A great method for making a seemingly endless supply of money would be to become a web designer. When you know how to make sites, you can make them for yourself or others. You can dedicate whatever time you want to website creation, giving you freedom of schedule but still able to make a few dollars.
Use fixed-position navigation so that users can navigate easily. This allows you to lock the panel for navigation in place while users scroll. This isn’t just great for a visitor, you can also help out Internet marketers because it allows visitors to have an easier time doing an action like buy products or sign up to get a newsletter.
Stay away from lots of graphics on your website. Graphics and images are definitely necessary to help facilitate professionalism and appeal, but they can also facilitate clutter if you’re not careful. You need to not use graphics to decorate things, you need to be sure they’re making your site better. Having the right mix of graphics will improve your site’s usability, too.
Ensure your site can pass the NoScript test. Download the NoScript extension on the Firefox web browser and activate it to see if your website can still be read. Certain content cannot be read unless scripts are present. A blank site without scripts can create big problems.
Allow Users
Allow users to cancel an action if they so choose. For example, allow users to cancel registration for newsletters or easily back out of a search. If you do not give site users the opportunity to cancel an action, they are not likely to return to your site. Over time, this could negatively impact your sales and site traffic.
Do not overuse JavaScript. It has several useful benefits, but can also be problematic. Web browsers have different capabilities, and they all have new versions that come out regularly. Every single visitor isn’t going to be using a more recent version of their browser. You should also be aware that some of your users will have JavaScript disabled through their browser. These both could keep users from getting to your website.
Speed is everything when it comes to the Internet, so make sure that you keep your website’s loading time to a minimum. No visitor is going to wait more than a few seconds for your page to load, so ensure they get what they want quickly so they don’t go to your competition’s website instead.
Never use pop-ups. There is not a person out there who will want to visit a website and get overwhelmed with pop-up ads. It does not matter who or what the website represents, most visitors will not hang around if they are bombarded with pop-ups. Your customers will be much happier if you give these types of advertisement a wide swerve. As well, if your web host makes it mandatory that you have pop-up advertising, look into a new host asap. It’s not worth the annoyance level they create.
Internet Explorer
Your website should be optimized to include older versions of web browsers such as Internet Explorer. People usually say they hate Internet Explorer, but many people still use it. Workarounds are needed because the browser is not 100% compliant with standards. Specifically, read about the “box model bug” that plagued IE for years.
You must create a website that is easily navigable to attract and keep traffic. You should have links that are easy to find, as well as displayed well. A navigation menu will also help visitors locate exactly what they’re looking for. Make sure you have links back to your main pages accessible on every single page of your website; that way, visitors are able to always get around.
Your user’s needs should be your top priority. As a web designer, it is important that you make this the focus of your design. Factors of note are usability, accessibility, user experience and interaction. These are vital considerations you must take into account. See things from the perspective of your visitor.
Test your site early and test it frequently. It is essential to do usability tests early in the developing phase. Be sure that you stay diligent about website testing and improvements as it keep growing.
A great “About Us” page will help your readers understand who you are and what you do. Web designers often forget to be creative when they create the company bio area of the site. Therefore, it is a good idea for you to spice things up a bit! Let people see who you are by sharing your educational background, career moves and future goals.
Always include a search tool for searching through your site. Visitors may look for something specific, and that box will be the one of the first things they look for. When there isn’t one available, they may just decide to try another site where they can find that information. Make sure the box is on the right at the tip of the page, which is where most visitors will look first.
When you are choosing your hosting service for the site, you have to be sure you understand everything that comes in the package. Pay close attention to how much bandwidth, CPU usage and disk space each package includes. Be certain you understand what you are purchasing.
Figure out who you think your audience will be as you design your website. This will help your design and help you tailor some of the features you have available on your website. Taking advice from your target visitors will help your site be more pertinent.
You must focus on time management when you are building a website. It can be helpful since building a site requires many small tasks. If you are not careful, all these tasks can pile up and overwhelm you. Keep up with the work as it arises.
You website should be easy to scan. Most visitors do not have a lot of time to spend, so they scan to see what they want to read. Having text in certain areas to create a more bold appearance will catch the attention of readers who quickly scan each page. Additionally, keep your most important info at the top of the page. This helps the visitors see the important stuff first before checking out the rest of the site.
You need a visual sitemap to effectively plan ahead. When you utilize a sitemap that is visual, you can see just how the site’s structure is developing. You’ll now have the ability to determine any areas which need improving, or areas that have been neglected. You cannot discount having a clear image of your end product.
When designing your website, ensure that critical content is high on the page, beginning with the upper left corner. Since people read this way, it’s best to do this so visitors can see your site.
If you’re placing ads on your site, make sure they aren’t too big. Visitors should be comfortable on your site. Only add enough content to fill, but not clutter, your site and your website will have a more professional look.
When you build a website you need to quit using a lot of fonts that confuse people. Think about how the various fonts look on a standard computer display. Tiny fonts can be difficult to read. Lots of sites use typefaces like Verdana since it reads well in different sizes and colors.
With everything you’ve learned here, you should now know more about web page design. Just be sure to use all that you learned to the best of your ability and before you know it, you’ll be a website development pro.