CSS brought a huge bunch of stylistic potentials into webdesign. The great goal know is to keep control over those potentials. When you cruise through the web you will find nowadays a lot of stylish websites. The range of styles are as huge as the imagination of their authors.

I am speaking here and now about websites as a whole but will now leave out all those Flash sites and all non-standard-compliant websites which are still relying on tables and the famous spacer gif’s.
I must admit that some of the sites I made in the past are working with tables for which I only excuse me for with “I am still learning”.

The problem with many possibilities is to make the right decission. With XHTML, CSS and a little bit experience in pixel pushing you can make the wildest and fanciest websites. All standard-compliant but also compliant with human usage?

Where is the limit? Can you explain in short words where you see a limitation in webdesign? Which or how many colours are more offending than attractive? What forms are viewy, which are dull? In your own opinion, in your personal design experience, you draw the limits for yourself. But this is not the only truth. Other people think different and so you can find in the web for each breaking of your limits a proof that black is white too. Somewhere out there is a website design which breaks your rules. Proofs that your rule is not the
holy grail of webdesign, proofs that you should reconsider your rules.

But when we only design for the majority of internet users the web probably would be sad and barren. Shall it remain on the designer’s choice how to style a website? I think yes, sure. The webdesigner – when he is worthy to be called so – probably knows best what design stays within common guidelines of typo and morphology and theory of colours and which design does not.

But when we see us as the trend-setter of webdesign we have to take responsibility of our doings. We have to keep an eye on those who visit our websites and always keep in mind for which purpose the site is meant to.

On Sunday I was the whole day working on the new website for our agency. I felt a strong ambition for a fancy design. But because I know our clients and possible new clients it was not too hard to make my decision for a lean and clean design with compliance and accessibility. I hope to get some new clients who are ready and willing for a little bit more fancy and daring designs.

But at last it will probably show the designer’s quality at most when he is limited in his thaughts and doings. So the greatest goal of all probably is the simplicity of a webdesign. Keep it simple, stupid. An old rule, still and more than ever valid.

But here some more rules which I find elementary:

1. Validate your (X)HTML and CSS.
That is not the only obstacle to take but an elemantary one.

2. Keep your site accessible and simple in navigation.
Out there are people who are not very comfortable with cruising the web. Others may be handicapped in sight or are color blind. Some of them make use of braille displays or similar techniques. Keep them in mind.

3. Do not forget the intents of the contents.
There is no need to develop a fancy site when you forget to mention for what the site is meant.

4. Use Flash and other plugins sparingly.
Although the most common plugins are quiet popular and available for many platform do not rely on that. In doubt make an alternative as fallback.

5. Do not rely on specultaions about visitors abilities, browsers or screens.
Do never something like “Made for IE 6+ and a resolution of 1024×768″. That should be an absolute DON’T. That is not only nonprofessional but even more absolutely bullshit.

6. The web is huge, the possible combinations of OS and browser are huge too.
How many combinations do you have in mind when developing? 10, 20, 30? There are much more. Probably more than 200 combintions are found in the wild. Do not forget.

7. Do not rely on dirty hacks and CSS switching.
CSS should be so clean that every CSS standard compatible browser should understand it. Do not switch stylesheets for different browsers. This takes away one big advantage: the easiness of maintainance. Dirty hacks may work on a browser but ever thaught about the following versions of the browser?

8. Test your site on as many OS and browsers as possible.
If you cannot test your website on more than one OS load it up and ask friends or colleagues with other OS to have a look on it. But with only one OS you can though test in many different browsers.

9. Make use of the knowledge of other designer.
Be communicative with colleagues. Probably there is always one guy out there who knows better. So try to find him.

10. Do not lose fun.
How frustrating and complicated a project may become, never lose the fun of your doing and the pride to make standard compliant and great looking websites.