Back when I first got on the Web, some of my first Web site designs were just horrible. Heck I was still learning HTML, and that was way before CSS
or any of these nice features we have now were around. After spending
some time though learning my basics in Web site design I got better. I
found my balance in the Web site design world.
Every yin has a yang. Every coin has two sides. Why should Web site design be any different? The two sides of Web site design are really ugly and basic designs fighting with over the top artistic displays of digital imagery. The truth of the matter is, neither extreme is too popular. The key to having a good Web site design is to find the correct balance between the two methods.
The very basic designs out there I like to refer to as "black and white" designs. These layouts have very little to them, or they are a mixture of different font sizes, colors and background just for the sake of having them. We were all there at one time. The first Web site we created was ugly. You know why?
The reason is we were just playing with all the new features we were finding out about. After time though you come to realize that nobody really likes that 52 point headline in the middle of the page with 15 point body text. You really shouldn't have gone with that yellow background and the white text either.
The more elaborate and flamboyant designs out there I call
"Artsy-Fartsy". These layouts are more or less there to look pretty and
do not offer much functionality. Yes, having a large picture of Lucy
Lawless across the right side of your page might look cool. It doesn't
offer much functionality though.
Think about the poor people on dial-up. You think they are ever going
to wait for the warrior princess to load? I think not. Then there are
the tiny text people. I do not want to have to cross my eyes trying to
figure out what the body text on your page is telling me.
So we have established a definition of both extremes and have warned you about why neither is good to go by all the time. So what is a designer to do? Find your middle ground. You must remember that not everybody loves to hear that midi playing as soon as they go to your Web site. You must also remember that not everybody can read tiny text. When designing a Web site, the word to keep in mind is useability.
Make it easy for me to read the text, but still give me a pretty layout or design to sit behind it. Find one layout and stick with it through the entire Web site. Don't changes horses on me in mid-stream. The more people who design Web sites that are not too basic in design but not too far advanced either are the Web sites that become more popular. Just look at some of the Web sites you visit every day. How many of those are at an extreme one way or the other? I would guess that not many are.
More Web Design Basics: 
