Web Design Tactics Part Eight – The Theme
As luck would have it we tend to put the cart before the horse. We usually start with things that should wait until later. This is true with theme and colors for a website. It is not right to consider theming first, when building a website, any more than it would be to make paint color the first consideration when engineering a car. Design a good workflow, framework and navigation system first. After all of that it is time to do the work of theming.
The World Wide Web has many sites with a lot of creativity and individuality. Now more than ever, theming is important to the success of our websites. You can see that certain features form a trend for a while and many people follow those trends. As I write, the color combination of a pastel blue and an olive-green is very trendy. Find a color combination that suits your tastes or matches the branding of your company and products. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Color coordination software is available now to help match several colors for a color scheme that works. Color Schemer Studio is a big one. Take care that your color selections blend together well.
- Textures and textured backgrounds were big in the early days of the Internet. A textured background makes your text very hard to read. We have come a long way since those days. Avoid the use of heavy textures. A texture is fine for the background of the “body” of the site, that which is beyond the left and right edges of the main container. With that said it is necessary to care taken in the use of textures. The concept of Web 2.0 has brought an interest in more subtle textures.
- Beware of wall to wall content. Your pages should have an adequate margin on each side. A good site should have content and graphics spaced out so that there is an adequate use of white space.
- Resist the temptation to use too much animation on your page. Animation is good in small doses. Too much animation is a distraction. You do not want to cause your readers to stray from the important message that you intend to give to them.
- Many Content Management Systems and Blog systems include some nice themes or skins that can help. You may chose to use these as they come. It is acceptable to personalize these standard themes if the license allows. By giving this theme some personal attention it is possible to create a unique look. This type of theme customization is above the skill level of some armature web designer.
- A nicely designed page may look good in Internet Explorer browser but, surprisingly, it may look terrible in other browsers, many of which are the up and coming heroes of the Internet such as FireFox and Chrome. Be sure to use some diligent and careful attention in designing a page which looks good in all or most of them.
It is best to design the main workflow of a site and then make the Theme fit it. Theme and colors are great but they are not really the starting point. They are one of the finishing touches.
By Greg Nicholl – A Certified Website Designer
I have experience in both HTML and Content Management theming. If you want a Drupal website for your business, club or organization you do not have to settle for one of the stock Drupal themes. Let me build a nice theme of your liking into Drupal so that you will have not only a functional but beautiful site.
Greg Nicholl is a qualified Website Designer offering Great Linux Hosting.
Author: Greg Nicholl
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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