Many people want to design a website of their own, but do not know where to start. In order to build a quality website you must have knowledge. This article will show you some helpful tips on the basics of website development.
A fast website is a good website. If a visitor has to sit and wait for several minutes while your pages load, they are almost certainly going to click away from your site and go somewhere else, and they probably will not come back to your site.
Put in an element to search so you can have visitors search what’s on your website. If visitors to your site need something specific, they look for a search box first. If your site is not equipped with one, visitors may go to an alternate site. Put the search box in the upper right hand corner of the page because this is usually the first place people look for one.
When you are working on your web design, use the proper graphics needed for the task. PNGs work much better than bitmap images, which are huge. For images that are not photographs, use PNG format for over 256 colors. If under 256 colors, use GIF format. Use JPEG format for all photos on your website.
Make sure that every action can be cancelled if needed. Whether filling out forms, signing up for email notices or even needing browsing options, users will find this useful. Visitors do not appreciate not being able to cancel things that they are not interested in completing, and they may not wish to return to your site for future purchases.
Offer to store personal information for returning users. When a visitor fills out a registration form on your website, for instance, your site should hang onto that information, and use it to fill out data fields for the visitor on subsequent interactive pages ahead of time. Saving the user’s information in this way simplifies work for them, and is much appreciated by your website visitors.
Do not use pop-ups. There is little worse than visiting a site and being attacked by pop-up ads or newsletter sign-up boxes. The vast majority of users will just exit a site with pop-ups. You can avoid losing customers and visitors, by simply refusing to allow pop-up ads on your website. If your webhost places their own popup ads on your website, it is time for you to change your webhost.
If your site users will be registering to use your site, you should use their personal information to auto-fill forms. When visitors may be filling out multiple forms or information pieces, have the data fields retain their information, and auto-fill subsequent forms that are filled out. This “sticky” information can make the process easier and smoother for visitors and they’ll appreciate it.
Add a link where your visitors can send you feedback. This lets you see if anything is confusing, or if you’re missing something on the page, so that you may fix it as you can. If your visitors feel like they are a part of your site, they will want to return.
File Sizes
Make sure that all the files on your website are small in size. You need these small file sizes regardless of the overall design of your site. The reason for this is that your file sizes directly affect how quickly your website loads. It is critical that your website load quickly for everyone. You should also keep in mind that not every visitor will be using a high speed Internet connection. Test your website to ensure that it loads quickly even on a dial-up modem connection.
Creating a newsletter can help you get repeat visitors. Allowing your customers to sign up for updates or important events can have them coming back for more. Your website’s sidebar is an ideal location for the signup form, and you should make certain to stay on top of who has registered. Send your newsletter only to those who have signed up; doing otherwise is considered spam.
As previously stated, by learning the basics you can create your own website. If you know some pieces of information, you should have the ability to easily make a good website. Follow the tips presented here to design a website of your own.