Lots of people are interested in designing web pages, but few have the knowledge they really need to be successful. Are you looking to have a career in web page design, or do you just want to create a nice site for yourself? This article has all of the tips and tricks you need, so check it out.
Be sure to use proper graphics when designing your website. Keep in mind that bitmap files are quite large and typically do not work well, but PNGs work okay. For simple text buttons or graphics that aren’t photographs, use PNG for files that are 256 colors or larger. Use a GIF file for anything less than 256. You can use Jpegs for photos.
You must always look at your finished websites in multiple browsers. What you see on your side may not always be what the others see on theirs. Always go out of your way to discover what browsers are the most popular and design your site to work efficiently in all of them. Before you decide to go live, you should always have others using different browsers and operating platforms review your site to verify it works on different systems.
Make sure that all of your colors match one another. Make text visible against the background hues. Reading dark text on lighter backgrounds is simpler than the opposite. When in doubt about the effectiveness of your color choices, solicit the opinions of friends.
Be careful when introducing new colors into the design of your website. Your text should be easy to see against your background. Reading dark text on lighter backgrounds is simpler than the opposite. Ask someone to look at your color schemes to make sure you are choosing something harmonious.
You don’t ever want to use too much graphics. You want the site to look professional and well-designed instead of cluttered. Never use graphics just to decorate, but only to improve. Having enough graphics that don’t clutter the site will make your site easier to use, as well.
Maintain normal-sized pages. Every Internet user does not have lighting fast speeds. If your site takes too long to load, you may lose visitors. Reduce your load times so visitors have no reason to leave.
Make user cancellations easy. This could mean ordering products, opting in to an email newsletter, or returning to the homepage from deep within your site. When you do not allow visitors to cancel something they do not wish to complete, you are forcing them into something, which can prove detrimental to fostering return visits and/or purchases.
You should never go live before previewing the site and ensuring images load properly and all links work. Few things are as frustrating as clicking a link only to land on an error page. You can do manual checks or seek out a program that will do a scan and give notice of broken links.
Be sure to do good keyword research. While giving viewers quality and up-to-date information should be your main focus, you must try building a customer base. You need to understand the proper keywords that will attract visitors to your website.
A simple way to increase your sites attractiveness is to make use of pictures you have taken. Pictures can give your site a friendly feel. The visitors will want to stay on your site for a longer period of time.
Is your site easy to scan? Many usability tests show that most online visitors do not read everything. They usually only scan for things that interest them. Using bolding, color changes and breaks between sections of text makes your content easier to scan and makes it more likely that visitors will return. Keep the most pertinent information near the top of the page. Doing all this makes your visitors’ experience more enjoyable because they can find the information they want without any problems.
Stay away from pop-up windows as part of your design. While these might seem valuable in some instances, most people think they are rather annoying. If customers see these popups and get frustrated, they may not come back to your site.
Now you should have a good grasp of what it takes to design a website while making profits from it at the same time. Make sure that you are using everything learned here and find more information to build your knowledge and achieve your design goals.