Website Design Principles: A Guide for Beginners

Have you ever visited a website that made you feel frustrated, confused, or bored? Chances are, the website did not follow some basic website design principles that are essential for creating a good user experience.

In this article, we will explain what website design principles are, why they are important, and how you can apply them to your own projects.

Key Takeaways

• Website design principles are the rules and guidelines that web designers follow to create websites that are visually appealing, user-friendly, and accessible.
• The design principles are important because they affect how users perceive and interact with your website, and how satisfied and loyal they are.
• The principles are based on the principles of design, which are the fundamental theories and practices of visual communication and art.
• Custom website design principles include aspects such as layout, colour, typography, imagery, navigation, content, and interaction.
• To apply the design principles to your own projects, you need to define your goals and audience, create a wireframe and prototype, apply the website design principles, test and iterate your website, and look at examples of good and bad web design principles.

What Are Website Design Principles and Why Are They Important?

Website design principles are the rules and guidelines that web designers follow to create websites that are attractive, functional, and user-friendly. They cover aspects such as layout, typography, color, images, navigation, content, and interaction. Website design principles are important because they affect how users perceive and interact with your website.

According to some statistics, website design can have a significant impact on:

• First impressions: 94% of first impressions are related to your site’s web design
• Credibility: 75% of the credibility of a website comes from its design
• Conversion: 89% of consumers shop with a competitor after a poor user experience

Therefore, following website design principles can help you create a website that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also effective and engaging.

The 10 User Experience (UX) Laws to Follow in Web Design

User experience (UX) is the overall feeling that users have when they use your website. It encompasses factors such as usability, accessibility, satisfaction, and emotions. A good UX can make users stay longer, explore more, and take action on your website. A bad UX can make users leave, bounce, or complain about your website. To create a good UX, you need to follow some UX laws that are based on human psychology and behaviour. Here are 10 UX laws that you should know and apply in web design:

1. Law of Clarity: Users should be able to understand what your website is about, what it offers, and what it expects from them. Use clear and concise language, avoid jargon and ambiguity, and provide visual cues and feedback.
2. Law of Simplicity: Users should be able to accomplish their tasks with the least amount of effort and cognitive load. Reduce unnecessary elements, options, and steps, and focus on the essential features and functions.
3. Law of Consistency: Users should be able to recognize and predict the behaviour and appearance of your website across different pages, sections, and devices. Use a consistent layout, typography, colour, icons, and terminology, and follow common web conventions and standards.
4. Law of Affordance: Users should be able to perceive the functionality and interactivity of your website elements. Use appropriate shapes, sizes, colours, and labels to indicate the purpose and state of buttons, links, inputs, and other interactive elements.
5. Law of Alignment: Users should be able to scan and read your website content easily and efficiently. Use grids, margins, and whitespace to align and group your elements, and use headings, subheadings, lists, and paragraphs to structure and format your text.
6. Law of Contrast: Users should be able to distinguish and focus on the most important and relevant elements of your website. Use contrasting colours, sizes, shapes, and positions to create visual hierarchy and emphasis, and use negative space to create balance and harmony.
7. Law of Fitts: Users should be able to reach and interact with your website elements quickly and accurately. Make your interactive elements large enough, close enough, and easy to access, and avoid placing them near the edges or corners of the screen.
8. Law of Hick: Users should be able to make decisions and choices on your website without feeling overwhelmed or confused. Limit the number and complexity of choices that you offer to users, and use categories, filters, and search functions to help them narrow down their options.
9. Law of Gestalt: Users should be able to perceive and comprehend your website as a whole rather than a collection of individual parts. Use proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, and symmetry to create meaningful and coherent groups and patterns of elements.
10. Law of Jakob: Users should be able to learn and remember how to use your website without much difficulty or repetition. Follow the principle of “don’t make me think” and design your website in a way that matches the users’ mental models, expectations, and preferences.

