principles of professional web design

As a web designer currently based in Johannesburg South Africa, i have been studying the evolution of websites and web design itself.. i am living, working proof of the same.. When i look at some of my first web designs when i was learning to code HTML using Front Page and tables, to my new site http://www.lookdesigns.net which has been designed using a text editor for HTML and CSS, the variance is amazing..

One of the main things that i have learnt over the past few years is that SIMPLICITY IS KING.. Here is the list of principles of professional web design in my expert opinion..

1) Rule No.1 - KEEP IT SIMPLE - As a designer, your definition of a good design varys very much from the definition that the user has.. If you are a graphic and web designer its even worse.. You are looking for style first , but the user is looking for functionality first..

2) Rule No.2 - INTEROPERABLE - As designers, we cannot foresee or predict what type of computer on which type of operating system or web browser the user will use to view the website, the site must ALWAYS be interoperable in any browser in any operating system under any resolution.. So TEST , TEST , TEST and then TEST again in all browsers and all combinations before you host the site..

3) Rule No.3 - RESTRICT MOVING PARTS - many moving parts (animation/flash) on a site = unnecessary distraction to the user.. We must always remember that not many of the users are patient enough to wait for a heavy flash site to download or a big animation file to come through.. Also (at least in south africa) many users are still on dial up and not on any broadband lines and it takes a long time for such files to load..

4) Rule No.4 - AVOID DISTRACTIONS - many loud, bright colors or images as backgrounds distract the user more than provide an aesthetic look to the site.. Use clean, clear, subtle colors like white (hex code : #ffffff), light gray (hex code : #f0f0f0), light beige (hex code : #fcfabb) to name few of my favourites.. In this day and age, embedded audio and sound effects is also a big no no as it will certainly add to the distraction and download time..

5) Rule No.5 - STICK TO THE STANDARDS - W3C has set certain standards on how the site must be coded and what tags can and cannot be used.. In terms of design it is ALWAYS good follow these standards and have your site validated using the W3C Validators before you host the site.. Firefox browser does this even if you are working offline.. It has a nifty program TIDY HTML which will tell you the status of your page and if you are compliant..

So follow the above and happy designing.. Over and out..