When designing the homepage for a business or organization's website, the designer must remember the basic principles of website design. The website is the product or service's "front window." It must present the business's main message clearly and succinctly so that the site visitor will be able and motivated to enter the site so that he can continue investigating.

To create the most effective website possible, web designers are advised to follow these basic principles:

Guiding the Visitor

The web designer will want to know how the business envisions itself moving ahead in the coming years. This knowledge will help the designer form the site description and insert images that will impress the viewer.

In addition, the site should guide the visitor so that the user enjoys the most user-friendly and easily-navigationable experience possible.

• How should the designer set up the homescreen so that the visitor will be able to determine, within a matter of seconds, what the business offers?
• If a visitor enters the site looking for a specific activity or piece of information, will he be able to find it without too much difficulty?

Those are the most important questions that a competent web designer will be aiming to address in his design. The key to define these elements involves speaking to the client and learning about the business's goals and visions.

Designing the Framework

Structuring the layout of the website begins by sketching a first draft that sets out the site's projected look and feel. The initial sketch should include plans for the navigation bar, sidebars and footer bars. Site visitors expect to be able to access everything through a homepage's menu bars. The designer's job is to make that possible. This is best accomplished through a grid, which helps structure the layout of the various sections. The designer can also rely on the grid to determine screen size requirements, templates and other design issues.

Typeface and Colors

Alluring typeface and appropriate colors are crucial for creating a successful website. Designers generally prefer to use no more than 2 different typefaces in a website and no more than 1 kind of font per webpage. When choosing a typeface the objective should be to use a fond that offers the most easily-readable text. Website design experts generally suggest that designers use big, bold fonts. Choosing an effective font color is also a part of typeface choice. Font color should integrate with the general background colors that are to be used in the site. Font colors should stand out so that they're easily deciphered. They should contrast boldly with the other colors used in the site design. A website's color scheme is generally selected based on the featured product or service. The designer will want to display the product or service to its best advantage he ensures that the colors don't interfere with functionality or with other components of the webpage.

Motion

In today's web design, every component of a webpage is defined by its relationship with the system. Some websites don't need motion but if a business want to create the impression of dynamic and interactive engagement, motion is essential.

Real Life Examples

Amazon and eBay are two well-known examples of companies that have created successful websites that give users a friendly user experience. What about other success stories?

While not as well-known as Amazon and eBay, the slotsplaycasino.com is often cited as a well-designed site where casino advisors, players and casino operators can find all of the information and tools that they need for quality slots play. The Slots Play Casino site was established with the objective of facilitating the most engaging and relaxing slots experience for beginning and advanced players alike.

When designing the website, slotsplaycasino designers chose a dark blue background with imagery of casino entertainment that provides a backdrop for player engagement. The visitor is immediately presented with a clear selection of options right on the homepage. In this way the visitor can determine, within seconds, his initial clicks. Sections are divided into concise divisions of Popular Pages, Casino guides, Casino Reviews and Payment options with lighter blue bars that highlight the various promotional offers.

Once the player enters the site he continues with his choices. These choices are plainly presented through clearly-delineated buttons and tabs. In this way each user can determine the games, bonuses, modes of play and betting options that suit his individual needs and interests.

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