Dynamic Web Page Layout and Design Essentials
Do the Research
- Before designing a Web page, take a look at existing Web sites and write
down the following:
- What you like best about the site
- What you like least about the site
- What your initial thoughts are when you visit the site
- What your eye is drawn to initially on the home page
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Design 101
Contrast
- Go to www.acura.com page, study the page for a few moments.
- What's the first thing you see on the Acura home page? There should be something
on each page that stands out from the rest of the page. This is the element
that you want your visitor to see first. If your visitor is not immediately
drawn to something on the page, they may become confused.
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Repetition
Your web site should have a consistent theme. Consistently placing the navigation
bar, logo or contact information on every page in the same position helps visitors
navigate your site easily and lets visitors know it's still your site they're
at no matter what page they're on.
Alignment
Remember that visitors don't read Web pages -- they scan them. Therefore, content
should be placed in a column-style layout so that text intensive material can
be scanned in 8-10 seconds.
Proximity
The use of white sapce is a must on a Web page. Surround the contrasting element
with white space so that it stands out effectively. White space is also necessary
so that visitor's eyes have breathing room to take in content quickly and easily.
Color Psychology
Blue
- The most commonly used color on the Web
- Represents honesty, truthfulness and directness
- A relaxing color; use blue to get visitors to stay at your site.
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Red
- Attention-grabbing
- The most powerful color
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Green
- Signifies wealth and money
- Signifies nature
- A relaxing color
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