Is it your goal to be a productive web designer? Are there many goals on your plate, but your lack of knowledge in web page design is keeping you from them? If you answered “yes,” then this article is for you. It will help you learn the fundamentals of website creation.
Keep page sizes down. Not all website visitors have blazing connection speeds and will get frustrated and lose interest if your site takes a while to load. There’s no reason to make viewers wait.
Go through all links on any page on your website carefully to make sure there are no links that are broken before you upload the page. Error pages only cause visitor frustration. If you have very few links, you can check them manually. If many links, try using a link-checking program that can do the work for you quickly.
Incorporate a tagline prominently on your website. The tagline includes a motto or clever phrase that speaks to the purpose of your business. It’s important to use a tagline that is clear since you have about eight seconds when someone goes to your page to get them interested in exploring your entire website.
Allow your users the ability to cancel something if they are not happy with what they typed in. This includes anything from filling out a simple set of questions, up to registering for a product or service. Not allowing customers to cancel actions that they do not want to follow through with is unfair, and it is forceful, which may prevent those visitors from returning to your site or making purchases from you in the future.
Pay close attention to the backgrounds of your site design. Some websites have backgrounds that make the website’s text hard to read, while other websites have backgrounds that contain elements that annoy visitors such as gif animations. Choose a background that accentuates what your site already has to offer, rather than works against it. This will help get your message across to your visitors.
There is a plethora of programs available to assist you with design. These websites will help you to create elements for your site that you may not otherwise do without them, and they will help you to do it much more quickly. An unattractive website will not attract visitors.
Pay attention to color combinations in your design. You want to make sure that your text is easily visible against your background colors. Choose a dark color for your text, and use a lighter color for your backgrounds. Ask someone to look at your color schemes to ensure you are making the right choice.
Regardless of your target audience or what type of site you have, try to keep your loading time under ten seconds. You want your site to load quickly on the browser of whoever is visiting your page. People browsing online like those instant rewards or gratification, so to speak, so this should be your focus.
Make sure your first page is simple. People who are shopping around decide quickly whether to use a site or continue searching by viewing the front page. Describe your business in detail and what it does, but keep other distractions and details to a minimum.
Know your niche. If you will be offering informational content, you need to have a firm grasp of your subject matter. People will not come to your website if you don’t appear to know what you’re talking about. Having a good blog involves having an education on your subject.
Your website needs to function properly for visitors who use any kind of browser, so be sure to test out your site for browser compatibility. What may work great in Firefox, may not work well in Internet Explorer or Chrome. Therefore, check to see that all pages display correctly in all the large browsers prior to your site going live.
Alt Tags
As you add images, use ALT tags. It helps those who are surfing the web with disable graphics. It also helps those with visual impairments, as images can be translated to voice. Using ALT tags also help to explain what clicking on the link will do. Finally, ALT tags are used by search engine crawlers; therefore, using them can help boost your search rank.
It is very important that you understand the needs of your web visitors. Web designers need to completely focus on the user’s needs. This can include user experience, accessibility, usability, and user interaction. You should think about all these things as you do your job. Try to make sure you look at your site from the perspective of your visitors as you design it.
Have some search element which lets visitors search your site’s content. For people who look for specific things, they’ll look for a search box first. When one is not available, chances are they will move to a site that is searchable. Always put the box somewhere near the right page’s top because people will look for it there.
Never underestimate the value of great meta tags throughout your website. Properly used meta tags make it easier for search engines to classify your site correctly. Poor or useless tags that are irrelevant to your site will deter future and returning visitors.
Your website’s load times are effected by which file types you use for images. Generally, JPEGs and GIFs are the best graphics. Just because PNG and BMP files can be more suited to web graphics, they can use a lot more disk space. By converting your file types to more manageable sizes, you will provide your visitors with a better experience.
If you would like to be a successful web designer, it is pertinent for you to know HTML5. HTML5 will help to improve your chances of success.
Before you publish any web page, check it carefully for broken links. Few things are as frustrating as clicking a link only to land on an error page. You can also check the links yourself or use a program to look.
Now that you know what it takes to design a great site, are you confident to get started today? Apply these tips to guide your researches and efforts to create a website that reflects the professionalism of your company and attracts more potential customers.