When you have decided to build a website, before you open dreamweaver or photoshop or any other application that is going to help you complete thiis task, there are some questions you must first consider:

1. What are you going to communicate?
2. What is your criteria for success?
3. Who is the audience?
4. What technologies is the audience using?

The answers to these questions will help you stay focused on your end goal, building a successful website. Once you have these answered you can then move on to deciding how to develope the look and feel of your site.

Types of Web Design Layouts

Below are the basic design layouts that most websites adhere to. If you find a website that does not fall under any of these categories, please let me know.

• Classic Inverted L
  
• Top Header
  
• Side Navigation
  
• Box
  
• Header – Content – Footer
  
• Left or Right Justified
  
• White Space (No literal grid)
  
• Full Design (no room for white space)
  
• Middle (Top to bottom centered)
  
• Horizontal scrolling
  
• Unconventional
  

Principles of Design

1. Emphasis and Contrast
   This tells the viewer what is most important. They can help you persuade the viewer to pay more attention to one item over another. Here are a few ways to place emphasis on certain items.
   • bold
   • bigger
   • italics
   • contrasting color
   • effects
   • shapes
   • boarders
   • white space
2. Importance of a Grid
   Having a consistent and predictable design is vital to having a well-designed site. Grid systems provide an order to webpages so users can immediately identify how to interact with the site. It communicates to users that there is a master plan at work, that the developers of the site have spent time figuring out how to bring order to their information to best suit the viewer.
3. Visual Direction
   This describes the way the eye moves across the screen. Understanding how to control this will help you give impace to the items of importance on your page. On pages that have no contrasting elements, peopl typically follow the standard reading path of left to right, top to bottom. But by utilizing of the tools that allow you to emphasize items (making items larger than others, contrasting colors, etc…) you can break this folw and create your own.

   Ways to control Visual Direction:

   • When laying out a page and working on emphasis think about the path the eye will take.
   • Cluster similar items together (ads, navigation, text, etc.)
   • Think of text as visual art

Influence vs. Plagiarism

When designing a website, most people start surfing the web or browsing through web design books and annuals. This is fine, but flat out copying the layout and colors is plagarism. Instead, try to understand why a designer uses a specific layout, color scheme, or image style. Attempt to get inside the head of the designer and deconstruct the thinking process behind choosing that specific layout. Don’t just mimic the layout, apply the same thinking process when developing your website.