Great Web Page Design: A Beginner's Guide to Layout, Content, and User Experience

A well-designed web page is like a warm welcome for your visitors. It makes them feel at home and encourages them to stay a while.

Good layout is key to a great web page design. This means using white space effectively to guide the viewer's eye through the content. A good rule of thumb is to leave at least 20-30% of the page empty to avoid clutter.

A clear and concise content is essential for user experience. According to our article, a good headline should be no more than 7-10 words long to grab the reader's attention.

Web design is the process of creating the visual and interactive aspects of a website. It involves a combination of art, technology, and user experience (UX) to create a website that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional.

A well-designed website is crucial for businesses, as it can make or break their online presence. According to a study mentioned in the article, 75% of users judge a website's credibility based on its design.

A good web designer must consider the user's needs and create a website that is easy to navigate and use. This involves understanding the target audience, creating a clear and concise message, and using a consistent layout and design elements throughout the site.

A web page is essentially a single page on the internet that contains content, such as text, images, and videos. It's the foundation of any website.

Think of a web page like a physical brochure - it's a self-contained unit that presents information in a specific way. A web page can be accessed through a web browser, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, by entering a unique address, also known as a URL.

Web pages are typically created using a programming language, like HTML, which stands for HyperText Markup Language. HTML is used to define the structure and content of a web page.

The layout and design of a web page are also crucial elements, which can be influenced by factors like screen size and resolution.

Web design is a way to create websites that work well on any device, no matter the screen size or resolution. It's all about making sure your website looks great and is easy to use, whether someone is viewing it on a phone, tablet, or desktop computer.

Responsive web design is a key part of this, and it's an approach that uses viewport breakpoints to adjust the layout of your website based on the screen size. This means the content flows and rearranges itself to fit the available space.

The goal of responsive design is to make sure your website looks great and is easy to use on any device, and it does this by adjusting the placement of design elements as the browser window's size changes. If you open a responsive site on the desktop and change the browser window's size, the content will dynamically rearrange itself to fit the browser window.

Choosing a design for your website is a crucial step in creating an engaging user experience. A good layout keeps users on the site because it makes important information easily accessible and intuitive to find.

You should carefully select a layout that takes into account your target audience's age, intention, and buying objections. For example, if your viewer is a marketer, a categorical layout might be a good choice.

Consider their primary screen size and design your site layout accordingly. Websites with lots of written content will want to include search bars, white space, easy navigation links, and more in the user experience.

Here are some key factors to consider when choosing a layout:

Choosing a design for your website is a crucial decision that can make or break your online presence. A good design should keep users engaged, making it easy for them to find what they're looking for.

You have only a few seconds to make a good impression, so take the time to find a layout that works for your website. A bad layout can frustrate users and cause them to leave your site quickly.

A strong relationship exists between layout and user engagement. A good layout determines how long users dwell on your website pages, how many pages they browse, and how often they come back to your site.

Consider the Gestalt law of closure, which states that the human eye tends to fill in visual gaps and recognize an image as a whole. This can be useful in designing your website's layout.

Before designing your website, consider the following factors:

You can answer these questions by considering your business goals and target audience. For example, a marketing blog's viewer is a marketer, and they'll use the site to browse around between resources.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when choosing a design:

HubSpot's Free Builder offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop website builder that allows you to create and customize your own business website without any coding skills.

With HubSpot's Free Builder, you can build a website using pre-built themes and templates, which can save you time and effort.

One of the best things about HubSpot's Free Builder is that it comes with built-in marketing tools and features, which can help you reach your target audience and grow your business.

Here are some of the key benefits of using HubSpot's Free Builder:

Commerce Cream is a great resource for web design inspiration, especially for e-commerce websites.

The websites featured on Commerce Cream are modern and trendy, showcasing great examples of minimalism, bold typography, and playful color palettes.

You can find pre-vetted websites on Commerce Cream, so you're only viewing the best of the best.

Even if you're not looking for e-commerce inspiration specifically, Commerce Cream is still a great source of website design inspiration.

Visual design principles are essential for creating a great web page design. They help guide the user's attention and create a clear visual hierarchy.

Visual weight is perceived by people when some objects on the website carry a stronger visual force. This can be induced in specific elements through techniques like negative space.

