DISQUS

Skellie · 2 years ago

Thanks for the write up, Simon. I think this will be a really useful resource of people looking to dip their toes in design, or judge whether a theme is a good choice or not :).

Sam · 2 years ago

John chow dot com is a horrible example of good web design. I thought it was an example of bad design at first.

Simon · 2 years ago

Yes, he pushes a copious amount of advertising on his users and his posts of recent have little to no substance in them, however, I think the designer of his new blog Nate Whitehill has done a good job. Specifically it makes good use of proximity by grouping elements together in box's. So although I agree with you in some ways Sam, I feel the screen shot still serves it purpose to show good use proximity... even if you don't agree the overall design is good. I really need to stop using his name in posts though. Cheers.

brad shorr · 2 years ago

Very instructive! Totally by coincidence I discovered Skelliewag blog just a few minutes ago and thought, very nice layout. I like the use of images--they really draw you in, whereas John Chow is visually unappealing to me.

Simon · 2 years ago

Yes, I totally agree that Skelliewag has a great all around layout. I am starting to think it may not have been such a great idea to use such a high profile, controversial blogger, JC as an example screen though.

brad shorr · 2 years ago

Well, no matter what you think of Chow's design, you can't argue with success. People see things differently. With Skelliewag, my eyes go right to the post title, and it's a good one. Then I see a dramatic image and I'm drawn in--I want to read the post. On Chow's site, I don't know what to look at first. To me, the images compete with one another.

Wallace · 2 years ago

nice post!
but i think you should link back http://5thirtyone.com/grid-focus and not Skelliewag.
and there is one more great site that is modified from Grid Focus theme,
http://ilovetypography.com/

Simon · 2 years ago

Thanks for the info Wallace, Yes the designer does deserve some credit for grid focus, although skellieway does make very good use of the theme, with great use of photos and an a good logo, which was part of my explanation of ways to under contrast.

Software Testing Zone · 2 years ago

I am not a Web Designer by profession. After reading your post I just tried to check my own design (http://software-testing-zone.blogspot.com) and it turned out to be holy CRAP!!! :| Any Comments? ;)

Simon · 2 years ago

@ Software Testing Zone - I think your site has some good aspects of design, it's certainly not all bad. You have a strong readership and plenty of comments, so it can't be all bad. Some suggestions would be to make a slightly larger gap between you article and the side bar, it is a little close and makes the page a little crowded. You could also work on emphasis. Your heading block has a lot of information, maybe too much for one to take in at a glance, perhaps you could narrow that down a little. Just little small tweaks and you will have a solid design! Also if you want free images to use that look slightly more pro and less clip art like check out some of the sources at: Free Stock Image Sites

Software Testing Zone · 2 years ago

Simon,

I tried to figure out your above comment. As I could see no comments from any "Software Design Team", so I am assuming that the above comment was for me (http://software-testing-zone.blogspot.com). Please correct me if I am wrong. In case your above comment was not about my blog design, kindly try to find time to visit it and comment your ideas about the design. Thanks in advance.

-Software Testing Zone

Simon · 2 years ago

Yes sorry, I am not sure how I managed to type the wrong name, I was doing a few things at once, the commment was directed at you :)

Software Testing Zone · 2 years ago

Thanks so much...

The Monetizer · 2 years ago

Those are 4 great concepts to keep in mind. I think John Chow's site is just fine, it's obviously successful. Also, The Cow's site is pretty spiffy in terms of design as is Problogger..Just my 2 cents!

Jon Cardozo · 2 years ago

Thanks for the tips. Design is a challenge for me and I think these recommendations will help me judge themes in the future. I love the use of the word crap by the way!

weblizzer · 2 years ago

Thanks for this article, really helps me a lot...
Hope you can post and share your thoughts about on web designs.. cheers!

Neil (Web Designer in Essex) · 1 year ago

Nice article, a sound concept which should help a lot of designers - if they would just pay attention to it!

MyIkram · 1 year ago

The title of article really get into me..haha

Really need to improve more..

