Beginner Web Design

[webnewbie]

Hi guys, brand new to this community.

 

I'm a web developer (I know HTML/CSS/JS etc.) but am looking to broaden my web design skills. I have no background in graphic design, and I have been told that the websites I've tried to design don't look good ("too flat", "boring", "doesn't flow", etc).

 

Are there any good resources you can point me to that can help me get started? I know the basics of Photoshop as well, but I'm more looking for "design tutorials" instead of tutorials on how to learn Photoshop. Something that teaches me how to have a good eye. What looks good now-a-days? How do I make a visually appealing website?

 

Forgive me if this is a duplicate post. I did an initial search for similar topics but couldn't find anything. Thanks for your help!

 

-webnewbie

[administrator]

Hi,

 

Just look to basic design principles to begin with:

 

• alignment.
  
• whitespace
  
• font use
  
• color use
  

 

If you have your page elements nicely lined up, don't use more than two fonts on the page, keep the colors properly matched (no clashing colors) and give the page a lot of breathing room (good use of whitespace) ... that will go a long of making the website look good.

 

That all said, design is something that requires a good eye. It is something you can develop to a certain extent, but like a singing voice ... if you don't got it, you don't got it.

 

 

So what is the solution? Use templates, follow the above principles and keep your designs simple and elegant because they are generally easier to maintain.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Stef

[webnewbie]

Thanks Stef, that definitely helps! I will look into these areas and see what I can come up with. I appreciate your input!

[pvader]

I am constantly using -> http://www.designfridge.co.uk/ to look at some great design patterns. I know it does not answer the question of where to learn design. That basically rolls with experience.

 

Alot of new css frameworks have great templates & themes you can use for inspiration as well. I use Twitter Bootstrap for a CSS framework more and more. I love to preview the templates people make at -> https://wrapbootstrap.com/. Check it out when you get a chance.

[cornwallis]

hi friends am new one here and also to web design

[trenthanover]

I think you should need to concern about your content.if your site doesn't have quality content then traffic at your site will not be generated.Take care of visual appearance also like alignment,color,white space.