At times there comes the urgent need to lay down the basics of the job we people do. Some may sound a bit "out of fashion" but really they are still a "part of the game".
The design basics (some of them which I follow) are:
1] The size of the Images you choose affects the way your page loads. Heavy image slowing down your page means that the visitor has already clicked on the next site.
2] Keep your page layout as simple as possible. Many times I come across sites with those "revolutionary" layouts where the visitors get lost quite often.
3] Fonts, yes, the fonts...keep the variety/style of fonts to minimum possible. Do take care on how would the printout of your page look like and also its appearance on the screen.
4] Different browsers may display your page differently, have you checked this?
5] Content, good, readable, interesting. Do not "over SEO" the text. The visitor might get bored/confused/misled reading something which was alien to them.
6] Though ads are a good thing to have on your site, too many of them make your site appear just like a classified newspaper. Sure you don't want your site to look this way, or do you?...
7] Soothing look on the page makes the visitor "stay" there for some time. Do not use blinking images. According to research, such irritants are very effective in chasing away visitors from your site.
Frankly, I might not be the best of the designers out there but I follow some basics all times and every time. This makes my job easier and simpler and "processed" (I only have to follow the process) and my output is worth my client's money :D
