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Keep it simple. Use only those elements - scripting, cascading style sheets, Flash, Active Server Pages - that are required to present the material. If forms are not being processed, don't use scripting. If data is not being retrieved, don't use Active Server Pages.
Keep it clean. By keeping graphics to a minimum, content can be more easily presented. Break it up. One big mistake of web design is keeping an entire site or section on a single page. The central concept of the web is hyperlinking - building links to discrete pages and logically breaking apart content into sections. |
Content, content, content. This is what keeps a site interesting and "sticky". People are more likely to return to a site that is fresh and has content they can use!
Organization is key. Content organized into groups of directories allow the archiving of old material as well as keeping track of new material. Focus on the user Usability is a key factor in attracting and keeping visitors at a site. ALT tags, supplemental text links, text rather than graphics, and eliminating scripting and Flash where it is unecessary allow all types of users and browsers to access a site. |
Influences:
I began to develop "simplicity in web design" while working for Mark Molnar during my graduate assistantship at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Sources and Resources:
Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design, Web Pages That Suck, Astrolab, HTML Hell, Fixing Your Web Site (see more...)