Discussion: Universal Web Design Rule

Design can be a personal choice. What one person loves, another might not be able to even look at. Younger audiences are used to design principles that "hurt the eyes" of older audiences. However, within the professional design community there are certain rules of design that are universal. Web designers who follow these standards will have professional pages that audiences will appreciate, and will be consistent with other BYUH Web pages.

Rationale

These rules have been developed to make sure that the largest audience possible can enjoy the BYUH Web site. Using industry-accepted practices, these standards will help designers ensure that their Web pages are professional, usable, and available to the vast majority of Web surfers.

These rules are not based on emotion or whim; there are specific reasons for each. Designers are free to design within these parameters.

Principles

Review this list of rules. You'll want to read them carefully to see what you think they mean. Try to think of a specific example for each rule as you view the list. The next section gives you reasons for the rules and some specific examples.

• All images are optimized for the Web
• Copyrighted images (including those copyrighted by BYUH) are only used with permission
• Page designed for 800x600 resolution
• Background is light, text contrasting
• Don't rely on color alone to convey information