Creating a website may seem like an impossible task What can you do to maximize your site’s appeal? Where do you begin with all the coding? The following paragraphs contain ideas, insights and advice you can apply towards coming with an attractive website that gets your message out.
Don’t use lots of graphics. Graphics are indeed important to make your website look well-designed and professional, but if you use too many, it just looks cluttered. Graphics are not meant to be used as mere decorations; they’re meant to better your site content. Having enough graphics that don’t clutter the site will make your site easier to use, as well.
A search engine is an absolute must if your website is larger than a few pages. At the top right of every page in your site, incorporate a search box which will let visitors search for a term that appears on your site. FreeFind and Google both offer search plugins that can easily be added to your website.
Stay away from pop-up windows as part of your design. Though there are some uses for pop-ups, they are often considered an annoyance. If your visitors become frustrated enough with pop-ups, they may permanently leave your website.
Keep frames off your page. While they improve your site’s looks, any information contained in a frame is not indexed by search engines. That means you won’t show up when people search for your content. You won’t get as many visitors.
Pay attention to the graphics you use. In general, it is best to use JPEGs and GIFs for your graphics. Web graphics look better when they are made from PNG and BMP files, but they take up much more disk space. You should convert graphics into a more manageable file type that will make an more pleasant experience for your users.
Keep in mind that it is very important to have your website design tested on many different web browsers. Because different browsers render websites differently, the visitor may not have the experience you intended. There are many resources available where you can find out which browsers are currently popular. Check how your site behaves on all the major browsers for both PCs and mobile devices.
When you design your website, remember that you do have have to fill up every bit of space. Using every pixel available to you can make the website feel overwhelming or cluttered. Those visiting your site will actually be relieved by having extra space and not feeling overwhelming. In many ways, empty space provides value to a website.
Do not include a website counter; it just doesn’t look good. You might care about how much traffic your site is getting, but visitors to your site don’t. As you can see, the counter can be counterproductive and you can use other tools in the back office or online to check visitor count.
Build small sites at first, analyze what worked and what didn’t. You need to begin with perhaps a few basic pages with just enough information so that you can determine how you feel.
It may be necessary to enlist the help of a professional site designer, or perhaps a close friend, who has some experience in the matter. Aligning yourself with an expert will greatly accelerate your own learning process.
Don’t waste money on web design literature. It is not necessarily a bad investment. A number of magazines and books are available that provide helpful information. This information can be found for nothing online. Books that cost money won’t tell you anything different than those that don’t.
If you are making multiple pages within a subcategory of a website, use the copy/paste feature on your PC, it will help a lot! There’s no point in making a special HTML code to use on every page. Simply copy the main part of the code, adjust it for each new page, and make it a new file. Doing this will save you a ton of time!
Make sure that when you add advertisements to your site that they aren’t overwhelmingly huge. Large ads will make people feel uncomfortable. Add content that isn’t going to clutter the rest of the content on your site and people will see your webpage in a more professional manner which can encourage them to come back.
These tips are the perfect starting point, so get out there and look for opportunities to use them! Keep learning current techniques to be a better web designer.