The 10 Usability “Commandments” by Jakob Nielsen

Usability is the degree to which users can use your website effectively, efficiently, and satisfactorily. It is a key component of UX and a crucial factor for website success. Jakob Nielsen, a renowned usability expert and consultant, has proposed 10 usability “commandments” that web designers should follow to improve the usability of their websites. These are:

1. Visibility of system status: The website should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback and display of information.
2. Match between system and the real world: The website should speak the users’ language, with words, phrases, and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. The website should also follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.
3. User control and freedom: The website should support user actions and allow users to undo and redo them. The website should also provide clearly marked “emergency exits” to allow users to escape from unwanted situations or states.
4. Consistency and standards: The website should follow platform and web conventions and standards, and ensure that similar elements and actions are consistent across different pages and contexts.
5. Error prevention: The website should prevent errors from occurring, or at least minimize the chances and consequences of errors. The website should use clear and simple instructions, warnings, and confirmations, and avoid ambiguous or misleading information and functions.
6. Recognition rather than recall: The website should make objects, actions, and options visible and easily accessible, rather than requiring users to remember information from one part of the website to another. The website should also provide help and documentation when necessary, but not rely on them as the primary means of interaction.
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use: The website should cater to both novice and expert users, and allow them to customize and optimize their experience according to their needs and preferences. The website should also provide shortcuts, accelerators, and automation to speed up frequent and repetitive tasks.
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design: The website should not contain any information or elements that are irrelevant or rarely needed, as they will distract and confuse users, and reduce the visibility and usability of the important and relevant information and elements. The website should also use a simple and elegant design that enhances rather than detracts from the content and functionality.
9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors: The website should use clear and polite language to describe and explain errors, and suggest solutions and actions to resolve them. The website should also avoid using technical or cryptic terms, codes, or messages that users may not understand or appreciate.
10. Help and documentation: The website should provide easy-to-find and easy-to-use help and documentation for users who need them, but not force users to use them as the main way of interaction. The help and documentation should be concise, concrete, and relevant, and focus on the user’s tasks and goals rather than the system’s features and functions.

How to Apply Website Design Principles in Your Projects

Now that you have learned some of the most important design website principles, you may wonder how you can apply them in your own projects. Here are some steps and tips that you can follow to create websites that follow website design principles:

• Define your goals and audience: Before you start designing your website, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your website, and who you want to reach and serve with your website. This will help you determine the content, functionality, and style of your website, and tailor them to your goals and audience.
• Research and analyze: To create a website that meets the needs and expectations of your users, you need to do some research and analysis on your users, competitors, and industry. You can use various methods and tools, such as surveys, interviews, personas, scenarios, user journeys, competitor analysis, and market research, to gather and analyze data and insights that will inform and inspire your design decisions.
• Create a wireframe and prototype: After you have defined your goals and audience, you need to create a wireframe and prototype of your website. A wireframe is a low-fidelity sketch or outline of the layout and structure of your website, showing the placement and arrangement of the website elements, such as the header, footer, navigation, content, and images. A prototype is a high-fidelity mockup or simulation of the appearance and functionality of your website, showing the colours, fonts, icons, and images of your website, as well as the interactions and transitions of your website, such as the clicks, scrolls, and animations. You can use tools and software, such as Figma, Adobe XD, or Sketch, to create and test your wireframe and prototype. You can also use online tools, such as Balsamiq, Mockplus, or InVision, to create and share your wireframe and prototype with others.

