some web design dos and don'ts

To start…

Now finally, mercifully, retired, I give you the worst website ever:

Why…

Would someone ever do that?

The answer is that sometimes people get a little obsessed with what the web CAN do. There’s a fine line between what is possible and what is… good.

Graphic intensive…

Doesn’t mean good.

And a grid…

…doesn’t save you by itself.

Artsy…

Doesn’t mean good, either. .

Some try to fix theirs.

Old New

But lovely things..

Can, and do exist.

The secret is not to leverage every single thing you COULD do.

Instead think about what you’d like the audience to see and figure out how to get there with the tools you have. You don’t need to use every single trick. That actually makes it worse.

Simple and elegant.

Again, simple.

Functional.

Your goal

Is to create a home on the web that allows you to deliver your content in a clean, crisp fashion.

This may sometimes mean not being “as” stylish as you wish in favor of functionality, but that’s okay. Remember the words of Frank Lloyd Wright: form follows FUNCTION.