Please note this article was first published in 19 Aug 2009. Its content may now be out of date. We recommend taking a look at more recent website building blog posts or check out our comprehensive support pages. If you are looking for information on our 14 day free website builder trial we have a large number of webpages that guide you throug the process.
When Building a Website, lots of bright, primary colours are dreadfully uncomfortable to look at, and should be avoided when the aim is to invite people in and encourage them to stay a while.
Simple pastel shades do not strain the eyes, are easy to look at and absorb, and can look more stylish. Think clean or contemporary.
What is "Contemporary Design”? It became a real buzzword assisted by the many Home Design / Makeover TV programmes which appeared on our screens a few years back. To define “Contemporary Design” is not an easy thing however, as it has several definitions, the main ones being: “a style, which is simple, clean and offers an uncluttered look” or “modern or existing or occurring at the present time“. Generally, it means “simple and timeless”, free of obvious trends, a design, which will hang on to its 'contemporary' badge in years to come. Unlike the 60’s and 70’s styles, which were defined by big, brash, bold, colours and outrageous designs, which lost their popularity over time.
Look at some of the most successful websites such as Yahoo, Ebay and Amazon. Pastel shades or soft colours are supported with lots of white space for visual relief. Googles' colourful logo works only because of the amount of white space behind it. The colours aren’t fighting with bright backgrounds. These sites were designed with experience and knowledge from extensive surveys. They know what they’re doing – feel free to follow their example.
When deciding on your colour scheme, try picking just two or three main colours. Balance these colours with white space and text colours of black or even grey! Grey text can look very clean and allows you to use coloured text on headings and important statements. Areas of most interest ONLY should be highlighted with colour, but make sure it never takes over.
Make sure there is a quiet contrast between your background and your content. Images always look far better on a white background in my opinion as their colours and quality shine through more clearly and cleanly. It’s vitally important for product shots to be of the best quality possibly so don’t undermine them with conflicting backgrounds.
Your website header is one of the first things people see. If you are going to the trouble of achieving the perfect design for your website pages then why not give your header a makeover too. DotGO provide an unbelievable low cost option to have a completely bespoke header created by a professional designer. You can provide a selection of images, your company logo, a slogan, your colour scheme and design preferences and the designer will create a header, which will not only add that extra touch of class and professionalism but will also work to make you sure you stand out from your competition.
Here you can choose to have just the header created or go for a complete website makeover, where your colour scheme will be used in the header, side borders, menu bar and footer.In the comments box, give the designer as much information as you can to help him understand what you’d like to achieve. If you’re not exactly sure what you want – don’t panic! You have a first class designer working with you who is an expert when it comes to the use of colour, layout and style. Just provide your colour scheme, an idea of the look you’re after, a logo, some good quality images and some creative license and you won’t be disappointed! You can even request any corrections or tweaks if required to get it just right. DotGO even offer a 100% money-back guarantee that your website will look fantastic.
This allows the designer to include professional animated effects to words and pictures, such as making images move or fade in etc. Movement on your header is very effective is grabbing peoples attention, which is vital when you consider the very small window of time you have to do this. Animation is used very subtly and never overdone. Professional designers understand the “Less is More” rule!!
Choose your preferred options for Extra header text, Links, Menu Button position and the width of your website then upload your images and logo’s. Remember to choose images, which are of the best possible quality! This will generate first impressions from visitors and the designer can only work with what you provide.
We'd love these blog pages to become a handy forum for all DotGO Web Builders, so please add your comments or questions and let's get chatting!!
Please remember, this article was first published 19/08/2009. The content may be out of date and you cannot post comments any more. Please check out our new blog.
We have been in business since 2003. Back when the founders of Facebook were still in college, we were writing code and helping our users create great websites.
If you need help, why not check out our huge selection of videos, step-by-step guides and knowledge papers.
We have helped many thousands of our customers create great looking websites. Take a look at a few examples, created using our website builder.
These days, websites without background videos run the risk of appearing old-fashioned. Even dinosaurish,
There’s nothing wrong with dinosaurs, or with looking like one. Dinosaurs are cool. Unless they’re chasing you of course.
But our new background videos have landed, exploded and changed the game. They have wiped out the old standards for beautiful websites, and have replaced them with a new standard that will leave all other websites looking like fossils.
Luckily, both our existing clients and our new ones have access to this brilliant new feature we’ve introduced, and we’d like to share its benefits with you today.
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We are the DotGO: where everything is included and everything is managed for you, all at no extra cost.
We design websites to grow your business and wow your customers.
We are a UK company filled with passionate website designers and clever writers.
Friendly, professional and fast customer service is at the heart of everything we do. Our designers and unique technology make your website quick, responsive and secure, giving you the best chance of ranking well on Google.
If you need a shop, our own powerful ecommerce platform integrates beautifully. We train you to use our simple tools to update your website yourself. Our UK support team are on hand to provide sensible support and advice whenever you need it. We even power your professional email service, so you stay in contact with your customers by phone, tablet or computer.
Oh, and the best bit? It's cheaper than you may think, and we can get started right now.