Ultimate Website Layout Guide: 17 Swipeable Examples (Video 2)

Website Layout Principles and Examples

The video explains how website layouts direct attention, maintain engagement, and make information easier to understand. It focuses on three core principles—visual hierarchy, variation, and balance—and demonstrates how to use one- and two-column layouts.

Core layout principles

• Visual hierarchy: Establish a clear focal point and guide the viewer’s eye through the page.
  • Use contrast, such as light text on a dark background.
  • Use size to make important elements stand out.
  • Use bold color against neutral surroundings to draw attention.
  • Use white space to give content room and make it easier to process.
• Variation: Change the layout as the user moves down the page. For example, alternate between one and two columns, or move from features to testimonials. Variation should support the content and user expectations, not be added merely for novelty.
• Balance: Make a page feel visually stable. Balance can be symmetrical, diagonal, or asymmetrical. Elements that feel too weighted to one side can make a layout feel off.

The presenter advises studying a wide range of designs, evaluating what works, and trying those approaches in your own projects.

One-column layouts

One-column layouts work well when a page needs to communicate a focused message, such as in a hero section or call to action. They can combine a headline, subheading, button, and supporting image without overwhelming the viewer.

Examples include:

• Centered text and a call to action above a supporting image.
• A similar layout with left-aligned content.
• Text placed over an image. This can create a strong visual effect, but the image may compete with the text or reduce readability. Improve contrast with a darker overlay or more opaque image, and consider shortening the copy.
• A text-only layout made engaging through bold, distinctive writing and typography.
• Subtle visual changes or elements that appear as the user scrolls, adding interest without changing the basic column structure.

Two-column layouts

Two columns are useful for pairing related content, such as a description with an image, a feature with an icon, or a testimonial with a portrait. They offer more room without requiring a complicated design.

Examples include:

• Text paired with images, simplified into a single column on mobile when needed.
• Card layouts with headings, descriptions, images, and calls to action. These can stack into one column on mobile.
• Image-and-text arrangements that use purposeful spacing and alignment rather than treating the format as an automatic default.
• Bento-box layouts, which mix differently sized content areas. Because the elements can compete for attention, make the highest-priority content visually dominant.
• Dense information made easier to scan with dividers, icons, and clear spacing.
• Designs that appear to have three columns but are built from two columns using alignment and staggered placement.
• Mixed layouts that combine a one-column section with two-column content below it.

Practical advice

• Make the most important content the easiest to notice.
• Keep text readable with sufficient contrast, line height, and spacing.
• Use mobile layouts thoughtfully; multiple columns often need to simplify or stack on smaller screens.
• Give every layout choice a clear purpose, and use familiar structures as a starting point rather than a crutch.
• The presenter offers a Figma file of layout examples for designers to adapt and customize.

Creators and contributors featured or referenced

• Presenter: Not named in the subtitles; the video is from the Self-Made Web Designer channel.
• Nick: Featured through a website example; no surname is given.
• Gillian: Credited by first name in connection with a two-column layout; no surname is given.
• Seed Design: Featured as a website example.
• Goodreads and Yale School of Art: Referenced as website examples.