While the thought of website design is spurring you on, you are also realizing just how overwhelming it will be. However, after you learn what you need to know, you’ll see that it’s pretty simple. If you use the tips provided in the next few paragraphs, you can design a site that not only looks good, but is easy to use, as well.
The graphics you use are important. Keep in mind how big a bitmap image is, but using PNG images work better. For simple text buttons or graphics that aren’t photographs, use PNG for files that are 256 colors or larger. Use a GIF file for anything less than 256. For pictures, use JPEG images.
If you want to have a successful website, you need to design it in a way that works for all browsers. It is crucial you test out your site that and see that all pages show up properly in each browser. What works in Chrome may not present properly in Safari, Internet Explorer or Firefox. Before your website goes live, check to be sure that the pages display properly in all of the most popular browsers.
Set up your website so that people can easily search it. This is especially important if you have a large website. Perhaps in the upper corner, a search box will ensure that your visitors can search for anything within your site. FreeFind and Google both have these capabilities for a website.
Do not have pop-up windows on your site. You’ll only annoy your visitors with this type of content, regardless of how important the information in the pop-up windows is. Frequent pop-ups can cause your visitors to become disturbed enough to leave your site, hurting your reputation.
Look into Adobe Dreamweaver. Amateurs are even able to use this program effectively. You will be able to add features, use layouts and templates, and see how your website will look after it is uploaded.
You may want to purchase a few books that can aid in teaching the ins and outs of becoming a top-notch web designer. First, read books for the beginner and advance from there.
Limit your starting content on a page to little amounts when first starting out. Too much content can be confusing.
Have a visible tagline on every page and sub-domain. It needs to be the first thing the viewers sees when they follow links, so make sure the text is large and bold. This tagline will quickly inform them as to the page’s goal, offer, reasoning, or purpose and often determine whether they remain or click the “back” button.
Have someone test your website out for functionality every step along the way. On each instance of adding a feature, be certain that you have someone look it over and give you objective feedback. You may not be bothered if a video loads slowly, but others might think differently. Ensure you get the opinions of many people to better your site.
Develop good time management skills as you are creating a website to help you get it done on time. It can be helpful since building a site requires many small tasks. The problem is how fast those small tasks build into an overwhelming day of work. Make sure you handle jobs as they arise.
If you are going to be a website designer, unleash your inner artist. Be open-minded and, when you have an idea, record it so you won’t forget it. If you’re eating out and an idea comes to you, be sure to jot that idea on your napkin. If inspiration strikes at the office, VPN to your home computer and put the idea in a text file so you can use it later.
Flash is an overused technology which can easily be replaced with other options. While it can seem high-tech and exciting, it can cause computers to lag, and decrease a visitor’s experience on your website. There are many tablets and phones that are not Flash enabled, and if people are using them to view your site, it can ruin their experience, and make them not come back again.
Website design is a fast moving and constantly changing technology that requires you to keep in touch with the latest updates. The future for most companies is reliant on websites. Having said that, designing websites is a great career option if that is something you enjoy doing.
To make a unique website, think outside of the box about where to get your inspiration for the site’s design. You can find ideas all around you if you just look around. You want to always be on the lookout for new inspiration because you may just stumble across something that will help your site become very popular with your visitors.
Make any logos on your website link to the home page. Just about everyone expects to be able to click on the company logo to be redirected to the home page. This, of course, causes frustration for them if it does not occur as they must then spend time searching for a home page link. Incorporating a clickable logo greatly increases your site’s usability.
Remember to take advantage of white space. This is the blank space on web pages. Visibility is essential online, so when creating a site,m try to avoid cluttering the screen with images and text. White space helps readers easily navigate throughout your site.
Using auction sites for a domain name may be helpful, since so many domain names are in use already. It is possible that you can locate the domain name you desire after it has been abandoned by someone else.
Website Design
We hope this article has taken the mystery out of website design. The more you know about website design, the easier it’ll be to design a site for your needs. Start with applying the advice you read and you should be able to design a good first website.