From the Creative Side...
You are looking at a corporate web site and there is something wrong about it… What is it? Why is one site better than another? What are the criteria for determining the quality of commercial web resources? A web site is generally considered a means of communication, but it has many of the same features that any other product would have.
One of those is the look. After all, the look is what makes the first impression. You may be selling a revolutionary product, you may be providing an outstanding service, but if you don’t display yourself in an attractive way, and don’t convey your information clearly and efficiently, you will never get noticed.
Due to the availability of technology and education, most of today’s webmasters possess sufficient technical skills to create a web site. However they may be lacking in basic understanding of web aesthetics, usability principles, and user interface logic.
The key parameters of a good commercial web site include:
1. How easily it communicates with visitors.
2. The overall look and feel of your web site.
3. The visual means you use to emphasize the uniqueness of your content.
All these criteria have to be taken into consideration if you want to create a quality and visually appealing web resource.
For example, a rich visual context that uses sophisticated design techniques can be harder to understand. A simpler, minimalist page, on the other hand, can be easier to understand, but won’t get enough attention. Similarly, a neatly organized page that is too typical in terms of design will not make you or your product stand out enough.
Consequently, several basic but important aspects are worth reviewing. Following these guidelines will help you avoid some common mistakes. In general, you should treat your web site as a piece of art and, at the same time, try to create a convenient and user-friendly product.
Color scheme
Some web masters think the more different colors they use and the brighter colors are- the more attractive the site is going to be. Quite the opposite… Number of colors used in your layout should be limited to 2- 3 shades. Not all colors match with each other. Bright color will distract your visitors’ attention and will make it harder to embrace your content. At the same time, soft colors, or one major bright color will improve your visitor’s experience. Take a look at a number of different web sites and try to figure out what you feel about color schemes you see. You may be surprised to notice that gray or black color often drags more attention than red or yellow. When color photography was introduced it was a symbol of technological advancement. Now, black and white photography is in fashion again. There’s a similar trend going on in web design.
Fonts
There is nothing worse than reading a web page with several different fonts, several different sizes of the same font, not to mention bold, italic, and underlined text within a single paragraph. Some people treat a web page as a presentation tool that demonstrates text editing capabilities. It is sometimes okay to mix different fonts, but only when it is really necessary. Each font should also be both readable and appropriate for the type of information it conveys. You can experiment with your titles and short sentences but your main text has to stay simple and functional.
Use of Space
Apart from finding the right place for each of your visual elements, consider your negative space. In other words, think of areas of pure background as visual tools that are just as important as your imagery is. Underestimating negative space is a very common mistake. It always leads to cluttered, overloaded pages that are hard to read and understand. Every layout needs to breathe. Be it white borders on the sides, dist