5 Principles of Effective Web Design

The average attention span of Internet users has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to eight seconds now. This means that your site has less than 8 seconds to capture the attention of visitors and retain them. To make sure that your website is successful, it is important to understand the principles of effective web design. Using relevant, engaging, high-quality images and other visual elements is the only way you can get your visitors to stay and understand your message in a creative way.

Effective web design turns complex stories into simple and engaging images. Make sure that the images you use convey the right message quickly and concisely. As Ryan Singer, the developer of the 37Signals team, states, users would probably be eager to provide an email address if asked once they had seen the feature work, so they had an idea of what they were going to get in return. However, registration can be done in less than 30 seconds, since the form has landscape orientation, the user does not even need to scroll the page.

Modern web designs are often criticized because of their approach of guiding users with visually appealing 1-2-3 step steps, large buttons with visual effects, etc. But from a design perspective, these elements are not bad at all. On the contrary, these guidelines are extremely effective, as they guide visitors through the content of the site in a very simple and user-friendly way. Just like the phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, effective web design is judged by website users and not by website owners. There are many factors that affect the usability of a website, and it's not just about the form (how good it looks), but also about the function (how easy it is to use).

Websites that aren't well-designed tend to perform poorly and have Google Analytics metrics that aren't optimal (e.g.).So what makes good web design? Below, we explore the top 5 principles of web design that will make your website aesthetically pleasing, easy to use, attractive and effective:

1.Write for Lazy People

A dramatic change in the color or size of an element will reflect that something needs more attention. Contrast plays a key role in the development of designs and visual hierarchies. This means that your site has less than 8 seconds to capture the attention of visitors and retain them.

2.Let Your Content Be Easily Found

Using relevant, engaging, high-quality images and other visual elements is the only way you can get your visitors to stay and understand your message in a creative way. Make sure that the images you use convey the right message quickly and concisely.

3.Use Sans Serif Fonts

In general, Sans Serif fonts like Arial and Verdana are easier to read online (Sans Serif fonts are contemporary looking fonts with no decorative finishes).

The ideal font size for easy reading online is 16px and stick to a maximum of 3 fonts at a maximum of 3 points to keep your design optimized.

4.Balance & Harmony

But a key principle of web design is that balance and harmony are a necessity. It's important to know when fewer visuals can improve the entire design, allowing users to focus on the right things. Sometimes, by adding more elements, we dilute the true power of design or simply make it harder for users to recognize what they see.

5.Mobile-Friendly Design

The principle of mobile-friendly design is no longer an advantage, but a necessity as the use of mobile devices continues to grow. This so-called Teto principle should be applied to all web design projects, since usability tests often provide crucial information about important issues and issues related to a given design. These web design principles may sound a little technical at first, but they become a second instinct for experienced designers.

Of course, there are more things you should keep in mind when developing your website, but these 5 principles for effective web design are a good start. Over time, these principles will become another way in which designers perfect their work and will naturally reach the most. It's a well-known web design principle that usability testing is a crucial part of any design process. One way that many design teams approach the principle of mobile friendly web design is with mobile devices first. The expert web design team Slinky Web Design reports that some websites work well while others don't, and this is because many of the principles of effective web design have been left out.

Gloria Foulke
Gloria Foulke

Wannabe twitter lover. Freelance social media maven. Friendly twitter nerd. Hipster-friendly zombie advocate. Avid zombie practitioner. Amateur baconaholic.