Over the past decade, the appearance of Web pages has grown similar to that of magazines, with a heavy use of images and other illustrations. Writers typically design a Web page with many of the same considerations they apply to the pages in a magazine, choosing a color scheme that is consistent with other pages on the site, formatting headings and subheadings consistently across pages, and using borders, shading, and rules in a manner similar to that of many print publications. Writers of Web pages, however, must also address the placement and appearance of navigation menus and digital illustrations, such as audio and video clips, animations, embedded applications, and downloadable files.

Your design decisions should reflect your purpose — what you hope your readers will know, believe, or want to do once they’ve read your page. You should also take into account the overall design of the Web site on which the page will appear and the text and media elements you will include on your page.