The visual aspects and the graphical interface of the website are the contact point between user and the client's brand. With the visual design must communicate effectively the information provided by the site through a graphic suitable and pleasant, but at the same time you have to respect the constraints imposed by technology and budget, respecting the deadlines set by planning.

Always use a graphical "light" so that the navigator is not disturbed in the search for information you need and above all do so the look and feel enriched by the site itself. Do not forget that there is a huge difference in performance between a graphic effect, though simple and graphics monotonous and obvious.

After these considerations you will understand that the use of images to be created ad hoc, to you that do not influence to slow the page load, but contributes to enhance and harmonize with the content of the page.

Even the animations should not be too "invasive". Unfortunately, many web designers do not know how to refrain from using the many special effects that offer various types of software. Run the risk, if not well ponder your choices, to use a graphics redundant and conflicting, which does not contribute to achieving the goals you ask.

The best thing you can do to make your first steps in web design and looking around. To understand what are the standards to be followed to achieve a good enough graphics study the 20 - 30 sites most visited in the Internet and watch (even better look source) have been met. If we find the characteristics or elements common in 90% of sites that analyze these elements can be considered the de facto standard. Always that users will come to your site after having visited other and having learned to use navigational tools and visual functions that are now familiar. Then exploits the culture that you have completed your browsing, and although beautiful, do not forget that some Customs of the Internet (for example, through brand positioning on the homepage top left) can be functional in order to communicate better.

Order not to miss

• Use the logo and the site name in all pages of the site in a strategic position, and connect through a link on the homepage of the site itself.
• If you're designing a company website, please ensure that the graphics you're using is consistent with the 'corporate image the company itself, so that the image of the company has consistently reported on the web. When this operation is not possible because the company does not have a coordinated image, please enable at least the site is characterized by a certain consistency graphics.
• symbols and functions that you use must be recognizable and identifiable throughout the site and must not change from page to page.
• When your site becomes very large and wherever it presents a number of over 100 pages, it is good to use a search function.
• Use of the standard fonts, because not all machines have installed all the fonts. You might run into someone with a PC just "unpacking" from the pack with a dozen pre-installed fonts.The solution is to specify the fonts in html code in order of preference, from what you want about what you are "willing to accept."

You have different fonts, grouped by families:

• Times New Roman, Times, Georgia, Serif
• Courier New, Courier, Mono
• Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Sans-Serif

Remember that usability studies facts, the readability of characters on the monitor is different from the readability on paper.While on paper the characters more legible are the ones with the thanks (Serif), the monitor reading is facilitated by the sans serif font. Especially the absolute most readable fonts are Verdana and the Trebuchet.

But if you just can not help but use the standard characters, then converts the text in image: only in this way you can be sure that everyone will see as we've designed. Of course you must always remember that the images weigh in terms of page load, so try to limit the use of this trick only for titles, buttons, or some written relief.

• Choose text size taking into account its view.As we have seen not everyone uses a PC with Windows, so not all the fonts appear to visitors with the same size. The appearance of a Verdana font size 10 on PC is the same but the appearance of a Verdana font size 12 on the Macintosh. This is because the PC defines the resolution to 96 dots per inch, while all other operating systems use the standard resolution of 72 dots per inch. So do not bring up the entries in the correct size on PCs and unreadable on any other computer.
• You can enrich the site also graphically using only standard fonts. Lately it is becoming widely used (especially in sites related to web design) to use pairs of its points (::) and signs of major and minor or angle brackets (> <) as decorative graphics, especially in page titles.
• Do not underestimate the significance, as part of the screen titles, abstracts and short paragraph. Any text that has significance or importance must be understood at a glance the meaning of the whole section to which it refers. In this way we can exploit the "scanning" of the reader in your favor.
• If you insert large images is useful to create buttons or icons that can be rendered as thumbnails of the image, and attract the zoom image.
• Do not make excessive use of technology, unless the site requires it. Rather it 'so that the graphics and multimedia content to help you appreciate the content of the site.
• Care navigation and the navigator, so that you can from the first visit to reach the information they need.