Paying a company that designs websites to handle your site can be very pricy. The high cost does not always guarantee a satisfactory result. In all honesty, it is nearly impossible for someone other than yourself to completely visualize what you have in mind for your website. Perhaps you have a clear idea of what your website should look like, but a professional might see it differently. So when you want to design a website, use these website development tips to create something you’ll be proud of.
Ensure your site can pass the NoScript test. Download the NoScript extension in Firefox and test it on your site to see if it is still readable. Some content isn’t going to work without using scripts, but you don’t want to have a blank site with scripts turned on.
Make sure that you get rid of any material that is outdated on your site. 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. It is an expectation from users that you maintain the site and keep your information fresh, or else they think your site is ill-kept or abandoned. Set a schedule to review the site, to ensure that outdated information is removed, and fresh new content is added in its place.
When doing web design, use the appropriate graphics. Bitmap images require a lot of disk space and are unwieldy. For text buttons, screenshots, and other images that are not photographs, use PNG for images with over 256 colors and GIF for images with less. For pictures, use JPEG images.
Pay attention to your background. Remove obstacles to easy text reading by avoiding things like GIF backgrounds that move. Your audience will have a more pleasurable browsing experience if your background is conducive to reading your text.
Be certain that your website can be scanned easily. Most visitors won’t actually read everything you write and will skim for what they want. Break your page into various sections using specialized or emphasized text, such as bold or italics. Put the pertinent information near the top of your page. This will satisfy your visitors and have them coming back for more.
Ensure that your user’s needs are a priority. The web designer needs to be focused on the end user’s needs at all times. How easy information can be accessed and the website use are critical. You should think about all these things as you do your job. Look at things the way your readers would see things when you go to design a page.
Consider having your website use fixed-position navigation. This technique involves locking a site’s navigation panel in place as the visitor scrolls down the page. Not only is this convenient for your visitor, but it can also help internet marketers by facilitating any action for visitors (e.g purchase a product, subscribe to a newsletter).
Meta Tags
You need adequate meta tags on every page to attract more site visitors. Quality meta tags describe your site for search engines. If you use poorly constructed meta tags that don’t reflect your content accurately, you won’t get much traffic.
Website creation becomes easier to learn and manipulate the more you view the process behind it. The best way to learn is by starting up your own page and begin with simple scripts in HTML or PHP and upgrading as you become comfortable. Practice is one of the most reliable ways to improve website development skills; start practicing early and often to get the maximum benefit.
Always check your website from a variety of browsers in different areas of the country or world. You have to make sure that you’re seeing your site through the eyes of all customers. Make sure that your site is compatible with all popular browsers. You will also want to send your site to someone that’s using a different operating system so you can see that their browser is compatible with yours.
It’s important to do research when you design a website. Research the target audience and your niche. Your website design should appeal to the people that you want to reach. This will ensure that your design is efficient.
Remember, just because your site is launched, doesn’t mean you are done with designing. Keep as active as possible with your website. You don’t have to constantly update it, but you must do regular updates. If you present current events or host videos, this is definitely a must. When you update your website, it’s not the same as updating your blog. This task requires effort.
Blank Space
A good website should display and function in any type of web browser, so it is vital that you test your website in every browser currently on the market. A site that works on Internet Explorer might not display right in Firefox, Google Chrome, or Safari. Test every page in each browser before you let your site go live.
Having blank space in your site is a good design feature, so do not make the mistake in thinking that you website should be packed all the way. Blank space makes your site easier to read and navigate: your visitors will enjoy viewing your site if they do not feel overwhelmed by the quantity of information on each page.
You can see if your website is interesting by checking the statistics of it. You will be able to tell who is visiting your site and which pages they’re spending the most time on. This will give you an idea on what to update to keep them coming back for more.
Learn from people who are knowledgeable in web design. This will ensure that you are well versed in the different techniques used and can work on any type of website you come across.
Always check for links that are broken. Do this before uploading the links to your server. This is important, as visitors who click on your links expecting useful information, only to find a 404 page, will leave your site in disgust. To prevent this from happening, do a quick check to ensure everything is working properly.
Look to make any interface tools as user friendly as possible. All text that is underlined make clickable, and have the links change color when highlighted and clicked on. Friendly, consistent sites keep visitors coming back for more.
Your logo should be near the top of all of your pages. Link your pages with one another so that your website is a single coherent entity. Also, this will build brand recognition for your site. Make sure that your logo truly represents what your business is about.
Other than being simple, the best thing about website development is that it’s easy to turn your dream into reality just by using a few code lines or a couple small clicks. Implement what you just learned from the article above, and you’ll have a great site in no time. Keep these tips in mind as you create.
Enroll in a periodic web design newsletter to help you to occasionally re-focus on your web design vision. Web designers can derive great benefits from newsletters, whether they are self-taught amateurs or experienced pros.