Many people are very interested in learning the fundamentals of web design, but the prospect of doing so can be intimidating. While you may be intimidated by web page design, but drawn to it nonetheless, explore this article fully to get a better grasp of the challenges.
A successful website needs to work for visitors using any browser, so it is important to test your web pages to make sure they display properly in different browsers. A page that works well in Firefox may display improperly in Safari, Internet Explorer or Chrome. Test every page in each browser before you let your site go live.
Check your webpages for broken links before publishing them. Error pages only cause visitor frustration. Most people choose one of the many programs or extensions available that verify working links but it can also be completed manually if you only have a few to do.
Always give viewers the option to cancel a current action. An action can involve filling out forms, registering for email notifications or newsletters, or browsing the site for various topics or archives. Not allowing customers to cancel actions that they do not want to follow through with is unfair, and it is forceful, which may prevent those visitors from returning to your site or making purchases from you in the future.
Content is the most important aspect of your site. Design is certainly important, but the content is the reason that people will come back to your site. If visitors are able to find what they need, they will come back again at some point.
White is generally a safe background color to use when designing a professional website. White backgrounds cause your content to be easily seen, and it gives your site a trustworthy feel and a more professional look. Complicated background designs, however, can be distracting, or make your site appear amateur. Simple backgrounds are usually a better choice.
Use easy to maintain navigation throughout your site. Where you locate your website’s navigation links can make a huge difference in the amount of time a visitor will spend on your site. The structure of navigation should be consistent, clean and user friendly to offer the best experience.
File Types
Your website’s load times are effected by which file types you use for images. When it comes to graphics, it is normally wise to employ GIFs and JPEGS. PNG and BMP files are probably better for web graphics, but they also use much more disk space. To be sure visitors have a positive experience, graphics should be converted to file types that are better-sized.
Make sure to check whether your site works on all Internet browsers. Each web browser has a slightly different way of how they illustrate the website, and in a couple of cases these little differences could have major effects on the experience for the user. It is easy to discover the most popular browsers. Make sure your website works in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and the major mobile browsers.
Do your best to not come across as a low rent spammer strictly focusing on playing the numbers game by forcing your visitor into something they don’t want. You don’t want to suddently have a survey appear before them or promotions that they have to click on in order to go further. By requiring visitors to do something before moving on, you will likely cause them to run far away and never return.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to design your entire site yourself. Lots of knowledge from different areas must be known about website creation, which includes user interface design, search engine optimization, web programming, content creation, and graphic design. It’s common to outsource some of this work, so don’t feel ashamed to do so. Even if you want to do the majority of your site building, you can hire an expert to handle what you can’t.
If you plan to design multiple sites, it is wise for you to learn to work with a number of platforms. Your future efforts will be more productive the sooner you learn platforms like Java, PHP, and MySQL. Regardless of whether you’re building a brand new site or you’re helping a friend create one, you should aim to turn into a designer with many different talents.
If you are creating multiple pages for your website, you should take advantage of your operating system’s copy/paste functions. Rather than rewriting new code for each page, simply copy a main section of your code from the first page. You can then use this as the foundation for your next pages, making minor changes where needed. You can re-use a single “master” set of code to churn out a virtually unlimited number of pages.
The first place many visitors look is in the upper left hand corner. Visitors read starting at the left, so doing this ensures that they will see the best information first.
With all of the major advances on the web recently, it’s a must to keep up on website development. The future for most companies is reliant on websites. Website design is also a field in which people can make good money.
Error Pages
Create informative error pages. When someone usually clicks on a broken link, it is one that’s been moved, and the generic error code doesn’t get them back on track. Design error pages that show the reason the visitor has received it, including a link back to your homepage so they stay on your site.
Keep your website simple and feature contrasting colors for clarity. Never use a dark text on a dark background, or vise versa. It is hard to read and makes it difficult for the person’s eyes to adjust. Stay away from backgrounds that have crazy patterns and pictures. This can make the text appear to blend into the pattern. Just keep it simple. Black and white or black and off-white are the best choices.
Once you are educated on web page design, you will be confident on trying it for yourself. Keep in mind that you can always learn more about website creation, so always look for new knowledge. If you apply all this knowledge, then you have an easy path towards success in website design.