3 Do's and Don'ts of Designing an effective web page

Creating an effective web page requires planning, skill, attention to detail and some creativity. But far removed from the flashy logos and picturesque backgrounds are certain things that every developer must be aware of before he/she ventures into creating a web page. In this article we look at 10 do’s and don'ts that you should know to create the web page that you’re looking for.

THE DO’S

1. Structure your page

It’s essential to keep your page structured. Use a lightweight grid system and layout the information in a structured and easy-to-follow format. 

2. Keep it simple

One of the first maxims of designing attractive web pages is that it pays to keep it simple. People hate doing things that take a lot of time. Your website should be as easy to view for a for year old as it is for a technology junkie.

3. Make it easy to navigate

Take this: People are not going to spend more than 5 minutes to figure out what your website is and what it has to offer. The best way to do this is to make your webpage easy to scan. This means using proper heading tags, streamlining content, and focussing on the important items.

THE DON'TS

1. Don't place boxes everywhere

We’ve seen it everywhere. Boxes of all sizes, flooding the place, not lined up properly, and worse not grabbing our attention too! We invariably end up closing the whole window in disgust. If you’re a web designer, you must know how to place things in a structured environment.

2. Don't place irrelevant ads across your page

We all want to make money and we need ads for it. But wait, they shouldn’t eat up your entire page space. Many web pages have 70% ads and 30% content. That should not be the case. Don't make ads your No.1 priority. That must be reserved for your visitors, always.

3. Don’t overdo images and colours

Colours and images are important, but you must be careful not to overdo them. Use them judiciously and with an innate aesthetic sense. Your colour scheme must have not more than 5 colours and go to sites that have user generated colour schemes posted.