9 Essential Principles for Good Web Design....

1.Precedence (Guiding the Eye).

- Position — Where something is on a page clearly influences in what order the user sees it.
- Color — Using bold and subtle colors is a simple way to tell your user where to look.
- Contrast — Being different makes things stand out, while being the same makes them secondary.
- Size — Big takes precedence over little (unless everything is big, in which case little might stand out thanks to Contrast).
- Design Elements — if there is a gigantic arrow pointing at something, guess where the user will look?

2.Spacing.

- Line Spacing.
- Padding.
- White Space.

3.Navigation.

- Navigation - Where can you go?

For example: Buttons to travel around a site should be easy to find - towards the top of the page and easy to identify. They should look like navigation buttons and be well described. The text of a button should be pretty clear as to where it's taking you.

- Orientation - Where are you now?
There are lots of ways you can orient a user so there is no excuse not to.

4.Design to Build.

5.Typography.

- Font choices.
- Font Sizes.
- Spacing.
-Line Length.
- Color.
- Paragraphing.

6.Usability.

7.Alignment.

8.Clarity (Sharpness).

9.Consistency.