I’ve given a lot of thought to what actually makes a decent website. Obviously during this process, animated gifs and blinking text were complete strangers to my mind. On the other end of this broad spectrum, I began looking at the characteristics of my favorite websites and what I’ve striven for in my own to define a good one. This is what I came up with.

Fast Loading Time

Usually if a site takes longer than 3 seconds to load, I’m out. It’s like waiting in line. Just don’t make me do it. There’s plenty more websites just a click away (which probably have just as good content as you do) for me to watch a loading bar. Go easy on the images. Take some time to test the loading speed and improve it.

Instant Recognition

I like to know what a website is about and who’s behind it before I even have a chance to think about it. Branding and appropriate articulation through design are what do this for me.

The logo/header is the first thing I look at and I go south from there. If you title doesn’t describe the subject, your slogan or tagline should.

What I mean by articulation is how your website design represents you or your company. Colors, typography, layout, and every other element of web design plays a part (at least subliminally) in how a visitor perceives you. Send the right message.

Nice Design

What I define as a nice design is:

• Simple
• Content-Focused
• Appropriate Color Usage

Simple: I can’t express how much I love simplicity. A three-column website is overkill in my opinion. I want to keep everything in sight and not feel overwhelmed or confused on where to start.

Navigation on a website needs to be a no-brainer. A horizontal bar is my preference with at least the pages Home, About, and Contact. Get into your visitors’ heads, know their train of thought, and base your navigation on that.

Don’t get me wrong, I love puzzles, I just hate trying to find my way back to your homepage. Save your viewers some time and synapses by using a simple, clean layout that you’d be able to navigate through quickly without thinking.

Content-Focused: Finding a way to organize all your information is a challenge but well worth the effort. I never enjoy scrolling down just to get past the header. Keep your header height minimal and focus on the content below it. I go to a website to get information not to be sold, so don’t clutter up your design with stacks of advertisements either.

Appropriate Color Usage: Never use harsh colors. Black text on a white background is that standard and for a reason. It’s easiest on the eyes. Ever experience that “visual after-taste” when you head back to white-backgrounded Google after a long reading session on a neon-colored site? Me too. Did you like it? Me neither.

Good Content

I debated whether I should throw this section in or not. Obviously, content is the most important factor in a website’s success. The internet is based off information, so if you’re not giving me unique and useful information, I’m not giving you my attention.

I’ve seen plenty of poorly designed sites that are popular because of their good content, but very few vice versa. This proves content is king, but I always try to make design the queen. They make a wonderful couple on a website.

Conclusion

After years of internet browsing, those are the opinions I’ve formulated about web design. What’s your take?