Oct 10, 2020
3 principles of good web design
Web design covers so many different variables, it can be hard to define it exactly. We’ve focused on key really important elements that web designers think about when creating a new and effective website.
Here are 3 key principles of good web design:
White space
White space isn’t just ‘empty space.’ It’s an important component of web design in its own rights.
Also known as negative space, white space is important in creating a simple visual style that has that ‘clean’ look.
Without white space, a website is uncluttered and chaotic. It gives your content room to breathe and is an effective way of signposting the most important elements on a page.
Google found that users actually respond more positively to visually simple sites. They found:
Users will judge websites as “beautiful” or not within 1/50th to 1/20th of a second.
“Visually complex” websites are consistently rated as less beautiful than their simpler counterparts.
Web designers and graphic designers have always known about the power of white space and the importance of ‘keeping it simple.’
“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Visual hierarchy and UX design
As well as making a site look good, web design also prioritises function and practicality.
Visual hierarchy is web designers communicating with users, through layout. It is the web designer’s way of saying, look, look over here first.
Put simply, visual hierarchy is the method of laying out a website’s content in the order of importance.
The key messages and call to actions should draw the user’s eye first, through colour, layout or size.
Often we will scan a website with a left to right Z-pattern. Because of this, designers like to place key features such as the logo and the primary call to action in the left and right hand corners of the page.
Understanding visual hierarchy brings us to another key facet of web design: considering the user experience.
UX design (user experience design) is an ever-growing discipline. It starts with simply putting the user and their motivations at the centre of the design.
The hallmark of great designers and developers is not how attractive they can make something look, but how effectively they understand and focus user attention.
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs
Brand consistency
In web design, branding has to be consistent across the board, or it loses its power.
Branding covers far more than just a logo: it is the complete first impression the user has of the business.
Therefore, when a user lands upon your website, they are coming face to face with your brand.
