It’s vital a web designer learn all the basics of website development, so they create websites that are both good looking and functional. There are many resources out there to help a new web designer begin; this article is one of them. Read on for some basic website creation tips to help you improve your skills.
Graphics are important for any designer but beginners should focus only on the standard graphics on their first several builds. PNGs work much better than bitmap images, which are huge. 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. Try using JPEGs for photos.
Your site should be able to pass a NoScript test. See if the website is readable. There are some elements (e.g. ordering products) that will not work if there is no script. For this reason, if your website is blank and has no scripts, it will not work.
Regularly distributing a newsletter can help to secure repeat visitors. When you allow visitors to subscribe to your website’s newsletter for updates, they will be more likely to come back to your site. Put the form for signing up in a prominent location, such as a sidebar, and use it to compile a list of visitors who opt in to your newsletter. You can avoid some reputation-damaging trouble by making sure that your newsletter only goes out to visitors who have explicitly requested it.
Be careful when introducing new colors into the design of your website. Your text must be easily readable and not disappear into your background. Using a dark text color on a lighter background is generally easier to read than the opposite. If you have doubts about your color scheme, run it by a few people and see what they think of it.
A great way to get repeat visitors to your site, is by having them subscribe to your newsletter. When you allow visitors to subscribe to your website’s newsletter for updates, they will be more likely to come back to your site. Put the form in a convenient sidebar, and track the users who subscribe. Make sure you only send out the letter to those that have explicitly requested to view it.
Keep each different topic separated. If you’ve got a few discussions going, put each on its own page. It’ll help people find what they are looking for easier, and search engines will have an easier time ranking specific pages.
Your front page should be simple and inviting. This will cause people to want to jump ship early. Explain exactly what your business specializes in.
Always keep your opening page simple. The look of your front page will help people determine if they want to stay on your site or leave it. Be descriptive, but try to do so in just a few words.
Older Versions
Your website should be optimized to include older versions of web browsers such as Internet Explorer. Although many people loathe Internet Explorer, many people surfing the Internet do it on older versions of this web browser. These do not render the web elements to the web standard, so there must be workarounds. You should read up on the frustrating “box model bug” that has plagued IE for a long time.
Search engine capabilities are an essential part of a large site. In the upper right-hand corner of the homepage, include a search box that allows users to search for a single term that appears anywhere in your site. FreeFind and Google can help you install a search function on your website.
Learning how to design good websites becomes even simpler the more you do 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. You need to practice at some point, so why not begin now?
It takes a great deal of practice to learn how to apply great website creation techniques. This is important so that you will understand well how each step fits into the bigger picture and becomes easier for you to handle. You don’t want to move deep into your site’s design and realize too late that you don’t understand something important.
Enroll in a periodic website creation newsletter to help you to occasionally re-focus on your web design vision. Both pros and novices can benefit from reading good newsletters.
Consider a free software package when you are setting up your website. Investing in powerful software packages like Photoshop is only worth it if you think they’ll pay off in the end. All that is required from you is a little bit of effort in finding and choosing the free tools that will give you just what you’re looking for.
Now that you’ve been exposed to the basics, you should feel confident in moving forward with a website. Due to the large amount of information available, it can be difficult to determine where the best place to start is. By following the advice in the article above, you will be able to start learning the basics of website design.