Negative space, or white space, is the space that is devoid of any elements. It drives the attention towards elements outweighing the rest through visual force concentrated on them. For example, the space between a black square and white squares directs the eyes to the left-hand element.

A good example of using white space is the Shift (px) website, which relies heavily on typography and white space, with white space taking up about 50% of the page. This creates a visually pleasing and readable design.

To balance your page, use a grid system. Grid systems create a baseline template for your layout, setting the margins to a consistent length and creating a designated space to add each piece of content.

Here are some key points to keep in mind when using visual design principles:

Visual weight is perceived by people when some objects on the website carry a stronger visual force. This visual force can be induced in specific elements through different techniques, such as negative space.

Negative space, or the space between elements, drives the attention towards elements outweighing the rest through visual force concentrated on them. For example, the space between the black square and the white squares directs the eyes to the left-hand element.

Create a visually appealing design by striking a balance between elements. A grid system can help create a baseline template for your layout, setting margins to a consistent length and creating designated space to add each piece of content.

A balanced amount of negative space on your page is ideal, with page elements spaced evenly and making it easy for visitors to locate the exact piece of content they're looking for.

Make elements stand out by adding white space around them, giving text some breathing room and spatial peace. This can be achieved by adding padding to paragraphs and using a serif typeface.

Here are some key considerations for creating a visually appealing design:

Radial Symmetry is a layout type where a central point radiates correlated items in a rounded form. This layout is less common compared to other types.

In a radial symmetry layout, items are organized around a central point, creating a sense of balance and harmony. The rounded form of this layout makes it visually appealing and easy to navigate.

Radial symmetry can be used to create a sense of movement or energy in a design, drawing the viewer's eye to the central point.

A balanced web design gives the impression of stability and feels pleasing to the eye.

Symmetrical balance is a popular design approach that creates a sense of elegance and balance by mirroring elements on either side of the center.

Symmetry evokes a sense of balance and pleasure, much like the architecture of some buildings and gardens.

Using a grid system can also help balance your page by creating a consistent template for your layout.

Grid systems set the margins to a consistent length and create a designated space to add each piece of content.

This makes it easier to add elements and space them out evenly, giving your page a sense of order and balance.

Symmetrical balance can be seen in the architecture of some buildings and even in the wings of a butterfly.

Sectioning and layout are crucial elements of great web page design. A modular layout, also known as card layout or block layout, is a popular choice due to its flexibility and responsiveness.

This type of layout involves breaking down content into individual units, each with its own dedicated space. It's ideal for business websites that require clear and coherent presentations. By using modular layouts, you can create a streamlined look and a highly coherent composition of items on your webpage.

To create a hierarchy for your content, consider the importance of each piece of content on a page. This will help you direct the viewer's attention to the main piece of content. For example, a homepage should have a clear focal point, such as a header or call-to-action, that leads the viewer's eye to the next most important piece of content.

Here are some layout options to consider:

By considering these layout options and creating a clear hierarchy for your content, you can create a well-designed webpage that effectively communicates your message and engages your audience.

Sectioning a website into specific audiences or features can be a game-changer for user experience.

By creating distinct sections, users can easily switch to the content that interests them most, making the website more engaging and useful.

Fashion websites are a great example of this, with some layouts supporting 2 distinctive sections for men and women.

This split layout serves functional content, highly useful for the 2 distinctive target audiences.

For instance, a website can have separate sections for apparel, accessories, or even specific product lines.

Here are some examples of website sections that cater to specific audiences:

By organizing content in this way, website owners can provide a better experience for their users and increase engagement and conversions.

Compartmentalizing your design using grids is a great way to improve readability and make a page's content easier to absorb. Grids are a series of horizontal and vertical rulers that help you "compartmentalize" a design. Think of columns.

Columns improve readability by organizing content into manageable chunks. The Rule of Thirds and Golden Ratio account for why sidebars are usually about a third of the width of the page and why the main content area is roughly equal to the design's width divided by 1.62. This structuring of elements makes it easy on the eye.

The grid lends itself particularly well to minimalist designs. A clear strict structuring of elements can make a design easy on the eye. For example, 5 Thirty One by Derek Punsalan shows why this is effective.

Here are some key benefits of using grids in your design:

Here are some tips for using grids effectively:

The one-column layout is a simple and effective way to organize information on a page. It's perfect for research papers and long-form articles, as it allows the reader to easily follow the content in a single column.

