Make the most important thing the most obvious.
Your visitor should know where to look first without thinking about it. Use size, weight, position, and color to rank what matters. Give each screen one clear focal point and one main action.
Do
- Give the page one clear headline and one main button
- Make the most important text the biggest and boldest
- Put what matters most near the top
Avoid
- Make everything the same size
- Have five things all shouting for attention
Make text easy to read and key things stand out.
Contrast is the difference between elements — text against its background, a heading against body copy, a button against the page. Enough contrast makes a page readable and guides the eye; too little makes it muddy.
Do
- Use dark text on light, or light text on dark
- Check it reads well on a phone in bright light
- Use one bright accent color, sparingly, for actions
Avoid
- Put light-grey text on a white background
- Rely on color alone to make a point
📏 PRINCIPLE 3
Alignment & spacing
Line things up and give them room to breathe.
Line elements up to an invisible grid so the page feels ordered, and use whitespace generously so it can breathe. Keep related things close together and unrelated things apart — closeness signals "these belong together."
Do
- Align text and images to a shared edge
- Add generous space around and between sections
- Group related items; separate unrelated ones
Avoid
- Cram everything edge to edge
- Scatter elements at slightly different offsets
Reuse the same fonts, colors, and styles throughout.
Pick a small set of fonts, colors, and component styles and reuse them everywhere — that's a tiny 'design system.' Consistency is what makes a site feel professional rather than thrown together.
Do
- Choose one or two fonts and stick with them
- Reuse the same button and card styles
- Define a small color palette and reuse it
Avoid
- Use a new font or color in every section
- Style each button differently
Less is more — remove anything that doesn't help.
Every element should earn its place. Start plain and add only what serves the goal. When in doubt, cut. A simple, clear page almost always beats a busy, clever one.
Do
- Trim words until only the clear ones remain
- Remove decoration that adds no meaning
- Start minimal, add only what helps
Avoid
- Add clutter just to fill space
- Use five colors when two will do