These days, any person with a PC can put up a web site. The problem is that unless you have an understanding of design and basic graphic layout, your page may not pull in many visitors. You need to understand the basic design principles for web sites, as well as how to make an optimized graphics for websites, to gain and hold a viewer’s interest.

The first element to consider before you begin creating a website is its overall design. All websites should have a distinctive look and theme. Ask yourself what the theme of your site should be. Some of the decisions about the mood and theme of your site hinges upon the audience for the site. For example, a website that sells Halloween costumes for adults could have a Halloween theme and a spooky mood, whereas a site for children might have a fun or playful mood.

Draw out a sketch of what the website will look like on a poster board. Refrain from getting too fancy or making the site design too involved. Web style gurus such as Jakob Nielsen recommend keeping a site simple and clean to help readers navigate the site effectively. A site with too much clutter or detail can look amateurish and can be difficult to read.

When you make your sketch, do not worry about adding content or individual graphics yet. Instead, focus on placing particular elements such as the navigation, the logo or main graphics, and the content. For example, mark out where the logo will go, even if you haven’t designed it yet. This sketch will give you a draft to work from as you refine the design and begin coding the site.

After you are satisfied with the general layout, begin designing graphics that complement the theme, mood and contents of the website. Unlike print, colour and graphics on the web are free so use colour where it is appropriate. Graphics for the web should be simple enough to view in low resolution but attractive and professional-looking. If you include text in the logo or graphics, make sure to test them in several resolutions to ensure that the text is readable.

If you aren’t sure where to start, don’t worry. There is help available and all web and graphic designers had to start somewhere. One of the best ways to learn web and graphic design for the web is to read some books that cover the topics. Your public library or university library probably has dozens of texts on these topics as well as HTML, XHTML, JavaScript, and any other coding language that you might find useful.

Alternately, take a course at a university. The advantage of university courses is that they teach you the latest graphic design software as well as web and design principles. You may also be able to purchase the software at a reduced price from the university bookstore.

Finally, the best way to begin designing a website and web graphics is just to dive in. Gather your resources and do your research, and then start designing. Just like writing an essay, you can always make additional drafts. If you keep the website design and the graphics simple, you can keep drafting until you have a well-designed and professional-looking site.

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