It’s vital a web designer learn all the basics of web design, so they create websites that are both good looking and functional. There are numerous resources available that help beginner web designers find a good place to start, and the following article is one of those. Here are some smart tips to design better websites.
Be sure to select the correct graphics when designing your website. Keep in mind how big a bitmap image is, but using PNG images work better. GIFs can be quite good for simple text buttons, screenshots, etc and PNGs are great for images with 256 colors and up. Try using JPEGs for photos.
Look at your site in multiple browsers when designing it. Make sure it looks good on every browser. You need to know how your site looks to all visitors that are arriving at your page. You may also want to view your site using a different computer operating system to make sure that everything is compatible whether they are using Windows, Mac, or Linux.
A tagline should be shown in full view on your website. Taglines are catchy mottos that explain your business. Use clear taglines to help people that visit your page. You only have a few second to get their attention and get them them to look through the whole website.
Speed is important in the Internet, and this is why you need to see to it that your website loads fast. If a visitor needs to wait while the page loads, they may click off your site and not return.
Do not publish any site pages without verifying all the links are working. There is not much that is more frustrating for visitors than to click a link and get an error page. You can manually check links or use a program that will find broken links for you.
Make sure that you prune content that is no longer relevant. If someone visits your site for up-to-date information and find that it’s discussing the latest event – which happened a year ago – they’re leaving. Readers want current information and want to feel safe in dealing with a company that is on top of things. Review your website often, to remove anything which isn’t updated with the latest content.
Include text content on your link page. Your visitors should know exactly what they’re heading for when they click on a link. Textless links can easily be clicked by mistake.
Choose your fonts carefully. You should only choose fonts that look professional and are easy to read. Fonts say a lot about the professionalism of a site and the business it represents. Don’t use fancy or non-standard fonts. Some people may not have these fonts installed on their computers. If a visitor doesn’t have a font on his computer, his browser may display a default font that doesn’t look right. This often looks terrible.
Always check for links that are broken. The best time to do this is just before you FTP the page over to the server. A visitor who comes across a broken link will question how dated all of the content on your site might be. Check your website regularly to make sure it works properly.
A visitor counter does not add to the appearance of your website. It adds nothing to your website and is an outdated feature. 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.
Some hosting services offer a tool to build your own website. Use this tool to create a very basic layout but do most of the coding yourself. You want to integrate your own personality into this site, and this means tweaking and adding some things on your own without the drag-and-drop site-builder the host offers.
Practice website design and you will get better. You will need to do this to make sure you can easily apply what you’ve learned. You don’t need to think that you’ve leaned something only to find out that you didn’t fully grasp it.
Designing and running a website calls for a personal office space. Eliminate distractions and maximize efficiency of the work space, so you are always ready to work. Have office tools and other things located within easy access, and ensure that you have an excellent space for your own web design needs.
As you have seen, a new web designer must know the basics before they can create stunning websites that also function properly. With so much quality data on this subject available, you may have a hard time knowing where to begin. This article was designed to help you begin with the basics of website development, and then you can continue to build from there.