We all know that in the web world (especially blogging), content is king.
But what is its queen?

I would have to argue the queen of the web is design.

Presentation is (Almost) Everything

Think about it.
I went on over to Google and search for “Free Web Site Reviews” and got ‘about 84,200,000′ results. (yes, that is how many results come up)
Two web sites caught my eye. Their titles were nice and the descriptions were exactly what I’m looking for.

I clicked on Site A and the design on the web site is horrible.
It looks as if the designer didn’t care at all about how it looked but only cared about getting the web site online as quickly as possible and filling it with ads.
What did I do?
I left.

Returning back to Google, I choose Site B.
As soon as it loaded, I was confidant that the review service was worth it.
Why? The web site’s design is clean, well done, ordered, and aimed at the visitor.

What was the difference between the two web sites?
Was it content?
…
I’m not sure…
I didn’t even look at Site A’s content…

That is exactly my point.
How many times have you done exactly that?
You went to a web site, it looked horrible, and you moved on?

That is why I say Content is Queen.
Granted, without good content, you will not gain links or regular visitors - but if you do not have good design, you won’t even have any potential readers.

Ok, so now what.

Enrapture Your Visitors

You have about five to ten seconds to keep the majority of your visitors.
In those moments, you need to show your visitors what your web site is about, why they should stay, and how they can dive into the content.

Probably the best example of doing so is Apple.com.

Apple’s home page is simple and to the point.
You look at Apple.com, and you know what the site is about and have reasons to dive in.
It looks nice and is easy to understand.

Just how do you take advantage of the Queen of the web?
Well, that’s what plainbeta is all about.

Stick around as we dive into the ins and outs of design and how to take full advantage of her.

Filling the World Wide Web is web sites with gradients, patterns, animation and more. Lots of them look great!
And then there’s simple web sites that also look great!
We have web sites of all kinds and they all look fantastic.
But, then again, there are other web sites that employ the same principles that look horrible!
Why?

Therefore I have a simple question for you.

What makes a web site’s design look good?

I think this question haunts all web designers who are truly concerned about their work - I know it does me.

So what makes them look good and others with similar principals look bad?

Well, here are seven bits and pieces I’ve noticed that generally work - note: they don’t always work and aren’t always needed.

1: Easy Navigation

Being able to easily navigate a web site is the most important part about a site, if your visitors can’t get around, they won’t stick around.
Example: Toggle - easy, concise, and prominent navigation

2: Images

Some sort of high-quality and related photo adds greatly. While photos can help, they’re not for all web sites.
Element Fusion - Web Site Development - a single photo drawing attention to the site’s message.

3: Graphics

A logo of some kind is necessary for virtually all web sites. Supplementary graphics are helpful as well.
Elixir Graphics is pretty good on both points.

4: Color

Three or more colors working together gives the web site a professional and thought out look. Personally I like web sites with two main colors, a main accent, and one or two subtle accents - if you follow me.
Design Snack is a pretty good example.

5: Engaging Content

Some may say ‘well duh’ to this one, but images, animation, and graphics used in the right setting it is a powerful tool. Keep in mind that such ’spices’ don’t always work for a web site.
Drew Wilson - A nice header and good images in the content. Granted, it’s a portfolio, but it’s still nice.

6: Minimalism

Stripping everything off a web site excepting the content is very effective - in most circumstances, but not all. If done right, minimalist web sites can be more effective than the most flash saturated web site out there.
Brandon Muth is a great example of minimalism and color.

7: Animation

Animation accents can be very powerful and very dangerous. If used effectively they will give your web site a professional flare - used incorrectly and they will slow down your site and frustrate your visitors (this is actually one of my biggest pet peevs) Make sure your animation is fast loading and doesn’t take forever to zip across the screen - your visitors are interested in your content more than your fancy animation.
Deadly Viper is a great example of using a little animation, but not too much.

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I’ve listed just about all components of web design, haven’t I?

Design is a fickle thing.

Be careful with what elements you use in your design.
Design works in some circumstances and not others.

The problem designers have is choosing which components for which site.

In upcoming posts I plan on examining which should be used and when.
So stay tuned.

Img: Stages by Clearly Ambiguous

I stumbled across this and couldn’t help but sharing it.

Have any of y’all had one of these clients?
I sure have…

Note: It may be a ‘long’ read, but it’s quite humorous.

mc-uh-oh, #1 by daveisnotmyname

Dear Mr. Architect:

Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion. My house should have somewhere between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdown for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one.

Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don’t have nearly enough insulation in them).

As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)

Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate, among other things, my 1952 Gibson refrigerator.

To insure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, make certain that you contact each of our children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year. Make sure that you weigh all of these options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any choices that you make.

Please don’t bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house: get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be choosing the color of the carpet.

However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.

Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.

While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the population in my area that they like the features this house has. I advise you to run up and look at my neighbor’s house he constructed last year. We like it a great deal. It has many features that we would also like in our new home, particularly the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the final cost.

Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.

You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can’t happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your complete ideas and plans.

PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I’ve given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can’t handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.

PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case…

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via Biznik forums