Brandon Wang

Designing with a Focus on Content

When you design things, you should always focus on the content.

I constantly see websites with giant headers, then a introduction, then some more junk, along with some photos from their Flickr album, and then finally… the content.

This should have been reversed. The content should always come first (after a short and concise heading, of course) and then the footers, then sidebars.

As of writing, this website uses a dark one-column design.

At first, I refrained from a dark design. I’m always into light designs because I believe that dark-on-light is easier on the eyes.

After reading some articles about how “darkroom” text editors are easy on the eyes, then some more controversy on how light-colored designs are better, I just decided that most of that is just phooey.

Before we get off topic, however, I just wanted to tell you to keep content first.

Nobody wants to see your Flickr pictures here that much; if they did, they would go to Flickr.com. Believe me. A link is one thing, but a full-fledged banner placement of giant thumbnails is another thing.

Unless you’re running a photoblog or some other photo-focused website, it’s not really that important.

If you’re running advertisements on your site, make sure to keep them in the footer. I know plenty of high-profile sites that disobey this, and I have nothing to say to them except for this:

Your readers come for your content, not your advertising.

Keep this in mind. The Internet and I thank you.

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