Just like other forms of design, there are certain norms and principles that you need to follow in order to design an effective website. In this part of our series about web design principles, we are going to talk about the most basic principle to keep in mind: balance.
A website is usually designed to be attractive, but it still needs to provide useful contents or functionalities in order to attract more visitors and arouse return visits. This is why you need to properly balance between design elements and contents if you want your website to be effective.
It is also necessary to balance between design and performance. A lot of new web designers make the mistake of adding several Flash animations and large pictures only to find that visitors are not returning because the site will not load.
Another important balance to keep when designing a website is the balance between design elements and the layout. A website needs to be consistent, so it is necessary that you set a standard layout for the entire site; for example, moving the navigation bar to different places on different pages will only confuse your users.
When the balance is kept properly, your website will be both aesthetically satisfying and functional at the same time.
