You know Code but your Design Skills Suck – what can you do!

Hi!

I wrote this post originally for killerSites.com but then I figured that PHP programmers are probably the biggest suckers when it comes to page design – in short, you probably need this more than most!

😉

Hi,

Based on a recent forum post where someone with code skills (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) wanted to improve their design skills … and he was not talking about learning PhotoShop … actual design skills he was concerned about. My answer:

To begin with, look to design principles:

– alignment
– whitespace
– font use
– color use

If you have your page elements nicely lined up, don’t use more than two fonts on the page(!), keep your page colors properly matched (no clashing colors) and give the page a lot of breathing room (good use of whitespace) … that will go a long of making the website look good.

That all said, design is something that requires a good eye. It is something you can develop to a certain extent, but like a singing voice … if you don’t got it, you don’t got it.

🙁

So what is the solution?

Use templates, follow the above principles and keep your designs simple and elegant because they are generally easier to maintain. We teach this stuff (and a lot more) in the KillerSites Video Library.

Thanks,

Stefan Mischook
killerPHP.com