Conventions in the design Web

Each website has its unwritten conventions: Know your audience, be consistent and do not disturb your visitors with unnecessary graphic adornments.

But irrespective of design sins, Web sites that are bad, extremely bad, are strangely common. Maybe it's because creating one is not that difficult; or maybe we all have the impulse to play with color, texture and sound and, sometimes, the new Web tools feed our ugliest instincts. To take a look at some of the most common mistakes, visit http://www.angelfire.com/super/badwebs

You can also see http://www.worstoftheweb.com/, which shows monthly new offenders.

List of the worst websites

1. http://heaven.internetarchaeology.org/heaven.html#bottom The Afterlife
2. http://www.constellation7.org/Constellation-Seven/Josiah/Index.htm Constellation 7
3. http://bavarianbrathaus.info/ Bavarian Brathouse
4. http://sa.onenation.com.au/ One Nation
5. http://www.waterequipment.com.au/ Wet Water Equipment
6. http://www.jamilin.com/

Let's look at some general principles that can help you Make sure you will never end up on a list of the "worst websites".

• Do not complete (and do not disturb your visitors): You can do a lot of fetishes and things on a Web page but, unless they serve a purpose, simply say no. You will see that exercising restraint can make a few tweaks seem sophisticated and wise. Adding a lot of elements, on the other hand, will make your site look heavy and illusory. If you reduce them, you will make sure that your graphic glitz does not eclipse the content and that visitors do not run away irritated
• Be consistent: No matter how logical you think your website is, most visitors will not think so. To cut the confusion from one page to another use an organization, headings, graphics and similar links, a simple navigation bar, etc. These touch-ups help visitors feel at home
• Know your audience: Each type of website has its own unwritten conventions. You do not need to follow the same design in an ecommerce store as a promotional page for an experimental group of electric harmonicas. To decide what is appropriate and not visit other sites that deal with the same material as yours

They reach the widest audience possible

Not only must you understand your audience, you also need to understand their computing capabilities. Good web designers avoid frills unless everyone can experience them. Nothing is more disappointing for a visitor than to come to a site with graphics to prove they can not enjoy them because their PC does not have enough power.

The creators of the most popular websites have carefully considered all these issues. For example, think about the number of people whose computers do not allow them to buy a book on Amazon, auction on eBay, or search on Google. Are you thinking of a number close to zero? To make your website as accessible as these you must use the most accepted Web standards and test your site on different computers.

It has been remarked extensively that the average Web designer goes through three stages of maturity:

• "I am learning, so I will do it in a simple way"
• "I'm a web guru and I'll prove it by taking over functions"
• "I'm sick of compatibility problems between browsers, so I'll do it easily"