If you’ve read any other posts on this blog, you know that I generally consider content or services to be the most important part of any Web site.
Users want to know, “what can I do here?” — and everything you do, from design to layout to artwork or photos, should focus on that question.
That includes color. Certain colors draw the eye, so be careful to place colors so as to draw the eye to where you want it (you know — what can I do here?). Place strong images nearest your main content, navigation or service, and use your strongest colors closest to the critical stuff. This is harder on sites with ad content, as subtlety is not a hallmark of banner ads and you can’t usually control that, but the general principle still applies.
Better yet, use marker images as roadsigns. I’ve increasingly been using eye-catchers such as numbered icons or headers labeled “Step 1,” “Step 2,” etc. (or, on multi-screen pages, “Step 1 of 6”). Dumbing down for the audience? Not really. Keeping the layout and navigation simple means the audience gets to the goods faster. That’s where they want to be anyway.
