Using Google to search for website design tutorials will bring up a number of websites that explain how to do it. These sites just want to sell you their ebooks and software, though. This article will tell you what you need to know about web design.
You should frequently peruse various forums and sites to learn more about website design. You can find more information online for free, too.
Be very careful to remove outdated content from your site. When you are offering specials that are past their expiration, you will watch your visitor counts dwindle. Allowing information that is outdated to remain on your website is a sign to users that you have not taken the time to update your site and it implies that you don’t care about their time. Set up a review schedule so you are able to update the content, and remove the items that have nothing to offer anymore.
Make sure that your website has a tagline incorporated into the design. This tagline includes a company motto or statement that tells the reader a little bit about the business. This will give the visitor a quick first impression of what you’re about.
JavaScript is a great tool, but don’t overuse it. Even though it can give your website a more transparent and responsive look, it can give some users problems. There are many different web browsers that people use and they are constantly being updated with new features. Some of your readers are not going to have the most recently updated version of their browser. Also, consider that JavaScript isn’t regularly enabled in everyone’s browser. Either of these problems can make the visitor unable to use your site.
Alt Tags
You must remember in order to index your images, ALT tags must be employed. These tags are very important for the handicapped segment of your target audience. If images are links, your ALT tags can help you describe the link’s behavior, too. Finally, search engine crawlers like ALT tags as they are useful. So, your search rank might improve as a result.
Do not use a lot of graphics. Although graphics are necessary make your site project a professional, well-designed and cohesive look, having too many can make it look cluttered. Use graphics for improvement, not decoration. Also, including the “right” number of images makes it easier to navigate the site.
Make certain that your site is accessible for various incarnations of Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer is not well regarded, but many still use it, and some even have outdated versions. The older versions do not render all site elements to comply with web standards, which means using workarounds. You should read up on the frustrating “box model bug” that has plagued IE for a long time.
Try writing a good “About Us” page. Often, a website will contain a boring, half thought-out page to cover this. This is an opportunity to make your website stand out. Let people see a bit of your personal history. Try including items like, how you entered website creation, who inspires you, and what your wishes for your business are.
Consult with friends to see if there is anything you missed when you learned about things like HTML or Photoshop or Dreamweaver. The last thing that you want is to be deep in the design process and realize that you neglected to learn a key piece of information.
Do keyword research. Although content is important, you must develop a customer base using keywords. To make sure that people find your website more easily, you’ll need to learn what keywords are and how to use them effectively.
If you can, you should include “site searching” on your home page, as well as any other pages. This increases the site’s usability five-fold, and makes it easier to get to anyplace on the site from any other place on the site. These tools are easy to add to your site, and they provide a huge added value for your readers.
Ensure your site stands out among the rest. Look at competitors’ websites to ensure that you haven’t accidentally made a similar design for your site. If your website is too similar to your competitors, potential customers will not remember it. You’ll just look like a generic version of these previous ones.
Internet Connections
Use pictures on your site. Your own pictures will make your website more friendly and inviting. Many people enjoy pictures.
Videos on your site won’t be accessible to all viewers, including those with slower Internet connections. While it’s tempting to upload your multimedia at 5,000 kb/s, this speed may be too much for some people’s internet connections to handle. This can mean a very slow loading time for the video, which will cause it to buffer frequently.
It is very important to always consider what types of security the website has. Purchase a SSL certificate if you handle payments or other person information. Your host may have additional security features.
In order to become a renowned web designer, you first need to become a great artist. Always be prepared for inspiration to strike. Take down notes on a new idea as soon as it comes to you. If you’re at a restaurant, use your napkin for notepaper. Make sure you always write down, or draw your ideas, so you won’t forget them later.
Don’t forget about Internet Explorer 7 and 8. Most people do not like Internet Explorer, but others still use it. Workarounds are needed because the browser is not 100% compliant with standards. Specifically, read about the “box model bug” that plagued IE for years.
After you’ve learned the basics of website development, you’ll start to realize how all the pieces work in conjunction. However, you do need to know the basics, and these tips can help with that. Take the information presented in this piece to work your puzzle and create an outstanding website.