- just a newbies, need to learn more -

Bravo@Auto Insurance · 1 year ago

Well, it's really hard to judge web designing mainly because when may look bad to one person may look amazing to another. I think as long as the design is not "cluttered" and the font is legible than you'll be alright.

Kevin@Web hosting uk. · 1 year ago

Some good points on a good web design. I can not tell you how many people make site blend in too much and space rows wrong. If you can not pick out different articles on site because they do not use good contrast people will not stay on site very long.

Nick · 1 year ago

I really like the Skelliewag design - looks very stylish. In stark contrast to the John Chow blog which looks quite cluttered - mainly with advertising.

justin @ brett favre saga · 1 year ago

Man Mosaiko is the nicest blog design I have ever seen I love the 3D effect.

I would have to agree with Sam, John Chow's site is so crammed with ads and loads so slowly because of all the extra crap (the real kind :)). It is at least usable with AdBlock.

Alan B - wedding photographer · 1 year ago

Great little checklist. I'm afraid I agree with the comments that the johnchow site is far too busy to be considered good design. Although space is precious on websites, I think it's still important to let elements 'breathe'.

az@addicting games · 1 year ago

Not a designer and even not good in aesthetics. But really useful check list. At least will help to evaluate to finalize the design for the web site.
Thank you so much!

LA Law@ Los Angeles Divorce At · 1 year ago

I'm not a design expert but I have always preferred the good use of space... Above the fold and good use of the right hand columns. You're right that John Chow makes good proximity of his advertising... No space left unused. In fact, he just revamped his site again. I think I like it... I never understood his use of the car. People say it's his brand he rarely blogged about cars. He did however continuously go on about fine dining :P

The best of the four designs has to go to Brian Gardner. He too has a new blog theme too. Excerpt style, no nonsense and ultra clean. At least that's my preference.

tony@Cheap web hosting package · 1 year ago

I think alignment and proper placement of topic or post above the fold make the most difference in web design. For some reason i never liked pages with more than 2 rows they seem to busy to me. I like Skelliewag site the best.

partoba@Busby SEO Test Blog · 1 year ago

I'm a fan of Brian Gardner. He always made a nice, neat and tidy WP themes. And the best, most the free themes is seo friendly. I learned a lot from him.

Ian Brodie @Business Consultan · 1 year ago

My business site themes were sourced from Brian. Not only does he do great themes - he does great support too!

Ian

Mathew@High yield savings acco · 11 months ago

I like mosaiko the best. Good layout and not too crowded with links or ads.

Josh · 10 months ago

I am a web code developer right now, but I'd love to get into more of the visual design aspect of it. This CRAP tutorial is just what I needed, I don't think I will forget that anagram.

jeff@T1 internet · 10 months ago

Contrast and Proximity are most important in my mind. If site is hard to read with little contrast and content is spread all over the place people will just leave.

andy@paydayloans · 9 months ago

I think some sites have to much on a page. Sometimes simple is best. If your site has to much going on it is hard to draw persons eyes to what you want.

Mexabet@Quality web directory · 9 months ago

It is always a good idea to develop rules while you go into web designing and make sure each design abides by those rules. Yes, John Chow has made good use of page elements, while at the same time maintaining simplicity.

forex business · 9 months ago

great comment about business

mar@Cheap web site hosting · 9 months ago

Sometimes simple design is better. if you have to much on poage people might find it hard to find what they are looking for. Also it might take longer for page to load and people will leave before they see what they looked for.

Chris@New Jersey Web Designer · 9 months ago

I think that Mosaiko is phenomenal! The layout is clean, and the graphic work up top is truly original.

On the other hand, I'm surprised to see John Cow used as an example of good element placement. I understand that bloggers have to make the most of their real estate, but the amount of stuff on there is insane. Not even a borderline case.

Then the site takes forever to load, and nothing comes up until most of it has loaded.

