What makes good web design?

Time after time I still see clients who have existing websites which despite being created by 'so called' professionals fall short of the mark. The competition is stiff with thousands of websites competing for each sector of business, education and promotion etc.  A correctly constructed website takes time, patience and a profession approach. If it is used to promote yourself or your business then it has to be done correctly and be both technically and creatively correct. Here are some points to consider for good website design:

1: Navigation:

One of the biggest turn-offs for the user is not being able to navigate throughout the website. It's surprising how many sites exist which baffles the user to where they are actually navigating to.Keep it simple and let the site flow organically

2: Uncomplimentary colour schemes:

This one doesn't need too much explanation - however, it sometimes it is quite obvious when sites have been constructed by individuals without a creative eye which results in colour clashes and an imbalance within the colour palette. A good website needs to have complimentary colours and a good balance of white space without the site looking 'messy'. In short pick your palette.

3: Incompatibility in certain browser

incredibly I still see some websites that are not compatible with some of the most popular browsers which can lead to simple issues i.e. text clipping issues, or more serious matters like javascript not performing as it should. Upon construction, a website should be tested with at least the big 3 browsers i.e. Explorer, Firefox and Chrome.

4: Responsive

Smartphone and tablets are hugely popular and are increasingly used to surf the web. Therefore your site should be able to be displayed correctly on the largest monitors straight through to the smallest mobile phone.

5: Load time

Not usually a major problem with broadband speeds now. However overloading your site with too much functionality usually involves complicated scripts which run repeated HTTP requests can affect the load time. And for an impatient end user this can result in them closing your page and looking elsewhere.

6: SEO

In a nutshell, you cannot underestimate the power of SEO. Without a website being correctly optimised then effectively it's dead in the water. Again competition is fierce out there so when somebody searches for your services then it's critical to be ranked