TIP! To make your website as easy to use as possible, consider using a fixed-position menu. This keeps the site menus in place as visitors scroll through your site.

You will likely feel intimidated by starting a brand new website, but see it as an exciting new venture. Setting a budget, finding good advice, and picking a smart place to get started are all thorny problems you’ll have to face. You can get off to a good start in planning out your website by taking a look at the handy tips provided in this article.

TIP! When you design a site, pull it up in various browsers. This is because your website may look a certain way to you in your browser, but will look very different in another browser.

Display a tagline in a prominent area on your page. Taglines are catchy mottos that explain your business. Making use of clear taglines becomes important when the page is visited. You have a short amount of time to catch the visitor’s attention and get them hooked.

TIP! Be vigilant in policing your website for content that has become obsolete or outdated. If someone visits your site for up-to-date information and find that it’s discussing the latest event – which happened a year ago – they’re leaving.

You should be aware of any clashing colors when building your website. Your text should remain the main focus of attention and should be easy to read. Generally speaking, it is easier on the viewer’s eyes when they see darker text on paler backgrounds, rather than the other way around. If you need help determining weak points of your website, show your current version to a friend for feedback.

TIP! You want your home page to be simple. People will quickly decide whether or not they want to do business with you by how your homepage looks.

Always take outdated information and content off of your website. If the page a viewer clicks on is promoting something that happened a year ago, you just lost a reader. Users want to spend their time on sites that are cared for, and leaving up old information shows a lack of attention to the site. Make sure you regularly schedule time to add new content, and to remove old.

TIP! Prioritize your user’s needs. User needs must be your main focus.

If you want to build a great site, you should buy one of the website design programs available today. This type of software is a lifesaver and extremely easy to use. Before long you will be designing some eye-catching sites to add to your portfolio. An unattractive website will not attract visitors.

TIP! It is no longer on trend to use a visitor counter on your website. You may think it’s improving your site, when in fact, it is not desirable.

Be sure your introductory page is clean and simple. People shopping around will immediately decide whether they will use your site or not, simply by how your front page looks. Blow the horn about your business and its unique qualities, but reduce the amount of extra fluff on your site.

Search Box

TIP! Use a small amount of content when you first set your website up. Adding too much stuff early on will create confusion for you and your visitors alike.

Search engine capabilities are an essential part of a large site. The best place to put your search box is on the top of your homepage. Shoot for the upper right corner. Users often expect to see a search box in this area and may want to search your site for the information they are looking for. You can get free search boxes from Google or FreeFind.

TIP! You should use a good layout for the site, one that you are able to work with and is basic so it’s easy for you to understand the foundation of the web design first. Once you get more comfortable with web designing, you can use a more advanced layout.

Build a feedback-gathering mechanism into a website to gather visitors’ opinions. That will allow you to fix any problems that you may not otherwise notice. Negative and positive feedback are useful in improving your website.

TIP! Don’t copy other websites’ designs in your niche or make websites that are too similar to your competitors’ websites. You want to check this by checking out the websites of your competitors.

Use easy to maintain navigation throughout your site. Place all navigation links in areas that flow well and are easily visible so your visitors know where to go and remain on the site much longer. The structure of navigation should be consistent, clean and user friendly to offer the best experience.

Text Content

TIP! With technology advancing so quickly, it’s important to stay updated on web design. Business websites have become the source for information for prospective clients when inquiring about any company.

Don’t accidentally place links on your site that lead to nowhere. When a link uses text content, it is easy for the visitor to see and understand where they are going. It is very easy for visitors to your page to accidentally hit a link if it has no text content.

TIP! The site’s interface tools should be user friendly and consistent. Ensure your underlined text is clickable and make sure they will change color once they are clicked.

You have a wealth of information online you can refer to when you’re stuck in a site design jam. A plethora of websites are available that can help spark your inspiration. Look for a website that is appealing and decide on the factors that make it appealing. Be sure not to plagiarize ideas, of course. Improve upon the ideas you find.

TIP! Background colors on websites should be neutral. Backgrounds can make the visitor feel overwhelmed and may look bad.

If you are looking for a program to help you design a website, consider Adobe Dreamweaver. People of all knowledge levels can understand this program easily. You can add features and use their various layouts and templates.

TIP! Know what to do with white space. This is the blank area on your web page.

Speak with people you know just to see if you missed something when you learned things like Dreamweaver, Photoshop or HTML. Obviously, you want to ensure that all the new information you have just learned has been remembered. It would be quite a nuisance to be halfway through developing a new site and find you can’t recall the details you need.

TIP! Make sure that you validate all of the websites you create. If you use an WYSIWYG editor, your code is not clean.

Do not feel that you have to hand-craft every portion of your website on your own. Website development incorporates many areas like user interface design, SEO, content creation, graphic design, and web programming. Do not hesitate to call in the experts when needed. You can hire a company or pro that specializes in any area you’re not well-versed with.

TIP! Making sure your website’s links are functioning properly is crucial. The hallmark of a solid and well-designed site is user friendliness.

Make sure your site’s design isn’t too similar to other sites in your niche. Check around and visit similar websites. A website that is too similar won’t stand out. Your site will be considered as a copycat of your competitors’ and not seem trustworthy.

TIP! If you want your site to be a professional one, do not use free hosting services. This is simply because you want to stay away from an overload of advertisements that will distract your visitors from the services or products that you are trying to sell.

By following the tips above, you should be able to create an attractive, professional looking site. Create your budget, line up your assistants, and list the content you want to include. If you get started as soon as possible, it will be easier to build an efficient, visually striking website.