Rather than having to pay someone to do it for you, it’s better to learn how to design your own website. You may think it’s hard to learn this skill, but it is actually rather simple. The tips below are here to help you understand just how to do all of that.
Always, always remove old or outdated information off your website. If your home page features an event that already took place, people will not be interested in reading more of your content. Users are going to want to spend time on websites that have been cared for, and when old information is kept up it shows that the site is not being paid attention to. Create a regular schedule for updating the content of your page, and weed out anything that has become irrelevant.
Learn what you can about site design shortcuts so that you can use them. There are a million shortcuts you can make use of. You can even find HTML codes that help you make quick changes.
Do not use pop-ups. One of the worst things a user must deal with is getting one pop-up after another when visiting a website. Many people will leave a site that has pop-ups, even the big sites. Just avoid these irritating ads, so your users will be happy. If your host gives you no choice about using pop-ups, you probably ought to choose a new one.
Search Engines
Good meta tags are a quick way to ensure your website makes it to a good rank on search engines. Quality meta tags describe your site for search engines. Your website will under-perform on search engines and draw fewer visitors than it should if you use inappropriate or ill-conceived meta tags.
Your links should always contain content in text form on every page you insert them. Your visitors should know exactly what they’re heading for when they click on a link. If there are links on your page without text content, they could accidentally click the link through a keyboard shortcut.
Always use fonts which are legible and professional. The font is one of the first items people notice when coming to a site. Fancy fonts, such as those that look like gothic lettering or calligraphy, can often be hard to read. Other fonts, like Comic Sans, send a message that you aren’t professional. If your website calls for a font that your visitors do not have, a default font will be substituted. This may make your entire design look bad.
Always check for links that are broken. This should be done frequently, before uploading to the server. This can be critical, since visitors are going to know that the information they are looking for is not available, and if that happens a lot on your website, they will stop going to your website. Give all of your links a double check before uploading in order to prevent this problem.
HTML5 is a tool you are going to need to become familiar with. HTML5 will help to improve your chances of success.
Find your target audience and ask what they think of your site. This will assist with the overall design of your website in a positive way. It is also important to get advice from people in your target audience.
Try to include some “site searching” on your index page and sub-pages if you can. This increases the site’s usability five-fold, and makes it easier to get to anyplace on the site from any other place on the site. You can include a search function easily, and it will greatly increase the utility of your site.
Visual Sitemap
Construct a visual sitemap as a means of planning your site accurately. With the visual sitemap, you’ll be able to see how your site structure is developing. From there, you’ll be able to identify any areas that need improvement, or have been neglected. There isn’t a substitute for a concise, clear visual map of your project.
White space is actually essential in order to perfect website design. You don’t want to clutter everything together and make it seem unorganized. Having some free space within your site improves its readability. This will cause your visitors to more easily read and retain the knowledge provided to them.
Avoid using Flash applications when designing your website. Flash can appear high-tech and exciting, but it can make for long load times on older systems. Don’t forget that many phones and tablet PCs don’t have Fl;ash enabled, which can ruin the user experience for some and dissuade them from returning to your site.
Site Map
A site map is vital for your website. There are two things that a sitemap does. One, it makes the site understandable. This allows visitors to find links to topics on your site that interest them on one single page. Secondly, a site map is great for search engine optimization, or SEO. Search engines find it easier to locate your site and “crawl” it.
Take the time to design good error pages. When a person clicks on a broken or moved link, they will be taken to an error page. The error message page should explain why the issue has arisen and a link that leads them back to the point they came from.
Become an expert in CSS or cascading style sheets. HTML is the simple stuff, but to get more complex you should understand CSS. This style can keep your site looking modern and consistent. They were created to allow you to make edits to your entire site in one location. For example, if you decide to switch your font to blue, all it takes is making a quick change to the code.
Many people mistakenly believe that website development is hard due to the coding involved. As you’ve read, there’s not much to it. If you use the advice that has been provided, you’re certain to produce an impressive site.