Best Website Design Layout

One of the most frequent questions we get asked as web designers is about where to start when designing a website.

So many questions to be answered on this subject, here are some tips on how start.

At our web design preston company we start with pen and paper, it is the old fashioned way but undoubtedly the best way to get the ideas you have out of your brain and into a place that you can see them easily.  It is pointless having tons of grest ideas in your head, get them on paper and you will be able to see what you have missed. Always have a clear purpose for your web design. We call this a wish list!

Next, we draw out a basic box and split in to 3 boxes: A header container, a content container and a footer container.

A basic web design has 3 fundamentals:

• The HEADER - the bar at the top with your logo, navigation and telephone number.
• The CONTENT container - the middle of the page with the main content and images in.
• The  FOOTER - at the bottom of the page.

So, you now have a wish list, a basic box layout with header, content and footer containers sketched out. You now have to add the wish list items to your sketch, make sure you leave enough room for them all and DON'T clutter the design - keep it fresh, clean and easy to navigate. Make sure that you get all of the important information included at the top of the page - (above the fold). Another important factor in web design is the message, the header message - Try not to use "Welcome to our website" You need to get your message across quickly and effectively.

The current standard for websites is to deliver the information in the center of the page, not on the left of the screen. Websites are no longer built to stretch with the page. We use a 960 width grid system that ensures that all websites fit within the smallest of screens with the weirdest resolutions set.

Some good things to remember when are:

• Do not use too many different fonts
• Do not use Time New Roman as the font
• Do not use too many colours
• Keep your navigation simple

Good luck with it!