Everyone knows that fashion, architecture and design in general changes with the current trends. But what about web design? Web Design changes as often as the jeans we wear.This is where I try to sum up the current state-of-the-art in graphic design for web pages, and identify the distinctive features that make a web page look fresh, appealing and easy to use.I’m glad to say that web design in 2007 is better than ever. And it’s not just because there are more web sites out there, so more good stuff to look at. There’s still an awful lot of crud too. I just think that more web designers know more about how to design than ever before.Ill try and list some points in the following paragraphs that sum up what is perceived as good web design.

Keep It Simple

The overall consensus given online is that designers generally agree that simple pages work better. The page design should be based around the essential content and the goals the page should perform.The pages should read in a straightforward way from top to bottom, and you shouldn’t find your eye skipping around trying to work out what to look at. It’s a much calmer and more solid browsing experience than in times gone by.

Centered Orientation

The other thing you notice about most well designed web pages is that they’re all laid out around a central axis.Whereas a couple of years ago, you’d find a lot of liquid layouts and left-aligned fixed-width layouts, today content goes in the centre of the screen. Left-oriented layouts are much less common than they used to be. Also, liquid (full-width) layouts are less popular.The wisdom has always been that we should try to get as much information “above the fold” (i.e. visible on the screen without scrolling). Liquid layouts achieves this.However, today we seem to be more comfortable with scrolling, and we’re willing to put up with scrolling for the benefits of increased white space and line height.

Design The Content, Not The Page

Good modern web designs put less energy into designing the page background - the canvas and permanent page features - and rather focus on designing the content itself.This reflects the principle of drawing the views attention to the information on the page rather than the graphics on the page. Website users aren’t interested in giving the design work marks out of 10. They just care about getting all the relevant information, in as little time as possible, and then moving on.There’s nothing we humans like so much as order and meaning. It’s what we search for from the moment we encounter anything new - and that includes your web page. If your website visiters can’t find the sense and order they need, they soon grow exasperated and give up.The best print designers know this. They’ve also learned that, the more elaborate the design, the greater the risk of confusion. That’s why they usually steer clear of fussy and showy designs. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen a more restrained, reader-focused design for an ad or brochure outperform a flashier, supposedly more eye-catching alternative. In most cases, the content has remained the same. It’s just the way the content is laid out that’s different.

Cute icons, used sparingly

Don’t use too many attractive elements on the same page, (i.e. that appeals to the eye and draws the user’s attention).As with strong colour and 3D effects, appealing icons and buttons can add that bit of polish to help give a page a high-quality feel. But used too much, they’ll have the counter effect, cluttering the page and confusing the user.