There are many components to a good Melbourne web design and they all tie into each other and what’s most important is the usability of the site. These design principals basically boil down to 5 basic areas: User Experience, Usability, Design, And Technical Stuff. There’s a lot to learn about all of those areas, but we’re going to start with the first one: User Experience. You’ve probably heard this before, but you should really learn to pay attention to it. In the end, it will lead to a better user experience and will make your site more effective for your target audience.
The first user principle is that you must focus on the “visibility” of your visual elements. Most people know that the visual elements of your website are the links, buttons, images, etc… However, those things are only visible to your visitors if they are visible at all! The invisible areas of your website include all the HTML elements you’ve created and any flash elements like frames or pictures. These things should be drawn to the forefront of your page by using CSS, tables, or whatever design feature allows you to do so.
User Interface principles are extremely important because these things set the tone of your site and can set the expectations your visitors have about how you operate. For example, having a navigation bar above the content is very easy to do and it helps visitors quickly navigate between the various pages of your site. But what if that navigation bar was invisible? Well, it wouldn’t do your site very much good and it would actually annoy visitors. The important elements of a good user interface are: clear navigation bars, clear graphic images, and easy-to-understand textual labels.
Usability principles are obviously extremely important, since they help you make your website as easy as possible for users. For example, a clear navigation bar allows your visitor to easily see the different pages he/she is trying to reach. It also enables him/her to jump from one page to another, using either the up/down/left/right arrows or the right/left arrows. Using labels on your links helps your visitors find the information they want, whether it’s the definition of a word, a definition of a concept, or just a link to the home page.
Space management principles, on the other hand, are important because spacing is an essential factor in making anything look good. First of all, your viewers should be able to see every element on your page, and they should not be cramped together because the spacing isn’t right. You don’t need to use absolute spacing, but you do need to follow certain conventions such as using four spaces instead of two, inserting a hyphen between words, and using fixed width links.
In summary, there are many different things that go into a quality website, and these are what you should pay attention to when you’re designing your site. The principles we’ve mentioned here, as well as visual design basics, are the most important ones to follow. Remember, though, that these basic principles are only the foundation of what you’ll do, so don’t get too hung up on them. A good web designer is capable of many wonderful things, but he/she won’t be able to do anything if the usability of the site is poor.
