4 easy rules to make anything look better!

First off I am not a designer, just a developer and now a marketer that needs to create decent looking pages/apps/content. People expect neat visuals and I cannot always afford a designer!

So I searched and found that getting started is actually easy. I happened to find Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams a while back. Everyone should read it. Especially if you are a non-designer you should read it thrice. It has served me really well over the years. From landing pages to pitches to just written content. One of the best books I have read.

If you do not have the time and just want to get started with it quickly. I created a visual thread on Twitter outlining the 4 principles - CRAP.

What other tactics do you use? Especially as non-designers to make things look better and more appealing?