You will likely feel intimidated by starting a brand new website, but see it as an exciting new venture. It is tough to know just how to begin and where to get the best advice — and what you’ll be spending. The following tips should give you enough information to draw up a basic plan and start building a quality website.
You should always be on the lookout for new information from various forums that can help you learn how to start out, or gain more knowledge with website development. With a quick search on Google, you can uncover plenty of information that won’t cost you a dime to learn about buff.
Be aware of the background you choose. Animated GIF backgrounds and complicated patterns on your website can be very distracting to viewers trying to absorb your content. Make sure your background doesn’t detract from your content, or make it hard for your viewers to read your font.
Your site should be able to pass a NoScript test. Download the extension to ensure your website is 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.
Do not put pop-up windows on your site. While these might seem valuable in some instances, most people think they are rather annoying. If your visitors become frustrated enough with pop-ups, they may permanently leave your website.
Your website should be optimized to include older versions of web browsers such as Internet Explorer. While IE is the bane of everyday browsing these days, you would be surprised how many people use outdated browsers for web surfing. They often don’t render elements to web standards, so you will have to work around them. Specifically, you’ll want to know about IE’s “box model bug.”
Keep in mind that it is very important to have your website design tested on many different web browsers. Different internet browsers can display the contents of your website differently, which can sometimes dramatically alter a visitor’s experience. A little bit of research will help you decide which browsers are used most often, at that time. Test your website on all of these browsers, including the popular mobile web browsers.
Avoid using frames on your site. While they worked well for the time, they caused many issues for website visitors. Frame designs make scrolling frustrating and it makes sites more difficult to bookmark. Use other ways to make your site easier to navigate instead.
Always avoid placing pop-up advertisements on your site. PPC ads are often necessary, but pop-up ads just tick visitors off. They may then choose not to come back to your site. Make sure you do not put up anything too annoying to others.
The design tools which come with your web hosting account are a great way to practice your skills, but they are no replacement for real design know-how. Make your site as personal as possible by tweaking or adding more features to the generic website you can create via the tools offered by your hosting service.
Most people know about Photoshop, and they realize that it takes some effort and knowledge to use it effectively in website development. However, the companion program of Dreamweaver will take your website creation to a whole new level, so do not neglect incorporating it into your portfolio of skills.
Avoid using clashing, loud colors when designing your website. The text on your web pages, in particular, needs to be clear and easy to read on the colors you choose for your backgrounds. Using a dark text color on a lighter background is generally easier to read than the opposite. If you are not sure whether or not your chosen color scheme is user friendly, ask for some feedback from some of your friends.
Provide an option for site visitors to search your entire website for a specific keyword or phrase. This makes your website more usable, content accessible and leaves visitors fulfilled. It is pretty simple to put a site search in place. The time spent will be well worth it.
Steer clear of captchas. You don’t want site visitors working hard just to see your webpage. Most visitors will simply leave the website and use another resource instead.
You don’t have to do everything yourself. Website development encompasses many different aspects, including programming, graphic design, content creation, optimization for search engines, and user interface design. Getting help shouldn’t be embarrassing, everyone needs it – even the experts! You always have the option of hiring a company or professional that specializes in a particular area that you are not familiar with.
Don’t rely on JavaScript too much. For some people visiting your site, Java will cause problems instead of providing improved functionality. Everyone uses a different web browser, and all of them have new versions released fairly regularly. Not everyone will upgrade to the latest version of his browser. In addition, not everyone keeps JavaScript enabled within their browsers. If you choose to use JavaScript every time, you will prevent some users from being able to effectively use your site.
If you want to host any type of video on your website, make sure to first check with the web host to be positive that this is something that is allowed. Some hosts do not permit videos to be hosted on their servers. Those FLV files absorb a great deal of server space that simply may not be available to you. Before putting the effort into this feature, make sure you’re not wasting your time.
Look at the site statistics daily when updating your site to figure out its appeal. This will give you an idea about who visits your website and which pages are most popular. This will show you which areas need updating to entice people back again and again.
Watch over your site so that you can get rid of spam right away. Blog owners or forum moderators should focus on this especially. Being a good designer means you keep the negative off your site.
Prevent utilizing pop-ups on your site. Most people do not like visiting a website, then having pop-up ads bombard them. Many people will close a website that brings pop-ups as soon as they can, no matter what size the site is. Avoid using these irritating ads to keep your visitors happy. If your web host forces you to have pop-up ads, try to find another web host.
If your site has a logo, you want to be sure that when you click it you go right to your homepage. Over the years most people have come to associate a logo with a link, that when clicked, will take them to the homepage of a website. It can be frustrating to users if your logo is static, because they then must look around for a “home” link. This will make your site more seamless to navigate.
Try to learn as much as you can about CSS. HTML may be the basics, but many of the best design decisions are made in CSS. It acts as a reference to help your site stay consistent across multiple pages. This can make it easier to change your website globally. For example, if you decide to switch your font to blue, all it takes is making a quick change to the code.
You may be feeling ready to try your own hand at website design at this point. Create a budget, make sketches, and find advisers. If you get started as soon as possible, it will be easier to build an efficient, visually striking website.
Your website should be optimized to include older versions of web browsers such as Internet Explorer. Many people are still using the older versions of Internet Explorer. Unfortunately, many aspects of your site may not be compatible or displayed properly due to outdated rendering standards, so you may have to create some fixes for the elements that do not work properly. Read up on the so-called “box model bug” which has bothered IE users for a long time.