You don’t need a big library of images to create an attractive website. This article gives a few basic tips and ideas for keeping the spice in your graphically-unintensive designs.
1. Break up your text
Nothing more off-putting than a monstrous block of tiny text. Keeping your paragraphs short (both wording-wise and the way it appears on the page) makes your words much easier to read.
2. Mess with the alignment
Between order and chaos lies harmony - the key to an attractive design. While clumsy, unaligned elements can look cheap and hackey, strategically placing your site elements can add a touch of variety to the appearance of your site.
3. Mind your colours
An image-light site doesn’t have a pretty picture to distract from the overall look of your site. Maintaining an attractive colour scheme will hold up the style factor of your site. On the upside, without a pretty picture to limit your options, you have more freedom to play with your choice of colour.
4. Play with font size and the z-index
Uncontrolled font sizes can be awkward, but attention to deliberate styles using various font sizes can encourage an aesthetically pleasing design. Take advantage of layering and the z-index.
5. Use a good font and a good size for it
Depending on the look you’re going for, the default Times New Roman isn’t always going to match your overall style. Select a font that is easy to read, which still suits the look and feel of your site. Remember that when using fancy fonts, not all visitors will have the font, and not all will have automatic anti-aliasing. Select a font size that suits your typeface of choice - some fonts look good both big and small, while others aren’t as versatile.
6. Keep it neat
Keep the layout of your text neat. Divide your page into sections, using headers, horizontal lines, and sufficient whitespace to ensure a tidy appearance.
7. Make it dynamic
If you really want to make your site texty and sexy, add a touch of DHTML. Free scripts and CSS tutorials are widely available, giving you the ability to add some life to your design.