Found and lost
Users only look at a small piece of the page. The big picture, the page design as a whole, is hardly ever seen.
The web is a high contrast medium
What is important is what's happening in the small section (of the screen) users are looking at. Contrast between foreground and background is important. Contrast between different elements on the page is important.
Pages which colour coordinate everything make the user work hard to find different elements. Because users judge websites on whether they are easy to use an 'ugly' or 'unsophistcated' design may improve your reputation more than a slick-looking one.
Many webpage templates don't create enough space for content Pavement café
Tracing paper A website depends on the clarity of its links