It is true that we cannot completely justify a design as it depends on the test of the people. Whether it’s a fashion design or web design, the entire design relies on the owner or the designer’s test. Still, when it is about the design of a website, the thing gets pretty much different.
It’s because the matter is related to business, and so the designers have to create a design that the viewers will love to explore. And a designer can only create an engaging and successful web design when he or she is aware of the principles of good web design.
Why Learning the Principles of Good Web Design Is Important?
When you are the designer, you will have full freedom to make the design as you wish. But your test on design can be unprofessional or go against the principles of good web design. Now, let’s come to the point, what’s the fact, unprofessional in the case of website design.
Basically, the success of a website is quite dependent on its design. Indeed, you have to design it in a way so that it can bring more visitors. Also, you have to remember that the design must be comfortable for the visitor to explore the site.
So, an unprofessional web design is out of the principles of good web design. That’s why you need to learn about the importance of the principles at least before you start your career as a web designer.
Also, if you are planning to open your own website and design it by someone else, you should learn about the principles as well. Otherwise, you cannot understand if the designer is making a perfect design for your site.
Finally, you should be aware of the principles of a perfect website design if you want to justify some websites. The principles are simple, and it is all about how to make your site successful and bring more traffic. It means the design must reflect a comfortable virtual place for the visitors to explore.
Basic Principles of Good Web Design
Let’s get the main point here, and it is about the basic principles of good web design. To make a web design, a designer has to care about the factors we count as the principles. We have listed some of the essential principles.
Before we head toward the principles, we would like to remind you of one thing. The principles vary from person to person. For example, some people think that making a simplistic design is not important, while some think it is the most important fact about a web design. So, here, we are describing the most accepted principles of good web design.
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Simplicity in the Website Design
Whether you agree or not, it is a universal truth that simplicity is the best practice when it comes to web design. You should check all the appearance elements of the site and make it simple at any cost.
Let’s start with the color of the pages. On most websites, you will see white or off-white as the page color. It’s not essentially very important what color you are using. But you have to make it soothing and comfortable to look at. Also, you have to look at the color combination and make sure to keep it smooth.
Another fact of simplicity you should maintain is the imagery section of the site. The illustration and images that you are going to add to the site should be simple as well. Make sure that the viewers get attracted by the images, and the images should be expressive and relevant.
Typography or font is another fact where you should maintain simplicity. The point we are trying to say by simplicity is to make it comfortable. And nothing better than a simple design can be more comfortable for the viewers. So, you should make a simple design with smooth color and typography.
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Design That Focuses the Purpose of the Website
Secondly, the design of the website should reflect the main content type of your website. That means you have to display the purpose through the design. It should accommodate what people are looking for on the site. All the pages of your site should have clear intentions of what you are offering here.
For example, it is a website that offers information about gardening. Now, the design should focus on the core purpose, which is the garden. Also, you should remember to build your reputation with it and generate leads as well.
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A Design with A Visual Hierarchy
A perfect web design should also have a touch of hierarchy. By the term, we mean the pattern of the site that is perfect enough to catch your eyes. The design should have an aesthetic pattern and must be logical. That means the structure must be sensible, and all the elements should get perfect placement.
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Easy to Navigate
Without logical and clean navigation, a website is no more than a cappuccino without the foam. It is an essential fact that will get rid of all sorts of confusion most viewers get. And when the navigation system is simple and clean, the visitors will feel relaxed and comfortable exploring the site and spending more time on it.
You need to locate all the essential buttons in the right place. And the design should work perfectly on all the devices. Besides, the navigation should follow the trends but have to be simple and clean. The menu option should be with one word, and the entire homepage should have a clean environment.
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A Design That Is Consistent
On one page, the design is perfect, while the second page is a mess. What we are trying to say is it is important to make a consistent design. Make sure that whatever page the visitor is exploring, he won’t forget about what website he is seeing right now.
So, it is very important for the entire site to have a consistent design. That means the design must be the same in all places. Eventually, you should keep consistency even between the spaces and fonts everywhere on the site. This feature will help the site get an orderly appearance in a harmonious environment.
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Design with Meaningful Content
The design won’t work well unless you have poor content on the website. So, the content is another part of the principles as well. You should keep meaningful, relevant, informative, and uncommon content on your site so that the design gets its value. You should also use compelling and attractive language to keep your viewers engaging.
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Perfect Layout
The layout is another important facet of the entire design. It is the way you display the content on your site. So, it helps you structure the content and keep them organized. You can try the grid-style layout for that. It keeps the perfect aligned elements on the pages of the site. Also, it looks clean and looks appealing.
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Multiple Device Supported Design
Navigating a website is not always an official task. People can visit it just to gain knowledge or to make some purchases. So, most people use their mobile phones to visit a website. And if the web design is not mobile-friendly, the visitors won’t love to spend time on it.
In this case, you should create a design that is compatible with the screen of both PC, mobile, and Table. It is indeed one of the essential facts for sure. The design should adjust to any display pattern and size.
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Keep Small Paragraphs
When you need to write something on the content or on the page, you should always keep small paragraphs. It looks simply elegant, and visitors love to have a glance over that. If you keep big chunks of text, the viewers will have an idea that they will have to spend more time reading that.
So, most viewers avoid big chunks of text and directly reach the conclusion. But if you keep small paragraphs, they love to read them without thinking about how long it takes to read them. That’s why they will stay longer on your site.
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Elegant Symmetry
It is another essential part where you can showcase your sense of creativity. Symmetry is about two halves of an entirely similar mirror image kept aligned. It is a really elegant way to make the site look balanced and interactive. You can also use the image from two different angles.
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Use the ‘F’ or ‘Z’ pattern
Did you even check how the contents and the elements are organized on a site? They must be kept in a pattern. In this case, the majority use the ‘F’ pattern. And then the ‘Z’ pattern is the second most popular one. So, we would suggest you try that for a perfect outlook.
In the ‘F’ pattern, the heading is on the tip of the page, and then the other subheadings follow the pattern. You can check the logging page of Facebook, where they use the ‘Z’ pattern. For heading pages, the ‘Z’ pattern is even more suitable.
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A Design with Beautiful Color Palette
The color palette on the site has a big impact on how the viewers will interact with it. Eventually, the colors have meanings, so you should be extra careful while choosing colors for your site. Dark colors mostly mean the moody feel, while the pastel color expresses the playful and aesthetic look. You can choose it as you love. But just remember what it stands for.
These are the most essential and accepted principles of good web design. You can add some sorts of extra principles with it. You can keep enough negative spaces, use meaningful and soothing images, create optimized buttons, and so on. But you should always remember to make a design that will keep the viewers engaging.
To Wrap Up
While designing a website, it is very important to be aware of the principles of good web design. The future of the website is quite dependent on it. You can create a very stable foundation for the site with a perfect design. Hopefully, you have got what the necessity to make a design that contains the principles is.
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