Four Web Design Philosophies to Keep in Mind

There are various concerns placed on the shoulders of web designers these days, from the aesthetic challenges down to the minute functionality of miscellaneous applets or links. Just as there are many different problems that the web designer must face, there are many different groups of viewers that will focus their attention on one aspect of the website or the other.

In many cases, the problems of the web designer and the interests of the viewer will align somewhere within the design process. Knowing this ahead of time makes it easier for companies to properly develop their domain with fewer apparent faults. The following paragraphs will cover some of these various topics of concern.

Use what the pros have taught you. The big names within the industry, such as Facebook, Amazon, and Google, have all gotten to where they are out using amazing web design along the way.

If you pay attention to their choices, you will see that they keep it simple where possible and minimize the chance for error by engaging very few applications from their home page and requiring very little interaction from the reader to receive the basic service. Of course, you should take your own approach and design a website that works well within your niche, but always learn from the successful companies that surround you.

One of the first and most important interactions a user will have once landing on your homepage should be the main menu. Depending on design choices, this may scroll across the top or left margin and is the central hub throughout all proceeding sub-domains.

Website owners that neglect the famous “main menu” often live to regret the decision when their customers become lost or confused and can’t find the “Home” button. The main menu should be simple and contain links to all of the important pages, such as Home, Sitemap, and Contacts.

While many users may seek an entirely visual experience, nothing speaks to a viewer more than simple navigation and straightforward commands. Prepare navigation options that will easily lead the viewer throughout the website and back to the homepage once again without any confusion along the way. It’s important that the “ease of use” factor remain in focus. Save flashy graphics and visual cues for the optional pages while keeping basic navigation simple and transparent.

With the rising popularity of mobile devices and their movement to dominate the market, it’s more important than ever that your website is clearly visible and formatted properly. Fitting a large, intensive webpage into a compact mobile display is hard work and the native browsers will make a messy job of it if you don’t take the time to handle this yourself. Keep the page neat and trim and ensure that your viewers are always capable of reading their material, whether it’s at home on the PC or on-the-go with the phone.

Take some time to plan ahead and prepare the website that you know you would love to visit. The tips above should have helped get the creative juices flowing and from this point forward, your website can only get better.