Fairfield Inspection · 8 months ago

Skelliewag makes very good use of contrast. The dark text and page elements make them easily distinguishable from the background, and there is also a contrast in size used in the logo where the .org font is much smaller than that rest of the letters.

Wallpapers,widescreen wallpape · 7 months ago

Yes the designer does deserve some credit for grid focus, although Skelly does make very good use of the theme, with great use of photos and an a good logo, which was part of my explanation of ways to under contrast.Also it might take longer for page to load and people will leave before they see what they looked for.

marry@datingservices · 7 months ago

If people have hard time finding what they searched for on your site they usualy leave fast. Make it easy to find what they want and give them all the information you can and they will come back more often.

Taina P. @ Sitegrinder · 7 months ago

Wow, this article is simple yet well thought-out. Newbie designers would do best to keep these qualities in mind when designing. Actually, those four qualities are considered the "basics" of art and design, and are taught as foundation subjects in most art and design schools. Somewhere along the way, I think students tend to forget or disregard them.

I particularly like the Mosaiko design, very appealing and fresh, professional yet fun at the same time. John Chow is too cluttered in my opinion, and you probably could have found a better example than that.

But overall great article! :D

Web Apps · 7 months ago

I've always preferred usable design to fanatical design. Function over for,

Shailendra@The Agra Indian · 7 months ago

Hi Simon, I am totally convinced with your CRAP principal. Many of the great designers make some silly mistakes in web designing. This CRSP thing will be a good cross check to them.

Thanks for the great post.

John @ ENT Doctor · 7 months ago

Most people don't know the importance of having a really great looking website. It's the image that will be associated with it. Which could be an important reason to whether you get a customer or just a web visitor.

caitlin@uk web hosting · 7 months ago

Skelliewag really does have a nice design--very clean and simple. I always appreciate posts on why certain designs are more pleasing than others. You can always tell when a site looks good or bad, but it's nice to actually get a better understanding of why you feel that way.

Great post! Thanks!

Charles@Police Exam · 6 months ago

I think the most important part of a design is selling (or at least it is for me). Sometimes a nice professional design is what is required to get people focused in, but it is something that is definitely a niche thing.

Other niches don't really need it. I have some crappy looking sites that produce money.

jack@realestate reits · 6 months ago

Not only does it make the site look better a good design makes it easier for people to find what they are looking for and find other things that they might like. If it is hard to find the information they want people will go to another website.

andy@resveratrol · 6 months ago

I'm a non-designer, and have been slowly learning the design process. This CRAP acronym is definitely useful and makes a lot of sense not to mention easy to remember!

will@camera accessories · 6 months ago

Came all set to look at a gallery of hideous websites, only to find you've chickened out and presented good examples :)

Mosaiko looks great though. I give extra points for originality.

nick@Minneapolis Minnesota Web · 6 months ago

I think web design is the absolute number one important thing to get right on a website. If your site isn't designed properly, i don't believe their is any amount of content or advertising you can do to keep users from leaving your site. If its now laid out nice and neat, nobody will read it.

oh and i really like the C.R.A.P acronym, never heard of this acronym being used before! :)

marry@datingservices · 6 months ago

I think contrast and alignment are most important. If you have hard time seeing because of contrast people go to another site.

rick@32 lcd tv · 6 months ago

I like a site with 2 coloums most of the time but john chows site looks good with 3. Some great tips thanks.

AskTheCoders@Coding Help · 6 months ago

Interesting take, although I think the contrast and proximity parts are debatable.

Especially the claim that "everything on your site should be connected." A lot of people will say that minimalist tendencies are the most effective. For example, if you look at any of Google's content, there is a lot of white space and its professionalism comes from simplicity.

jack@Uk web hosting paypal · 6 months ago

I think a simple design that is easy to read and has topic right where people see it when they go to site works best. Make sure the content they are looking for is above the fold so they do not have to scroll down page.

carrol@photoshop tutorials · 5 months ago

The layout of the design can make or break a site. If it is hard to find the information you want most people leave. Some sites look busy and have to much to look at. Sometimes simple designs work best.