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ood web design has visual weight, is optimized for various devices, and has content that is prioritized for the medium. The most important elements of a web page should have more visual weight to “naturally attract” a visitor’s attention.

Optimization for various types of devices and resolutions plays a fundamental role in modern website design. Web page layouts should be genuinely responsive and not rely on any fixed-size elements. Web designers using fluid grids and flexible images will guarantee that a web page will render well on a variety of devices, windows, and screen sizes.

A good website should be easy to navigate

Not all websites are made equal. Some websites are simple, logical, and easy to use. Others are a messy hodgepodge of pages and links.

Creating visual rhythms in your layouts

One of the best ways to use repetition and rhythm in web design is in the site’s navigation menu. A consistent, easy-to-follow pattern—in color, layout, etc. Gives users an intuitive roadmap to everything you want to share on your site.

Rhythm also factors into the layout of content. For example, you “might have” blog articles, press releases, and events each follow their own certain layout pattern.

Elements that can help website visual composition

Nobody enjoys looking at an ugly web page. Garish colors, cluttered images and distracting animation can all turn customers “off” and send them shopping “somewhere else”. Basic composition rules to create more effective:

Direct the Eye With Leading Lines
Balance Out Your Elements
Use Elements That Complement Each Other
Be clear about your “focal points” and where you place them
The size and position of elements in a composition will determine its balance. An unbalanced design generates tension, which may be the goal in many design projects, but for web apps that demand repeated comfortable use, tension is not a desirable trait.

Diving into UX and UI design

UX design refers to the term “user experience design”, while UI stands for “user interface design”. Both elements are crucial to a product and work closely together. But despite their relationship, the roles themselves are quite different.

Ensure that interactive elements are easy to identify

Good design guides the user by communicating purpose and priority. For that reason, every part of the design should be based on an “informed decision” rather than an arbitrary result of personal taste or the current trend.

Provide distinct styles for interactive elements, such as links and buttons, to make them easy to identify. For example, “change the appearance of links” on mouse hover, “keyboard focus”, and “touch-screen activation”.

Breaking down the barriers

Design is not the end-all solution to all of the worlds problems — but with the right thinking and application, it can definitely be a good beginning to start tackling them.