Website design is one of the most important factors to be kept in mind when designing a new website or updating an old one. It does not effect the SEO or the content of the website but a good website layout is important because it makes an appeal to the reader to stay on the website. Once a reader or potential customer has reached the website, it is totally up the website to hold the reader or make him trust the website.
You want to make a website today, but know that the first impression that a website with a good design and layout reflects is that the website owner is serious about it. Of course, there can be no denial of the fact that a website with good content is the first choice of the readers but imagine an article on a website labeled 'website design' with no links and no interactive session management widgets at all. Readers also tend to stick to websites that look sticky, i.e., which has better design and layout.
How to design a good layout for website
The simple rule to remember while designing a website is that a website should be 'easy to reach and easy to read'. It is a simple sentence that says all about a website's design.
Secondly, provide easy navigation to the readers. A reader may want to read other related articles. If inline links or a separate section labeled 'related links' is available on the webpage the reader is currently reading, there is a fair chance, the reader would continue reading and go on to a related article. Also, use links to describe the categories of the website. The home page should have links that reach out to all sections of the website. If the website has a lot of pages, a sitemap would do wonders to the design of the website where readers easily find what they are looking for.
A good website will be consistent in its design throughout i.e., it will have a similar layout on all its pages. A sense of uniformity in design develops a good feel about the website.
Also, most websites display advertisements like Google ads. A very important step is to arrange these ads in a manner that goes with the overall website layout. These advertisements should, in no way, hinder the flow of reading of the webpage.
The next is the primary step to be followed. Always choose a font that goes well with the overall website layout. It must be noted that the font size should not be too small and not too big to cause inconvenience to the readers. It should again be consistent throughout the website.
For reference, read an article by Katherine Nolan, titled Page Layout and Design, published on Outfront.net.
How to use website templates
Many web designers and webmasters create handsome templates that can be used for site designing. A template can be very helpful if the website demands a specific type of layout. e.g., A website related to science would become more famous if it has columns and widgets which are having scientific images in the background.
These templates are provided free of cost by many websites on the internet. A website named free website templates provides various website templates for free. Also, if a website demands a certain type of template, then one can always contact a web designer and pay him a price to design the template. An elegant template matching the theme of the website can do wonders in making the readers belong to the website.
Summary
Not stating that these are the only things to keep in mind while designing a website, and not necessarily each of these must be strictly adhered to, yet, if these steps are followed to some extent, the performance of the website is sure to get better.
