The Golden Rules of Web Design That You Should Know About

November 8, 2021

When the internet was first created, the designers had to work with the constraints of the technology. Today’s web design is much more open and expansive, but there are still many rules that you should follow when designing your site. Some of these golden rules have been around since the beginning days so it would be a good idea to learn about them before you go any further in the process!

 

Keep It Simple

 

People will not be interested in your website if it’s too complicated, but it can be quite tricky. That’s why many Canadians use the option of hiring professionals. Once you find the best website design agency in Toronto can offer, they will also tell you that this is a golden rule. Simplicity is crucial because the user experience will be the key to making everything easy to find.

 

 

If everything’s in its right place, the users will be able to understand the main purpose of the website and why they should stay. The best way is to have a simple layout where the user can see at first glance what specific content he or she wants.

Some people say that you shouldn’t overload your visitors with information, but it doesn’t mean that there isn’t any space for creativity when designing a website because every element has its own function. The golden rule remains the same: keep it simple!

 

Don’t Use Too Many Fonts and Colours

 

Too many fonts and colours are messy and confusing so avoid the temptation to use a variety of styles in the same design. Keep the site simple and easy for the user to navigate by using a limited number of fonts, colours and effects throughout the web page, section or article that you are designing.

Use one font family along with two different weights from this group such as regular and bold or italic if it’s available. Limit yourself to not more than three typefaces per project including headlines, display text, text copy etc. Check out Creative Fabrica to obtain incredible free fonts!

It is best to keep the colour palette even simpler so choose either black or white backgrounds combined with basic colours that are complementary and right for your content. This depends on what fits your brand image, but avoid too many different combinations and shades.

 

Keep the User in Mind

 

The user is the reason you’re making the website in the first place. Keep the user in mind throughout the entire design process, and always ask yourself if the decisions you are making will help or hinder your users.

 

  • Always give people control over what they do on the site
  • Allow for easy toggling between information (overview vs detail mode)
  • Ensure that all pages can be accessed through both keyboard & mouse interaction
  • Identify common tasks, reduce the number of steps required to complete them, and make sure nothing is ever more than two clicks away from where a user currently is.
  • Make the search function prominent (in the navigation, in the header bar) and make it easy to use. Make sure that all of your content is accessible through the search function. No one likes looking for something they know isn’t there only to discover that the site didn’t have a proper “Contact” page or had no way of letting them find what they’re looking for without guessing at keywords first.
  • Test early on with actual users so you can get feedback before spending too much time developing the design further. Always test again after launch because things change over time

 

Make It Mobile-friendly

 

Keep in mind that a lot of people will use their phones to access the website. This means that the design needs to be mobile-friendly in order for the audience not to get irritated when using a smaller screen.

The most important thing is the responsiveness of the site, which will make it easy and intuitive to use regardless of what device (smartphone or tablet) you are on. Try out responsive web designing before starting your project because this could save time and money later down the road!

This means that it should be just as easy to navigate the site on the phone as it is to navigate the site on the computer.

Keep the navigation simple and intuitive (this means keeping just one or two levels deep). You must use at least some sort of quick contact feature, so your audience won’t have any problems reaching you from their phones. Make all important information easily accessible with just one tap. You should also keep in mind that Google has started giving higher rankings to sites that are responsive while penalizing those who aren’t!

 

Use White Space for Balance and Order

 

White space is very important in the design of any website. A lot of designers fail to use the space correctly, or they don’t consider the balance between the content and emptiness on the page. If you want your site to look good and be easy to navigate, then it is essential that you know how much white space should appear in each area.

 

What Is White Space?

 

White space can also be referred to as negative or empty space. It describes the layout of a website which gives the user room in order to breathe while they are reading your text. The use of proper white spaces makes the design look more professional because you know how much blank area should appear next to images, titles, subtitles etc.

 

How To Use White Space

 

First thing first, do not mix up using white space with minimalism! Many people get confused because there are many web designers who prefer a simple layout without anything else other than text and images. Secondly, the right white space is not about using nothing on the page, but it’s about the contrast between the content and emptiness.

 

Use A Grid-based Layout

 

A grid-based layout is the type of layout that the majority of websites are designed with. It is the one that goes back to the time when print was popular, but it has since been adopted by the web world too.

You might have heard about this term before and you probably think why using a grid system in website design is considered important for your business website? The answer would be because the best designers use grids, plain and simple! You should follow their lead if you want to make sure your site looks good too.

 

 

The perfect website means you’re ahead of your competition. Simplicity in every way is key, meaning you don’t mess around with too much information, fonts and colours. Keep the user in mind and make it mobile-friendly so they can access your content from any device. White space can help you with the balance and a grid-based layout is the best choice you can make. Good luck!

1 Comment

  1. Billi

    Thanks for the great article and web agency recommendation. I’m in the process of developing my site and I want to order a logo in SVG format, like for example on this service Master Bundles but I need something more unique. Please tell me, do your specialists have experience in working with such projects? If so, where can I see examples of work?

    Reply

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