• Apply the website design principles: As you create your wireframe and prototype, you need to apply the website design principles that you have learned to your website. You need to consider how each website element and feature affects the UX and usability of your website, and how you can optimize them to create a better website. You can use tools and methods, such as checklists, heuristics, guidelines, and best practices, to evaluate and improve your website design according to the website design principles. You can also use tools and resources, such as colour palettes, fonts, icons, and images, to enhance the aesthetic and visual quality of your website.
• Test and iterate your website: After you have applied the website design principles to your website, you need to test and iterate your website to ensure that it meets your goals and satisfies your audience. You need to collect and analyze feedback and data from your users and stakeholders, such as their opinions, preferences, behaviours, and outcomes. You can use tools and methods, such as usability testing, user testing, A/B testing, analytics, and surveys, to conduct and measure your tests and experiments. You can also use tools and platforms, such as Google Analytics, Hotjar, or UserTesting, to track and understand your users and their interactions with your website. Based on the results and insights from your tests, you need to make changes and improvements to your website design and repeat the process until you achieve your desired results.

Examples of Good and Bad Web Design Principles

To illustrate the website design principles in action, here are some examples of good and bad web design principles from real websites. We will use the following criteria to evaluate and compare the websites:

• Layout: How well the website elements are arranged and organized on the page.
• Colour: How well the website uses colours to create contrast, harmony, and mood.
• Typography: How well the website uses fonts to create readability, hierarchy, and personality.
• Imagery: How well the website uses images to create visual interest, relevance, and emotion.
• Navigation: How well the website allows users to move and explore the website.
• Content: How well the website provides useful, relevant, and engaging information and features to the users.
• Interaction: How well the website responds and adapts to the user’s actions and inputs.

Good Example: Airbnb

Airbnb is a website that allows users to book and host unique accommodations around the world. The website follows the website design principles very well, and creates a positive and memorable UX for the users. Here are some of the strengths of the website design:

• Layout: The website uses a grid-based layout that creates a clean and balanced look. The website also uses white space and alignment to create a spacious and organized feel. The website elements are placed and sized appropriately, and follow a logical and consistent order.
• Colour: The website uses a simple and minimal colour scheme that consists of white, black, and red. The website uses white as the background colour, which creates a bright and airy feel. The website uses black as the text colour, which creates a strong and clear contrast. The website uses red as the accent colour, which creates a warm and inviting feel. The website also uses colours to highlight and differentiate important and interactive elements, such as the logo, buttons, and links.
• Typography: The website uses a sans-serif font that creates a modern and sleek look. The website also uses different font sizes, weights, and styles to create a clear and effective hierarchy. The website uses large and bold fonts for the headings, which create a strong and catchy impression. The website uses smaller and lighter fonts for the body text, which creates a readable and informative feel. The website also uses italic and uppercase fonts for the subheadings, which create a subtle and elegant feel.
• Imagery: The website uses high-quality and relevant images that create a visual and emotional appeal. The website uses images to showcase the variety and uniqueness of the accommodations, as well as the experiences and stories of the hosts and guests. The website also uses images to support and complement the text, as well as to create a sense of place and culture. The website also uses icons and illustrations to create a friendly and playful feel, as well as to simplify and explain the features and functions of the website.
• Navigation: The website uses a simple and intuitive navigation system that allows users to easily and quickly find and access the information and features they need. The website uses a fixed and horizontal navigation bar at the top of the page, which contains the logo, the search bar, the main menu, and the user menu. The website also uses a vertical navigation bar on the left side of the page, which contains the filters and categories for the search results. The website also uses breadcrumbs, tabs, and buttons to help users navigate and operate the website.
• Content: The website provides useful, relevant, and engaging content that meets the needs and expectations of the users. The website provides content that helps users discover, book, and host accommodations, as well as learn more about the website and the community. The website uses clear and concise language, as well as persuasive and compelling copy, to communicate and convince the users. The website also uses testimonials, ratings, and reviews, to provide social proof and credibility to the users.
• Interaction: The website responds and adapts to the user’s actions and inputs, and provides feedback and guidance to the users. The website uses animations, transitions, and effects, to create a smooth and dynamic feel. The website also uses modals, pop-ups, and tooltips, to provide additional information and options to the users. The website also uses forms, sliders, and checkboxes, to allow users to input and customize their information and preferences.

