely when designing an internet site.
Simply put, —gestalt— may be a German term most ordinarily utilized in psychology meaning —unified whole.— you’ll have heard of the phrase, —the whole is quite the sum of its parts—. Essentially people tend to look at websites together whole entity before seeing the individual elements (such because the logo, navigation, main CTA, body content, footer, etc.) that comprise the whole interface.