Tools Of The Trade
Even in this age of Computer Aided Design often the best way of putting your layout together is to start with a set of felt tip pens and a good old fashioned pad of graph paper! You may not be able to 'Edit | Undo' but the freedom of freehand is not to be sneered at.
Layout
Most websites use quite a simple page structure. The basic format for GroovyNet pages is very simple:
- Header
- Horizontal navigation bar
- Main page content (on the left)
- Notes panel (on the right)
- Optional thumbnail links
- Footer
This type of band / block oriented approach can greatly simplify the web design of your individual pages. You may need multiple columns of newspaper style text or large blocks of image thumbnails but they can all be represented in this format. It should be noted that not all your pages need follow the same strict layout. But if you do need different layouts make sure that you follow logical rules in deciding which layouts to apply to which pages.
Navigation And Pages
How many pages do you need? Try breaking down the content of your site by logical theme. Most web designs can be broken down into a 'tree structure'. That is a main page with major branches and lesser branches extending from these. For instance the 'tree structure' for this page is:
Home \ Design \ Layout
If your customers feel like they need a compass when visiting your site then the site structure is too complex.
Continue learning about design elements...
Layout
