It is easy to make a bad web page. It’s also easy to make a very nice, clean, professional-looking web page even if you don’t have much design experience.   Here are some good design features:

Text

Background does not interrupt the text

Text is big enough to read, but not too big

The hierarchy of information is perfectly clear

Columns of text are narrower than in a book to make reading easier on the screen

Navigation

Navigation buttons and bars are easy to understand and use

Navigation is consistent throughout web site

Navigation buttons and bars provide the visitor with a clue as to where they are, what page of the site they are currently on

Frames, if used, are not obtrusive

A large site has an index or site map

Links

Link colors coordinate with page colors

Links are underlined so they are instantly clear to the visitor

Graphics

Buttons are not big and dorky

Every graphic has an alt label

Every graphic link has a matching text link

Graphics and backgrounds use browser-safe colors

Animated graphics turn off by themselves

General Design

Pages download quickly

First page and home page fit into 800 x 600 pixel space

All of the other pages have the immediate visual impact within 800 x 600 pixels

Good use of graphic elements (photos, subheads, pull quotes) to break up large areas of text

Every web page in the site looks like it belongs to the same site; there are repetitive elements that carry throughout the pages