1. Good Visuals

Your website has to be pleasing to the eye. It also has to suit the purpose of your site.

2. User Interlace

You want to design the site with your primary user in mind. You want to make it so that your user can easily find his way throught he site.

3. Primary Navigation on Top of Page

It is important to keep your primary navigation on the top side of the page. You may also want to include your logo so that people know what site they are visiting.

4. Footer Contains Navigation as Well

You can duplicate your header navigation for the Footer. You can also include some extra information like terms of service and privacy policies.

5. Keep it Simple

You do not want a busy webpage. It tends to be hard to navigate.

6. Keep a “Main” Area for the Page

The area where the most important form of content is placed must be large in proportion to the other parts of the page. It must also be centered.

7. Be Consistent

Your web pages must have a look that is consistent. People thinking that they are visiting a different website all together.

8. White Space

White space can actually reduce the load of the website. This goes back to simplicity. A busy website is not only hard to navigate, but it is also hard to load.

9. Make it so it can be Easily Scanned

Users rarely read the whole article. They instead scan the page and read the most relevant part of the article.

10. Clear and Understandable writing

Try to stay away from techno babble. Many web surfers are lay people. Instead, speak in a common language.