Elina Hill

Here are a few things I’ve learned about how to make a website look good:

• People like plain websites. They don’t want a lot of bling. Relevant, simple images that add a splash of style work best.

• A white background with dark text (12 point font) is easiest for most people to read. Save colours for your background, images and logo. And links.

• Colour your links. In order to properly navigate a site, people rely on coloured links to figure out where to go or where they’ve been. Also, title links so people know what’s coming.

• Do what other websites are doing. Follow widely accepted site conventions to meet people’s expectations. This will help them to navigate your site more quickly and easily.

• Content is what brings people back for more. If you aren’t getting your content right, appearances don’t matter. Provide good content, above all else.

In short, keep your site simple and user-friendly! Of course, rules are made to be broken and a spicy logo or image will stand out nicely on a plain site. Once you’ve got the basics, you can figure out how to personalize your header, or otherwise customize site features in order to add a  tasteful little bit of zing.

What do you think? Do you like to keep it simple?

Photo credit: Lougan Manzke / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

PS – I notice basic WordPress doesn’t change the colour of my visited links! I’m working on it.