Even the most experienced web designer could use a refresher course in website design basics. Learning new web design techniques can be difficult, as there is a lot of unorganized, inaccurate information on the web. This article will help you, though. Below is a list of tips for any web designer that can help to create wonderful websites.
Search Box
Put in an element to search so you can have visitors search what’s on your website. Visitors may look for something specific, and that box will be the one of the first things they look for. If there is no search box, they are not going to take the time to look through all your content. They are just going to move on. Put the search box in the upper right hand corner of the page because this is usually the first place people look for one.
One of the biggest mistakes a newbie designer makes is not verifying how a site looks in several different browsers. What you see might not be what users will see. So keep up with the latest browsers an test them out and check out your website on them. Checking your website with different operating systems and browsers will help ensure that it works for everyone.
Check your pages for broken links. When a visitor clicks on one, they’ll be frustrated. You can do manual checks or seek out a program that will do a scan and give notice of broken links.
Give some thought to the background of your website. Some sites have moving GIF backgrounds, which can be great at times, but can make your text difficult to read at other times. Use a light colored background which fits into your site’s color palette.
If you are creating a very big website, you want to always incorporate a search function into the site. Place a search box visibly on your homepage that helps your visitors search single terms that may appear anywhere on your site. You can use Google search or FreeFind, as they both give you access to an engine which is free and simple to use.
Know what you’re talking about. If you will be offering informational content, you need to have a firm grasp of your subject matter. Giving your customers unclear or false information will only cause you to lose readers. Knowing your subject thoroughly will make your blog good.
Use original photos to create a unique and attractive website. Having pictures on your website gives off a more user-friendly approach to your site. People spend extra time on websites with photos because they look at the pictures.
Know your subject thoroughly. Good research will help you to create the ideal site. Being unclear with customers or giving false information will drive readers away. Understanding your subject is the key to a good blog.
User experience is the most important aspect of any website. The design of the website must be centered on the end user at all times. Examples of this would be user interaction, accessibility, usability and the users overall experience. These are vital considerations you must take into account. Always view the design from the vistor’s perspective.
Don’t use frames if you want a site search engines can crawl! People like frames, but search engines will not see your info if it is inside a frame. When information isn’t seen, your ranking with the search engines goes lower. When you don’t have a high ranking, then your visitor count will be lower.
File Types
Your site’s files sizes are all affected by things like your graphics, and all of those can affect your site’s loading speed. You are better off keeping the graphics to the normal GIFs and JPEGs so it loads smoothly. While BMP and PNG files might be better for creating web graphics, these file types tend to use significantly more disk space. To make sure that your users have an optimal experience when accessing your website, use file types for your graphics that take up less space on a disk.
Test early and frequently. This is to make sure your site will be easier to perform maintenance on. Keep testing and improving as the design nears completion.
Optimize your website for older IE versions. There are many people on the Internet who still utilize Internet Explorer. This creates problems for web designers, but there are things that can be done. Specifically, you’ll want to know about IE’s “box model bug.”
Choose fonts that are legible, and look professional. The most well-designed sites use professional-looking fonts. Skip the fancy fonts such as Comic Sans, since people may not be able to read them on many computers. A font could be subset to a default font in the computer of your user, if they do not have it. This can interfere with the design of your website.
No matter how experienced you are in website design, it’s always important to build your site on the basics. With so much available information on website creation, finding the pertinent information you want can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Thanks to this article, you should now have a comprehensive list of techniques that you can draw on to make a great website.