Website design is an art form in itself. In order to make sure that the site you are designing achieves all that it has set out to do, the designer has to achieve a dual mindset, embracing what the client wants to project along with what it is that the consumer wants to see. To help strike this balance, we have compiled a list of the top five fundamental 'do's and don'ts' of website design because, in the complicated arena of web design, it can often be these fundamentals that get overlooked.
1) Bigger isn't better
This rule of thumb is applicable to graphics, text and audio effects. The bigger the file size, the longer it will take to download. Google research has found that consumers expect a website to download in full in around 30 seconds. After this time, browsers tended to move on or 'bounce' to another site if the website was not ready for them to use. Where graphics are concerned, if your website has graphics involving a wide range of colours, the file is best saved as JPG files. However, if there are few colours, GIF files are more appropriate. GIF palettes are also available with optimized colours, which can reduce file sizes by around 50%.
1) Bigger isn't better
This rule of thumb is applicable to graphics, text and audio effects. The bigger the file size, the longer it will take to download. Google research has found that consumers expect a website to download in full in around 30 seconds. After this time, browsers tended to move on or 'bounce' to another site if the website was not ready for them to use. Where graphics are concerned, if your website has graphics involving a wide range of colours, the file is best saved as JPG files. However, if there are few colours, GIF files are more appropriate. GIF palettes are also available with optimized colours, which can reduce file sizes by around 50%.