Hello guys,

Here is my first tutorial on UWW. Being a web designer myself, i'd love to start a thread on the best practices on starting a web design. As this thread for super-beginners ( sweet) , I'm keeping it real short.

To start with, I'll advice you NOT to copy any design already running live. I know most of you beginner guys would be tempted to do it, but it'll hamper your career when you are into real projects. Instead, you can take inspiration from your "reference" websites, that''s something most designers do, and is okay legally. Do not use free templates, it's not going to help you ever.

Below are few tips which will help you start up, if not achieve heights .

• Thoroughly plan your website with you client before you start working.
• Design webpages that load quickly, i.e, use less images and more text.
• Simplify navigation, DONT use fancy javascript menus, keep it simple.
• Be consistent with fonts, colors and menu locations. Dont confuse the visitors, or they'll never return.
• Use plenty of 'white space'.
• Preview your website on as many different platforms/browsers as possible to eliminate bugs. Mainly IE, mozilla and opera browsers.
• Don't make pages too long - users don't like to scroll down too far.
• Keep graphics to a minimum to reduce load times.
• Carefully select colors, dont hurt the visitor's eyes by using too much red or yellow or aqua, you know what i mean.
• Keep sufficient contrast between the text and background.
• Use fonts that are appropriate to your content. I personally prefer arial and verdana. They suit every website's taste.
• Keep line-length at a comfortable size.
• Don't overuse flashing/animated graphics, they're outdated now.
• Write as shortly and clearly as possible, golden rule for web 2.0.
• Break text into logical blocks, nobody likes to read big chunks.

I took these tips from the internet itself and compiled and modified them for beginners. I hope it helps. Ask if you have doubts on any point above.