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• Web Page Design Basics
• Web Page Design Basics
• How to Find a Web Design Service Provider
• Find the Right Web Design Company
• The Promise of Affordable Web Design
• Five Reasons to Use the Web Design Software Alternative
• Custom Web Design Caveats: What to Look for When Looking for a Designer for Your Site
• Good E-commerce Web Design
• Problems with Free Web Design and other Free Offerings

Web Page Design Basics

It can be daunting to prepare yourself for web page design that will be user-friendly for international surfers, elder surfers, male surfers, female surfers, disabled surfers; that will be eligible for high ranking; and that will be attractive and useful enough to draw and retain visitors.  But many fine web gurus, practiced in the art (or science) of web page design, have issued much useful advice for us.
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1. Web Page Design Should Cater to Your Clients

Even though you may be fascinated by gothic imagery or riveted by flashing, screaming sights and sounds, unless your product or service is goth-related or relevant to noise, avoid the grandstanding graphics.  They are obnoxious, disruptive, and often require more speed and/or space than common users are equipped with—which means more page download time…which usually means impatience with your web page design and a swift departure by the potential client.  Instead of fancy, go for the no-frills informational text:  offer visitors what they came for in the first place—informative how-to articles, news features, reports, and other helpful materials relevant to your site.

2.  Web Page Design Should be Subtle and Simple

While obviously relevant to artists, photographers, and other visually-bound businesses (such as architects, for example), color and images should be kept subtle; backgrounds should be solid (or at least not in busy conflict with the foreground text).  The graphics you use should be related to your product and/or service.  And the organization of the page should be as clear, logical, and functional as possible.  Links, for instance, should be functioning, and should be in a different color than the text, changing when clicked, so the visitor can track where he or she has been.  And the non-linked text should never be blue, as…well, you can imagine the visual collisions that would occur if the link turns blue and the text is blue and—if you are into web page design color trends—some part of your background, logo, and/or graphic are blue.

3.  Web Page Design Should be Attractive, Alluring, and Accessible

Most important is what you offer visitors (potential clients or customers).  Somewhere in the top half of the web page (also known as the “above the fold” area), you should include a summary of who you are, what you do, what your mission [statement] is, and what you offer…though it is suggested you don’t “sell” yourself like a brochure or ad would sell you or your business.  In addition, include an ABOUT section, which, according to the web page design pros, is something most users look for, look at, look into.

Of course, there are tens and hundreds more tips for useable, functional, effective web page design.  Check into the web pages of the web page design gurus for more!

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