Website Design: Rule of Thirds

In photography, there's this thing called the Rule of Thirds.

Wikipedia defines the Rule of Thirds as:

The rule of thirds is a principle of the Golden ratio with broad application as a "rule of thumb" or guideline which applies to the process of composing visual images such as designs, films, paintings, and photographs.^[1] The guideline proposes according to the principle of the Golden section search that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.^[2] Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject.

This rule also applies to web design!

For example, if you're designing a web layout, you could place the focal point (the thing on the layout that you want the visitor's eye to be immediately drawn to) on one of the intersections of the Rule of Thirds for maximum effect. Similarly, instead of centering a background image, you could place the center of the image on one of the Rule of Thirds lines or intersections.

Incorporating the Rule of Thirds into your web designs will make your designs more visually interesting, as opposed to simply centering everything.