Design Fundamentals

Much like print media, websites have certain structural elements that should be built into every page. These elements allow for good organization and consistency from page to page.

It has been proven that most people learn best by "doing." If you develop your pages intuitively, chances are that your visitors will view them the same way. What this means is they will know what to expect from each page, based on design standards you apply throughout your site.

For instance, certain navigational icons should always be in the same relative page location and the same colors should always represent certain page elements like titles, links, and notes. Each page should contain at least three sections: the header, body, and footer.

It is important to have all the elements in clear view on your home page. The menu bar in the footer can be repeated on each page as a form of site navigation.