A one-column layout is also a great match for mobile experiences, as it's easy to navigate on smaller screens.

To create a successful one-column layout, you need to keep the timing of your text and images right. If the text and images are too dense, the reader may get overwhelmed and lose interest.

The one-column layout is especially effective on landing pages, where the goal is to get the reader to take a specific action. By keeping the layout simple and straightforward, you can improve your chances of conversion.

Here are some key benefits of the one-column layout:

However, it's worth noting that the one-column layout can be a bit limiting in terms of design flexibility. But for simple and straightforward content, it's a great choice.

To make the most of the one-column layout, be sure to use a clear and concise writing style, and use images and graphics to break up the text and add visual interest.

White space, or negative space, is essential for making elements stand out on a web page. It gives text some breathing room and spatial peace. A good example of this is perfume ads, which often use loads of white space and a serif typeface.

Adding white space around elements can make them more readable, as seen in the design of the author's own website Shift (px), which relies heavily on typography and white space. In fact, white space probably takes up about 50% of the page.

Designing with white space requires restraint, as inexperienced designers often try to fill every corner with content. Remember, design is about communicating a message, and white space can add a lot of class to a design.

The Lapa Ninja is a great resource for web designers. It hosts a growing collection of beautiful landing page inspiration from across the web.

Their database of web design inspiration is updated daily, and anyone is welcome to submit a landing page for consideration. This makes it a valuable tool for staying up-to-date with the latest design trends and best practices.

Lapa.ninja is particularly useful for designers looking for inspiration on specific design elements, such as layout. The F-shape layout, for example, is a widely-known scanning behavior that can be applied to a wide range of websites.

CSS Nectar is a great source of web design inspiration that's vetted by a team of design experts. You can browse websites by category, color, feature, and country, making it easy to find designs that suit your style.

Their vetting process ensures that the websites featured on CSS Nectar are high quality and worthy of your time. Submitting a website costs just $5, and the fee is refunded if the website isn't approved.

CSS Nectar rates each website categorically, allowing you to see how each website scores on design, coding, and creativity. Anyone can vote, making it a democratic and inclusive platform.

You can submit your own website to CSS Nectar for consideration, and with over 1 million websites in their database, you're likely to find inspiration from somewhere.

Measure and leading are crucial design elements that can make or break the readability of your content. Measure is the length of lines, and leading is the height (or vertical spacing) of lines.

Between 40 and 80 characters per line seems ideal for comfortable reading.

Increasing the line height gives text some breathing room. A line height of 1.5 works well for paragraphs, making the line height 18 points if the text size is 12 points.

The design of my own website Shift (px) relies heavily on typography and white space, which includes plenty of leading.

The Best Gallery is a layout that's perfect for visually-focused online spaces. It's a collection of image miniatures leading to full descriptions, along with headlines and short presentations that guide you through the album.

This layout is suitable for travel websites, blogs, and magazines. I can see how it would be particularly effective for travel websites, where visually showcasing destinations and attractions would be a major draw.

A unique feature of the Best Website Gallery is the display of multiple screenshots from each featured website. This allows you to view a snapshot of many different pages at once, all laid out on a single page.

Comprehensive tagging is also a key feature of the Best Website Gallery. You can filter websites by color, CMS, style, and framework, making it a great resource for web designers looking for inspiration.

Animations can be highly engaging and create active space on your webpage.

They can draw attention to a specific element or just create an interactive and enjoyable experience for your users.

However, animations can make webpages less accessible to older users.

Animations can take longer to load, which may impact user experience.

You can use animation on your homepage to highlight a promotional price point or showcase what your product can do in action.

Color and typography are a crucial aspect of web page design. A well-chosen color palette can make or break the overall look and feel of a website.

Picking nice colors is as important as picking the right colors. A Web design for a cozy little restaurant would do well with "earthy" tones: reds, browns, etc.

The key is to find a color scheme that works well together. You can't just pick your colors Rambo-style, guns blazing. Some colors go well together, others don't. Websites like ColourLovers exist for a reason.

A monochromatic color scheme can be effective, as seen in Bence Kucsan' website. By using tints and shades of a single color, you can create a cohesive look.

Choosing 2-3 Base Colors is key to a harmonious design.

