Web Design

organization, navigation, colors..

let's start with these three

Organization

The key to clarity is predictability. You go to a website and what do you do? If the information you're looking for is staring right back at you, it's a lucky thing.

On the other hand if you've got to go looking for what you want, and worse yet don't know for sure if it's there to be gotten then it can be a drag. Some of my greatest frustrations have been encountered on poorly organized websites trying in vain to find the thing I went there to find.

I think that the key to good organization of information is intuitiveness. Meaning that the contents of the site are clearly presented so that the visitor feels familiar and comfortable right away. Confusion leads to frustration, and frustration leads to lost visitors.

Navigation

A website, if it has more than a single page to it requires a way for the visitor to be able to get from page to page. If the site's large enough to have a hierarchical structure, that is if the information is organized into categories, and then articles within those categories, then the navigation requirements get even more complex.

The invention which has defined the web is the hyperlink, or link for short. Links allow you to go from one page to another, from one site to another. They can be done in plain text, in stylized text, or with graphics such as navigation buttons. Plain or fancy, the link must be clear and its purpose easily understood for the visitor to get around your site effectively. And enjoyably.

Colors

Use of effective coloring is a very helpful tool. Some rules of thumb:

reds are exciting
blues are calming
greys are neutral
black and white are easiest
stick to the web safe palette
avoid coloring letters until you're confident in your abilities
it's much harder than it looks

Choosing a Palette

Your color scheme, or palette is the collection of colors you will use for your site. Start very simple, black and white are easy because most printed matter is done with black text on a white background and people are used to it.

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Face 2 Interface's website contains a glossary of web terminology. You will see words and phrases that may be clicked to see a brief definition of the term.

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