Bad Example: Ling’s Cars

Ling’s Cars is a website that allows users to lease cars in the UK. The website violates the website design principles very badly and creates a negative and chaotic UX for the users. Here are some of the weaknesses of the website design:

• Layout: The website uses a random and cluttered layout that creates a messy and unbalanced look. The website does not use white space and alignment, and crams and overlaps the website elements on the page. The website elements are placed and sized inconsistently and do not follow a logical and coherent order.
• Colour: The website uses a complex and excessive colour scheme that consists of many different and contrasting colours. The website uses colours that create a loud and garish feel, such as red, yellow, green, and blue. The website does not use colours to create contrast, harmony, and mood, but rather to create confusion and distraction. The website also does not use colors to highlight and differentiate the important and interactive elements, but rather to blend and obscure them.
• Typography: The website uses a variety of fonts that create a chaotic and unprofessional look. The website also uses different font sizes, weights, and styles, but not to create a clear and effective hierarchy, but rather to create inconsistency and disorder. The website uses fonts that are too large or too small, too bold or too light, too fancy or too plain, and too similar or too different, which create a poor and unpleasant impression. The website also uses fonts that are not readable or legible, such as cursive, handwritten, or distorted fonts.
• Imagery: The website uses low-quality and irrelevant images that create visual and emotional repulsion. The website uses images that have nothing to do with the website or the cars, such as animals, celebrities, cartoons, and flags. The website also uses images that are too large or too small, too bright or too dark, too blurry or too sharp, and too realistic or too abstract, which create a poor and unpleasant impression. The website also uses images that are not supportive or complementary to the text, but rather contradictory or unrelated to it. The website also uses icons and illustrations that are not friendly or playful, but rather annoying or offensive, such as bombs, missiles, and skulls.
• Navigation: The website uses a complex and confusing navigation system that makes it hard and frustrating for users to find and access the information and features they need. The website does not use a fixed and horizontal navigation bar at the top of the page, but rather a floating and vertical navigation bar on the right side of the page, which contains the logo, the search bar, the main menu, and the user menu. The website also does not use a vertical navigation bar on the left side of the page, but rather a horizontal navigation bar at the bottom of the page, which contains the filters and categories for the search results. The website also does not use breadcrumbs, tabs, and buttons, to help users navigate and operate the website, but rather links, images, and texts, that are not clear or consistent.
• Content: The website provides useless, irrelevant, and boring content that does not meet the needs and expectations of the users. The website provides content that does not help users discover, book, or lease cars, but rather distracts and annoys them. The website uses unclear and verbose language, as well as unprofessional and inappropriate copy, to communicate and dissuade the users. The website also does not use testimonials, ratings, and reviews, to provide social proof and credibility to the users, but rather jokes, insults, and lies, to mock and deceive them.
• Interaction: The website does not respond or adapt to the user’s actions and inputs, and does not provide feedback or guidance to the users. The website does not use animations, transitions, and effects, to create a smooth and dynamic feel, but rather flashes, noises, and pop-ups, to create a jarring and annoying feel. The website also does not use modals, pop-ups, and tooltips, to provide additional information and options to the users, but rather ads, banners, and videos, to interrupt and distract the users. The website also does not use forms, sliders, and checkboxes, to allow users to input and customize their information and preferences, but rather buttons, images, and texts, that are not functional or responsive.

Conclusion

Responsive website design principles are the rules and guidelines that web designers follow to create websites that are visually appealing, user-friendly, and accessible. The principles are important because they affect how users perceive and interact with your website, and how satisfied and loyal they are.

Website design principles are based on the principles of design, which are the fundamental theories and practices of visual communication and art. It includes aspects such as layout, colour, typography, imagery, navigation, content, and interaction.

To apply website design principles to your own projects, you need to define your goals and audience, create a wireframe and prototype, apply the website design principles, test and iterate your website, and look at examples of good and bad web design principles. By following these steps and tips, you can create websites that follow the website design principles, and create a positive and memorable UX for your users.