Pick no more than three base colors for your design, as seen on websites like ColourLovers, which help you find colors that work well together.

Some colors just don't belong together, like lime green on the First Twenty website.

A good rule of thumb is to soak up as many website designs as possible to get a feel for how colors interact with each other.

You can find inspiration on CSS showcase websites like Best Web Gallery.

Pick two or three base colors at most for your design, and then use tints and shades of these base colors to expand the palette where necessary.

A Web design for a cozy little restaurant would do well with "earthy" tones like reds and browns.

Every color sends out a message, and it's up to you to get the message right.

Font stacks are just basic CSS that define the order in which fonts should be rendered.

To achieve this, you can use the font-family property in your CSS, like this: body { font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; }. This will give the body copy the typeface of “Helvetica Neue” if it's installed on the user's computer.

Most Windows machines don't come with Helvetica (Neue) pre-installed, but Macs usually do. This means that if a user doesn't have Helvetica (Neue) installed, the browser will look for the next font in the stack.

The beauty of font stacks is that you can define “fallbacks,” meaning that whenever a defined typeface is missing, the browser simply looks for the next one in line. This approach may not provide an identical design experience for everyone, but it's a good solution for those who don't want to use image replacement.

Wilson Miner uses a font stack that includes Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, and Arial, which is a good choice because Helvetica is an improvement over Helvetica Neue, and Arial is installed on almost every computer. This way, you get the best of both worlds.

Jon Tan uses a different font stack for his headings: baskerville, 'palatino linotype', 'times new roman', serif. This approach gives the design an extra bit of character without hurting anyone who doesn't have the font installed.

Start with a mobile-first approach when designing your website, prioritizing the needs of mobile users from the very beginning.

This means designing for flexibility in every aspect, including images, text, and layouts. Create fluid grids and images to ensure your design looks great on any device.

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVGs) are a great choice for 2D graphics, as they support interactivity and animations.

To ensure your design is accessible, prioritize and hide content to suit users' contexts, and use progressive disclosure and navigation drawers to give users the most important items first.

Aim for minimalism in your design to keep things simple and easy to use. Apply design patterns to maximize ease of use for users in their contexts and quicken their familiarity.

Here are some key design principles to keep in mind:

Awwwards is a great place to find truly unique and innovative web design inspiration, featuring only the best of the best websites.

You can find a wide range of website styles, industries, and types on Awwwards, thanks to new submissions coming in daily.

Awwwards scores websites based on five categories: design, usability, creativity, content, and mobile, giving you a breakdown of how each website scored.

This rating system helps you see why a particular website scored well, so you're not just relying on aesthetics.

Behance is home to a huge community of designers, offering a vast selection of web design inspiration within any style and industry.

You can filter your search by design software, CMS, or development framework to see what's possible with the tools at your disposal.

Dribbble's community-centric approach makes it a great place to find web design inspiration, with a mission to share inspiration and help designers get hired.

Dribbble's standards are a little higher compared to other platforms, since it's an invite-only community.

Designing a great web page involves understanding and applying various design principles and rules. The "rule of odds" suggests that people prefer to see an odd number of page elements versus an even number.

Typically, designers use three elements, as the outside two complement the focal point in the middle. This creates a balanced composition that directs attention to the center element.

You can experiment with different odd numbers of elements, such as five or seven, as long as the page still feels spaced evenly and guides the user's attention to the center element.

To create a visually appealing and user-friendly web page, consider the following key points:

By applying these design principles and rules, you can create a great web page that is both visually appealing and user-friendly.

Design patterns are a crucial aspect of great web page design. They help maximize ease of use for users in their contexts and quicken their familiarity with your website.

To apply design patterns effectively, consider using the column drop pattern, which fits content to many screen types. This pattern is particularly useful for responsive design.

Prioritizing design patterns over unnecessary elements is key. For example, hiding nonessential items (nice-to-haves) secondary can help declutter your website and improve user experience.

Aim for minimalism in your design. This means avoiding clutter and focusing on the essential elements that users need to interact with.

To achieve accessibility in your design, prioritize the use of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVGs). These are an XML-based file format for 2D graphics that support interactivity and animations.

Here are some design patterns and techniques to consider:

By incorporating these design patterns and techniques into your web page design, you can create a more user-friendly and accessible experience for your visitors.