Professional WebSite techniques

everytime I browse a website, if it was well-developed (professional one) I would feel that from the first glance, like www.devshed.com (this website), www.msn.com, www.yahoo.com, www.aspfree.com, www.internet.com, www.weboedia.com.......and alot more, but the thing is that I realize that there is something in common between all of these websites that give you this impression (that the website is a professional one). Can you tell me some design techniques that will make the website look professional?
is it the colors? is it the neat alignment of elements?
what I am trying to say is that I feel that these professional webdevelopers are following some "standards"
can anyone help?

Hi,

Neat layout and uniformity between pages is very important. Using valid HTML and stylesheets also gives the impression that care has been taken in putting together the site.

Ensuring the site can be viewed in any browser I think is also important, even though most use Internet Explorer.

And of course, probably the most important of all is usabulity. For more info on this, check out http://www.useit.com/

Hope that helps a bit.

hi,

I'm quite new to webdesigning myself too and been wondering the same thing too. I've been searching and reading alot of stuff lately.

I found a cool tutorial bout making a neat looking "microsoft-touch" look on http://www.smartwebby.com

They also have a good article bout tables, and how to get the most out of them

that was really interesting thanks to you all.

well i am also new in the web design and all, but just keep it all in uniformailty (that is dont go around changing backgrounds and stuff.. find one thing and stick with it!) keep you font through the entire site, what u use with one thing... dont use for another... keep them separated.. uniformaility in my eyes is the best way to look "professional"

There are of course standards and conventions that make websites easy to use, effective tools for communication and service delivery. All well commented on above. However, a solid background in graphic arts (Understanding colors, alignment, concept, typography, imagry, and grids at least) is a major boost.

fast load times are still a big thing.

And get rid of those blasted banners and popups!

True, true.

There's a really good, fast-read book about interface design called "Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability" by Steve Krug. Check it out.