Some people, and you may be included in this group, think that every website is pretty much the same. If you feel that way, browse through Facebook and then look at a site that is hosted on Google. You will notice important parallels between each site, as well how different designs are needed based on the needs of the individual website audience. To understand more of web design, follow the tips in this article.
Your site should be able to pass a NoScript test. Download and run the NoScript extension on Firefox and find out if the site is readable? It will be normal for some content not to work, like the ordering system, but a blank page is a red flag.
Retain user information so that people don’t have to waste valuable time re-typing information into forms. When a visitor fills out a registration form on your website, for instance, your site should hang onto that information, and use it to fill out data fields for the visitor on subsequent interactive pages ahead of time. Keeping information “sticky” like this will make it simple to sign up for things on your site, and visitors will appreciate that you have saved them time.
Don’t overuse JavaScript. Even if JavaScript opens up interesting possibilities for your designs, not all your visitors will be able to see your content properly. Everyone uses a different web browser, and all of them have new versions released fairly regularly. Every single visitor isn’t going to be using a more recent version of their browser. Also, many people do not enable JavaScript in web browsers. If they aren’t using either or these options, then they will not be able to view your site.
Solicit feedback from visitors to your website. This makes it easier to identify problem areas and to create a more user-friendly site. Making your visitors feel involved is a great way to ensure that they will visit your site again.
Your content should be useful and interesting. A great looking site is no good if it has bland, unoriginal content. Visitors are more like to return to a website that offers useful, pertinent information.
Alt Tags
It is important to make use of ALT tags for your images in your site design. If someone cannot pull up the image, these tags let them know what should be in the space. ALT tags can also help out if your images link elsewhere. Also, ALT tags help you boost the search rank.
Optimize your site for older versions of Internet Explorer (IE7 and IE8). People seem to hate this browser, but many still use older versions. The older versions do not render all site elements to comply with web standards, which means using workarounds. Specifically, you should learn about a “box model bug” which troubled Internet Explorer for years.
Test your site early and often. You must test its user usability and interaction early so that you can add these aspects to the design later. You never want to stop testing the website and trying to make it better.
You can utilize a development platform that provides you with the code for your website; however, the code generated is often not as dependable as code written yourself via text editor. The concept behind development platforms is that once you choose your site’s features, you paste the code created by the platform into your website. However, this can lead to errors, so you may prefer coding your site by hand with a text editor.
Make sure to familiarize yourself with HTML5. If you don’t know how to use HTML5, you need to learn.
There are undoubtedly a number of existing site styles and designs that appeal to you, but it’s essential to harness your own unique creativity. Create designs on your own, and improve on the ones you’ve witnessed on other websites. Following this advice with help you to become a talented web designer.
Site Searching
If you can, you should include “site searching” on your home page, as well as any other pages. Site searching makes it easier for users to access information, and increases the overall usability of the site. This feature is easy to include on your site, and the effort and time spent implementing it will provide ample rewards.
Do not force visitors to take a specific path which takes their choices from them. This means not pushing surveys or offers into their window that they must complete before they continue. Removing their viewing options and making them to do things you want will most likely cause lots views and a poor reputation for your site.
Make sure someone is testing your site for proper functioning as you are designing each step. When you finish a new site feature, have an impartial observer test it and give feedback. Things that may seem inconsequential to you, such as graphics that load slowly, may appear to be major obstacles to other people. Always get outside opinions.
It would be nice, but it takes a big budget to create a website as profitable as Twitter or Facebook. It’s possible, of course, but unlikely. If you have the right skill set in website development, you can develop websites that work just as easily as the major ones and yours will look better. Apply the info from this article and get busy designing!