It’s vital a web designer learn all the basics of web design, so they create websites that are both good looking and functional. Besides the information in this article, there are lots of online sources that provide information on web design. What follows are some basic concepts necessary for good web design.
It may be worth your while to check out some domain auctions if the website you designed needs a domain name. Check out a domain site like SEDO to see if domain names they may have for sale would be suitable for your website. The auctions aren’t always cheap, but if you need a particular domain name it might be your best option.
While overall design of your site is important, people come to your site primarily for the content. To help your users find what they need quickly and efficiently, keep your website simple and include only relevant information and photographs. The simpler your pages are, the faster your website will load.
Don’t copy other websites’ designs in your niche or make websites that are too similar to your competitors’ websites. It’s easy to see what others are doing by visiting their site. It is obvious that if your website looks like the others, it will not separate you from those you are competing with. You’ll just be another generic site, at the end of a long line of too similar webpages.
Make sure an international audience can understand your content. If you are using dates, times, measurements or currencies, make sure that they are easy to understand by people from all countries. You want your content to be as accessible to as many people as possible, as not everyone who is viewing your website is going to be from your country.
Ask another person to test your site out to make sure it works well as you go along. Every time you add a new feature, make sure someone stops by and judges it impartially. As the site designer, you may not be concerned by a video or graphic that loads slowly. However, your users may feel differently. Always seek out different, outside opinions.
On the Internet, few things are more important to users than speed and efficiency, especially where page loading times are concerned. If a site visitor ends up waiting for a long time for your web page to load, they will definitely leave your site in search of a similar site that loads faster and will never recommend anyone to your site.
Even more important than a good looking website is one that loads fast, and that means all of your files should be small. The reason behind this is because the file sizes will affect how fast your website loads. You want your website to load very quickly when potential clients visit. Bear in mind that some site visitors are still using dial-up. Your website should be tested on all connections, even a dial-up connection, to make sure it loads quickly.
Try using a newsletter for getting repeat visitors. This can be an excellent way of building your client base. Put the sign-up box near the top of your site so they can easily find it, and check how many sign up when you move it around your page. Send your newsletter only to those who have signed up; doing otherwise is considered spam.
All of your domains and sub-domains should have a visible, keyword-oriented tagline. Use large text in bold that will grab attention, as this is the first thing seen by visitors when following links. It will immediately let them know what the goal of the page is, the offer it’s providing, the reason it exists, or the purpose of it. Most of the time, this determines whether or not this visitor remains on your page or exits out.
Elicit feedback from your visitors. By doing this, if you discover a missing item or if you don’t know how to properly utilize your page, it’s possible for you to fix it. If your site visitors feel actively involved in the process, they will be return viewers.
Running a site and web designing, must have a personal office. This will help you to avoid distractions, become more efficient and focus on your work. You want to build yourself a work space suited to the needs of web design, where all the tools you’ll need are within easy reach.
With the amount of time that your visitors likely spend on social networking sites, it makes sense to add links to your site to let them share your content on their favorite social sites. Creating a simple link will increase traffic to your website.
Here is a web design tip that seems obvious, but is worth remembering! Never upload your pages to your server before checking over each word for grammar and spelling errors. Posting content with poor grammar or spelling could irreparably damage your brand. If your site looks unprofessional, you will lose visitors.
Choose your fonts carefully. You should only choose fonts that look professional and are easy to read. The font type on a website is a quick indicator of how professional it is. Do not use Comic Sans, overly ornate fonts, or fonts that many computers might not have. If a site visitor has not installed a certain font on his or her computer, it may display as a default font. This can make your website look a lot worse.
Most people find it irritating to encounter pop-up windows or links that open new windows. As a matter of fact, many have browsers that have disabled pop-ups. With that in mind, you shouldn’t even bother with this type of design option. If you are thinking about utilizing these techniques for navigational purposes, you should instead consider whether the overall navigation system you have in place for the website could use improvement.
Like we’ve said, designers who are just starting out need to learn the basics of design to make enticing sites that work properly. It might be hard to know where to start since there are so many different resources to choose from. What you’ve read here will get you started and help you to figure out where to go next.