Web is often referred to as the New Media. Web graphic designing too is a new concept and due to this reason, there are no specialist designers for web. The techniques of print designer are being transferred to the computer screen. However, web should not be treated the same as paper, because the two mediums are very different from each other.

No Scrolling on Paper
It is not right to design a site to fit it completely into an A4 sheet. Web consists of infinite space. It would be silly to expect your visitors to press a button every time to change a page. It would be much better to keep one article on a single page.

No Bandwidth Issues for Paper
A page full of pictures and background would take a long time to load on web. But it is not so with paper. Even a sheet covered with all kinds of graphics would take the same time to read.

Columns
A major difference between web and print is the column layout. Columns can not work on web as they do on paper. Reading left to right can be very irritating for the visitors. Use of columns should be limited to paper only.

Links
Linking is the most essential part of web and makes it distinct from other mediums. If you do not find any links on a page, it is a clear indicator that the site would have been designed by a print designer. Make as many links as possible, because this is what the web is all about.

One Way Viewing of Paper
Websites can be seen in different fonts and sizes and in a variety of browsers. The right way to program is to give some guidelines for how your website would behave to different circumstances.

If your visitors want to increase or decrease the font size, your site must allow them to do so. Your aim should be to enable as many people as possible to view your website, not necessarily how you intended it to look.

However, it is true that paper and web are not competitors. Web cannot replace paper. It is important to understand that web and paper are two different things and they should be allowed to be that way. The layout for the same content will vary immensely on web and on paper. But, this is not always a bad thing.