In this article you will learn how to design your project.

Background image/color

• A white background is a bit dull, unless your domain is Google.com


• Try to use clear colors in contrast with the text-color, it is irrating for visitors to be unable to see what is written


• Alot of good background images can be found using Google. Just simple search what you are looking for, for example: "background blue wave". However before using them, always ask whether you are allowed to use it by sending an email to the webmaster or artist. At general, they appreciate it if you put a link to their page in your source code as a comment.

Menu

• Try to keep the menu simple and organized


• A lot of various menu's can be found on the web, some using CSS, some using JavaScript (or a combination of both). Below I will place a list of links to website that have created proper menu bars (if you have an addition for this list post a comment below).
  
  + http://www.dynamicdrive.com/style/csslibrary/category/C1/ (CSS)
  + http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex1/ (CSS & JS)
  + http://www.cssnewbie.com/super-simple-horizontal-navigation-bar/ (CSS)
  

Font

• At general, you should try to keep the one or two font family's throughout the project.


• Try to use clear colors in contrast with the background color, it is irrating for visitors to be unable to see what is written.


• Use around 16px (Times New Roman, Century Gothic, sans-serif) and 13px (Arial) as font size for big chunks of text and around 24px for titles.


• You can use bold for titles, but underline should only be used for small titles.

Buttons

• Using a single color as background color is possible, but using a gradient looks a bit better at most cases.


• Try to use the same background for all the buttons


• Using underline in the text-font is not advised


• When the button is hovered, the font should only change slightly, for example become italic. The background should also change into a lighter or darker variant of the regular color.

Logo

• Try to create a logo that does not already exists


• Searching Google for logo idea's can be helpful, however, do not completely copy a logo and always pay attention if there is a copyright. If you still want to use someone else's logo, ask him by sending an email.


• Depending on the budget of your project, you can also let a professional designer to create a logo for you, the prices can vary from $100-$300.

Banners/advertisements

• Excessive use of flashing banners should not be used, as this can be irrating to the eyes of the visitors.


• Try to keep the surface of the advertisements on a page less than the surface of page content. Not alot of people like a website/program that has more advertisements than actual content.


• Popup advertisements are annoying for visitors, and it is advised to not use them (lightbox or window!)

Icons

In my own experience, when I created icons, they always looked extremely 2D and they were not very sharp, so I would advise using free icons that can be found on the web. The following links are very useful (and free!):

• http://www.iconspedia.com/
• http://www.iconarchive.com/

When you use the icons, always make sure you make a reference to the website.