4 Principles of Good Web Design

Making a website is not hard, making a user friendly website now that is a challenge! 

The 4 design principles of making a Website are proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast.  In order to understand these principles properly we need to understand;

How users interact with Web sites?

Eye tracking software shows how users are able to follow website design.

The Proximity here on the Fly Fishing Tackle UK site is very good as all the elements that relate to each other are grouped together.  As you can see here there is no odd spacing and all the space on the site is used very well.  

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Alignment can significantly affect the usability of the site and it can enhance or detract from the appearance of the site.  It is important to remember that a site that is lined up well will create a calm secure feeling.  Lack of alignment is the most prevalent problem on the web pages.

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Throughout the site you should repeat certain elements that tie all the disparate parts together.

Repetition elements that unify the entire site are:

• Navigation buttons
• Colors
• Style
• Illustrations
• Format
• Layout
• Typography

The repetition on this site would be the colour, shape of the buttons, thickness of lines and font.

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Contrasting elements guide your eyes into the page, create a hierarchy of information, and enable you to skim through the vast array of information and pick out what you need.

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