The are many things that websites are used for. It might be used to entertain visitors, inform a constituency, or communicate with your customers and colleagues. No matter what you use the site for, you need to be a great webmaster so you make things well. So here are some tips on website creation to get you started.
Avoid using clashing, loud colors when designing your website. The text needs to show against the background easily so your site is easily recognizable as yours. Choose a dark color for your text, and use a lighter color for your backgrounds. If you aren’t sure if your color scheme works well, show it off to a friend for some feedback.
Outdated Information
Add a prominent tagline to your website. This expresses exactly what your business offers. Clear taglines are effective in potentially capturing the attention of a reader in the critical first few seconds they visit your site.
It is imperative to replace old content with new. You will lose the attention and credibility of your readers if the promotional offer on your page expired months ago. Users will spend time on websites that are well-maintained, and the presence of your outdated information will tell them that your site it not being properly cared for. Set a schedule to review the site, to ensure that outdated information is removed, and fresh new content is added in its place.
Set up your website to store personal information that users might need to reenter multiple times. For instance, if a visitor registers for your newsletter and they are going to use the same information to make a purchase, be sure the data they’ve already entered is kept, so they do not have to re-enter the same information. Creating information that is “sticky” simplifies the entire process, and visitors are certain to appreciate all the time that they have saved.
Do not overuse JavaScript. JavaScript is highly overrated because it can cause issues for some users. Everyone uses a different web browser, and all of them have new versions released fairly regularly. Not all of your visitors will have the most recent version of the browser they are using. Also, not everybody has JavaScript enabled on their browser. Either of these problems can make the visitor unable to use your site.
Do not overdo the graphics on your site. Although graphics are necessary make your site project a professional, well-designed and cohesive look, having too many can make it look cluttered. Never use graphics just to decorate, but only to improve. Having the right amount of graphics that don’t clutter the design can improve the site’s usability, too.
Avoid pop-ups. Your customers will hate being flooded with popup ads. Many people will close a website that brings pop-ups as soon as they can, no matter what size the site is. Just avoid these irritating ads, so your users will be happy. If you are required by your hosting service to have pop-up ads, you may want to consider obtaining a new web host.
Don’t use frames. Although some users like frames, information inside the frame will not show up when searched. The search engine will give your website a lower ranking if it can’t see the great content you are providing. When that occurs you do not get many visitors.
While development platforms are great for doing the job of creating your code, they are not always able to be relied on for classic text editing. Site features are designed within the platform, and then the generated code is pasted in. In order to minimize platform-created errors and really learn the nuts and bolts of web design, you may want to consider editing your code directly using a simple text editor.
Always give your readers the ability to stop whatever it is they’re doing. Actions may involve searching the website for archives or a variety of topics, signing up for newsletters and notifications, or simply filling out forms. If you do not give your users the option to cancel something, then you are making them do something, which can cause users to be leery of making future purchases or coming back to your website at all.
Consider subscribing to newsletters about website creation. These are great for both pros and beginners.
Your best bet is going to be to start small, and move up to larger websites. This way you can easily see what you’re good at, and what you need to work on. Begin by making a few very simplistic pages that offer just basic text, and check out how well you do with that.
Start investing in books and resources that help you learn to be successful with your website creation. Be sure you begin with information that is targeted to your current design level; you want to improve your skills, but you want to make sure you don’t miss any information as you go.
Always research keywords before writing content. Your customers should always be the top focus, but search engine optimization is still necessary to bring those customers to your pages. To ensure your site is successful, do your keyword research.
Website Design
Website design requires proper research. Become educated about your particular niche so you can appeal to your target audience. Think of a variety of ways you can effectively cater your website to your audience. This makes website design quite efficient.
Discuss things with your friends to gather if you missed anything while learning about Photoshop, HTML, 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.
Keep your content interesting and entertaining. If it grabs your visitors attention, they will stick around and return for more. When you have relevant content on your site that appeals to your viewers and takes into account what they are looking for, there is a good chance they will want to visit again in the near future.
Usability tests that are task based are a good way to see how effective your website’s design is. Generally, the purpose of each task is to find information and/or functionality buried deep within your site. Should the site be designed well, the task is easy for the user to complete. If it isn’t, the task helps you understand how to improve your website.
As previously mentioned, there are any number of things that websites are used for, such as communicating, entertaining and providing information. Designing a site will always require some design knowledge. Use what you have just learned, and you’ll be able to build the perfect site to fill your needs.