Best practices

Thoroughly plan your website around serving the user.
Design webpages that load quickly.
Simplify navigation.
Be consistent with fonts, colors and menu locations.
Use plenty of 'white space'.
Preview your website on as many different platforms as possible to eliminate bugs.
Don't make pages too long - users don't like to scroll down too far.
Keep graphics to a minimum to reduce load times.
Carefully select color.
Keep sufficient contrast between the text and background.
Use fonts that are appropriate to your content.
Keep line-length at a comfortable size.
Don't overuse flashing/animated graphics.
Write as shortly and clearly as possible.
Put your best content at the top of the page.
Break text into logical blocks.
Provide users with a way to contact you.

Website Design Basics