Web design has come a long way in recent years, and the many varied themes and templates can make much of it easier for the casual web designer. But before you get started, it’s still helpful to know a few basics of web design that can lead to a more effective web site.
- Clarity: Probably the most important element of web design is clarity. The strands of content should be clearly highlighted, and easy to discern and interpret.
- Simplicity: too busy a web design can make it difficult to find the critical content, and visitors may not even know where to land.
- Effective use of space: A more effective web design makes better use of space put the content in focus, and make the navigation structure clear.
- Integrated designs: Another type of web design is for smaller sites that are integrated into larger sites. This clever design makes use of a small space in a larger layout. Its sparse but elegant lines integrate well into the aesthetic of the larger site.
- Background: One simple but important detail of good web design is background color. In this example, the web designer tried to make use of too bright and bold a background, making the important details of the design hard to spot. Designs like this are more likely to draw attention to the web designer herself, rather than the web content, which is a deterrent to most website visitors.
- Visual elements: Choosing the right images for your web design is also key. Choosing a unifying theme, repetition of design elements, and subtle use of color can give pleasing harmony to the web design.
- Stickiness: One of the main goals of good web design is to get visitors not just to fly through, but to land and stay. This web design may not look like much at first, but its structure has great elements to get visitors to really stick.
- Upkeep: One also must not forget to maintain one’s web design. It doesn’t take long for a web site to start to look dated. Even if a web site has compelling visual elements to attract visitors to the site, multiple broken links will guarantee that visitors will take off soon and land on more frequently updated web sites.
When you start out on your own web design, try to keep these points in mind to make your site more effective. Of course, never lose sight of the ultimate goal of web design: to trap visitors and drain them of their bodily fluids.
collecting tokens 
Where did you find those s p i d e r s? Wild post.
Most of them are from right around my neighborhood (and even my front porch), but other webs are frong Hong Kong (bottom), Shanghai (the one by the carving) and New Hampshire (the green one with “broken links.”).
Funny you should post about this topic because just yesterday I was thinking about changing my blog template, color scheme, details. I’m tired of seeing what I’m seeing there, but am hesitant to change it too much. When I do get around to changing things, this post will be my guiding light. When, of course, is the operative word here.
Ally Bean, this post will be especially helpful if your blogging goal is to trap flies!
This is awesome, and I think so even though I’m terrified of many-legged creatures such as those appearing in some of these pictured web sites.