A sites design is its identity. It can make the biggest difference in attracting and keeping traffic, keeping visitors happy, promoting products and services and establishing an identity on the web.
Website design has come a long way. Previously, down-to-the-point, straightforward sites with minimum graphics and fastest loading and easy navigation were considered the "best" sites in terms of design.
Nowadays, with faster internet speeds, and visitors wanting to be entertained even more, the challenge is to achieve that fine balance between good graphics, user friendliness, and fast loading speeds.
Here are the top 7 rated sites in determined by these characteristics: good graphics, user friendliness, and loading speed. It was chosen by the WhizDev design team.
7. Google.com (7.3/10)
Graphics: 2/10
User Friendliness: 10/10
Loading Speed: 10/10
Ahh yes, Google. Who can deny its deservedness to be on this list with that friendly search bar just waiting there to be typed upon? Or the fact that it the fourth most visited site on the net? This is self explanatory, classic site design with the most user friendly speeds and layout.
The only thing lacking? Graphics. No need to comment on that.
6. Pixel2Life.com (8.2/10)
Graphics: 7.5/10
User Friendliness: 8.5/10
Loading Speed: 8.5/10
Not really a major site when comparing the rest of the web, but P2L is a unique site that definitely deserves attention. It has a universally attractive color combination - XP blue and green. The layout is easy to understand, and can fit much or little content. The text itself is well formatted to match the rest of the site. And finally the all-important navigation bar is easy, useful, and attractive.
5. 4Templates.com (8.6/10)
Graphics: 8.3/10
User Friendliness: 9/10
Loading Speed: 8.7/10
Simple, attractive, and easy to navigate is what applies to 4Templates. The theme is distinctive and universal throughout - it makes the viewer remember the site and be attracted to it. It also promotes the content well, by enhancing it and presenting it in a way that makes it look even better.
4. Mozilla.com (8.7/10)
Graphics: 8.2/10
User Friendliness: 9.1/10
Loading Speed: 9/10
The site for our favourite browser, the Mozilla layout is simple and very unique. It gets right down to the point - download Firefox. The light blue stretching across the page is not something you see often, and the navigation bar stays out of the way while still attracting attention. The content itself, however, could be improved in terms of having more on one page.
3. Microsoft.com (8.9/10)
Graphics: 9/10
User Friendliness: 9.5/10
Loading Speed: 8.4/10
Yup, the software giant. Mico$oft, Micro$hit or Microsoft, whatever you call it, you can't deny they have a good team of developers. Eye-catching graphics, Javascript enhanced menus for user friendliness though a bit overdone for a little less than decent loading speed. Take note of the Javascript content near the bottom, where a mouseover will take you different parts of the content. A bit rich on the graphics, though.
2. PluginLab.com (9.3/10)
Graphics: 9.8/10
User Friendliness: 9/10
Loading Speed: 9/10
No, its not just another product-selling website. Plugin Lab does a unique combination of layout, colors, and content design to make it the second best-designed site on the net. Its pretty much self explanatory - it takes old concepts to a new level. It has a layout which anyone can understand - yet few can go away without saying "Ooooh, Nice".
1. EnhancedLabs.com (9.4/10)
Graphics: 9.6/10
User Friendliness: 9.2/10
Loading Speed: 9.4/10
A very close contestant with PluginLab, the design studio EnhancedLabs.com wins the title of the best designed site on the net. A unique layout, dazzling but simple graphics, and user friendly design takes the cake.
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