First off, let's talk about page layout.

The Rule – Too much boxes is bad for your health.

One designer said that a mark of a designer is when he or she starts to use boxes and rules in his or her pages. When you look at your page and realize need to make something attractive and creative out of boring stuff you've just made, and then decide to throw around a box or two or place rules between columns, then that's time when your creativity is getting out from confinement.

Before using all box there is in your software, just remember to do it in moderation. Anything in excess is a bad thing. Sure, boxes and rules are a good way to highlight important information. But if you're going to do it in all your pages, or put virtually everything in a box, then nothing will stand out from crowd.

The Rule – Do not divide page in halves.

The best way to infuse excitement and innovation in your documents is to divide page into thirds. Afterwards, place most important objects like headings, photos, and visuals, at top or bottom third.

Let's go to color.

The Rule – Contrasting colors make for greater readability.

Any designer knows that enough contrast between text and background makes for easy reading of text and material. Often, dark text is used on a light background. And vice versa.

1 > Viewers do not want to scroll horizontally.

As a personal experience, I find it really annoying to have to scroll page to right just to be able to read whole content of page. People should not be put to task of having to pick their mouse and move web page over to right so as to see what's hiding over there.

It's easier to scroll down a page than to scroll horizontally. One designer suggests checking out your web pages at resolutions of 640 x 480, 800 x 600, and 1024 x 768 to avoid scrolling page to your right. It doesn’t matter that majority of monitors nowadays come preset at 800 x 600. You never know when one of your audiences would have a monitor with lowest denominator, and then have that potential client go to a competitor just because he or she also hates scrolling to right.

2 > Have more than three screenfuls of information… not.

Having to scroll horizontally for rest of information is annoying, but it is also not fun either to have to scroll down page forever just to be able to get whole information.

The rule: one web page shouldn't require a viewer to page down more than three screens. Of it is more than that then you better go back to drawing board and re-design your screens.

But you should also consider that people will definitely scroll if content is king. As one designer puts it, "You just need to balance content and nuisance factor with having to click through on links."

3 > One web page should weigh in at no more than 50k.