Effective Webdesign


D.zigns dzignerwebs

The Basics


Before starting on how to design a website effectively, how about clearing some basic web design concepts? Designing Effectively

Now that you know what web design and related terms mean, lets get down to the real thing: Designing Effectively How to balance artistic design with practicality and functionality.

Use of graphics and content

Unless your website is all about graphics, how to make them, edit them or just a bunch of links to graphics websites, I suggest you use graphics sparingly, especially the flashing, twirling kind. They not only detract readers from the content, but they also take ages to load. You do not want your readers to leave your website because your graphically attractive page does not seem to load fast enough. Then again, too much text is boring. So mix and match the graphics and text on your page, having enough white space so that the page is not plain annoying.

Layout and design

While designing, keep in mind that poor layout and design will make your pages unreadable and difficult to keep your visitors on your website for long. Some of the things that make a poor design and layout:

  • Text that is too small to read
  • Color combinations of text and background that make the text hard to read
  • Large graphic files that take forever to load
  • Multiple things that blink
  • Unclear navigation; over complex navigation
  • Paragraphs of type in all caps, bold, and italic all at once
  • Graphics that don't fit on the screen (assuming a screen of 640x460 pixels)
  • Animations that never stop
  • Complicated frames, too many frames, unnecessary scroll bars in frames
  • Cluttered, not enough alignment of elements

    • Some of the things that make a webpage stand out from the crowd:

  • Stay away from bad design features listed above.
  • Background does not interrupt the text
  • Navigation buttons and bars are easy to understand and use
  • Good use of graphic elements (photos, subheads, pull quotes) to break up large areas of text
  • A large site has an index or site map
  • Link colors coordinate with page color
  • Every graphic link has a matching text link
  • Animated graphics turn off by themselves
  • Pages download quickly
  • All pages have the immediate visual impact within 640 x 460 pixels

    • Planning

    Most of the time, all it takes to design your website effectively is a little planning. When designing a website, it needs to be clean, uncluttered, attractive and easy for users to read and find what they need. Begin with a webdesign plan:

  • what colors do you want to use?
  • Are these colors complimentary?
  • What items - text, images, data - do you want to put in your pages?
  • What layout do you want? Look at other websites and then decide.

    • Follow the above steps to get a website that speaks for itself and your business. You can always contact me for suggestions and webdesign projects.

    Tasneem Rangoonwala is a freelancer Web Development Co-ordinator at D.zigns Enterprise Solutions, offering webdesign, development and other related services.

    In The News:

    pen paper and inkwell


    cat break through


    Internet Marketing Website Promotion -The 7 Biggest Mistakes I See People Make With Websites!

    1. Many people are not getting good or complete advice.... Read More

    Setting Up Your First Website

    Q. Hey, Cathy: I'm just setting up a website. What... Read More

    Your Content for Nothing and Your Clicks for Free

    The first thing my business consultant (read brother-in-law) asked me,... Read More

    Website Sales: 10 Reasons Why People Dont Buy From You

    You've put up a website to promote a product or... Read More

    Do You Really Need A Website To Succeed

    Rosalind wants to share her inspirational poetry with a wider... Read More

    Stop Losing Precious Web Site Traffic to the Dreaded World Wide Web Black Hole

    You work hard to build traffic to your web page.... Read More

    Five Reasons You Have to Stop Your Web Site

    That's right. Your method, behavior and strategy you are now... Read More

    4 Marketing Tips for Resourceful Webmasters!

    The internet is a sea of knowledge. Getting your information... Read More

    7 Golden Rules For Building Mini Sites

    First, an eye opener. Making your fortune through affiliate programs... Read More

    50 Ways To Use Your Website

    A website is the most versatile and cost-effective marketing tool... Read More

    Developing A Login System With PHP And MySQL

    Most interactive websites nowadays would require a user to log... Read More

    Remember This When Building A New Site - Beginners Guide

    I recently helped my mom to launch a website (www.mom2me.com)... Read More

    7 Questions to Understand Your Customer Better

    Customer service questionnaires can help your clients better understand their... Read More

    Making The Business Case For Web Standards

    Through the explosive growth of the Web, companies have realized... Read More

    Web Coach Tip: What You Should Know About DIY Web Sites

    Recently, a friend asked "What's the deal with those DIY... Read More

    Successful Web Development: 10 Key Elements

    There are many elements that are key to successful web... Read More

    Autoresponders Make You Look Like A Pro

    People like to get immediate responses to requests. Autoresponders are... Read More

    Profitable Websites for Exclusive Industries

    In the region where my company is located, South Bend,... Read More

    Introductory PHP For Non-Programmers

    When you started reading this sentence you assumed lo acabarķa... Read More

    Developing State-enabled Applications With PHP

    Installment 1Developing State-enabled Applications With PHPWhen a user is browsing... Read More

    Making the Most of Your Website: Start with the Basics

    One of my most salient memories from when I sold... Read More

    But My Business Doesnt Need A Website!

    Revenues are often lost because many business owners don't see... Read More

    You Need To Treat Your Website Like An Employee - Heres 5 Ways To Do It

    People often come to me in a state of crisis... Read More

    The Secret Benefit Of Accessibility: Part 1 - Increased Usability

    Web accessibility has so many benefits that I really do... Read More

    Art, Artists, and the Web:Part: 2--First Steps in Building an Artist?s Website

    What you should do and know if you are an... Read More

    9 Simple Steps to Create a Background Tiled Image Branded with Your Name

    You have seen those web pages where they have the... Read More

    Why A Simple Counter is Never Enough for Your Website

    A simple website stats counter is not enough if you... Read More

    6 Steps To Your Own Website

    A lot of people these days are interested in getting... Read More

    High Quality Website at Low Cost

    Although designing a great web site is an important part... Read More

    Frequent Business Question: How Do You Start a Web Business?

    Today it seems everyone is jumping on the entrepreneur bandwagon,... Read More

    How Web Templates Are Helping Online Businesses to MultiplyTheir Income

    Web templates by nature are created to aid and ease... Read More

    Flash Deadly Sins (That Can Kill Your Web Business)

    Looks like every client wants a Flash site these days... Read More

    Server Stats ? Analyzing Traffic To Your Site

    Analyzing traffic to a site is a key factor in... Read More