So, you are ready to design a website, but you don’t know where to begin. You are thinking about incorporating a site where people can play videos or look at lots of photos, but converting that vision you have into reality is something you are not ready to do. The following web design advice will help you get the ball rolling. Read on for some tips and see what you’ve been missing.
Most people have now heard of Photoshop, and are aware that they need this knowledge if they are going to be any good at designing websites. However, many are not as familiar with Dreamweaver software and its features. It might be worth looking into this application to find out how it can benefit you.
Provide an easy-to-use link for customers to share content from your site on social networking sites, email, and forums. It will allow them to show their friends the great information they’ve found while bringing you increased traffic.
Use sound judiciously when designing your website. No visitor is going to want to be faced with uncontrollable, automatic sounds that begin playing when they load up your website. It’s perfectly fine to add an audio link and video links that include sound, but be sure to allow the user to control if there is sound when they land on your site.
A smart tip for those who want to learn about website design is to make use of all the resources available. All types of magazines and books exist for designing a site, and these cover all aspects of web design. Seeking out resources will make you a better web designer and is a smart way to really learn the craft.
You want to make certain the search box is at the top of your webpage, and allows 27 characters at least. Use a button that says ‘search’, rather than ‘go’ or ‘submit’. Ensuring these items are completed will let your visitors easily use your site, ensuring they’ll come back again.
Make sure you give your users the option to cancel a given action if they choose to. An action may refer to signing up for e-mail notifications, newsletter subscriptions or filling out web forms. When you do not allow visitors to cancel something they do not wish to complete, you are forcing them into something, which can prove detrimental to fostering return visits and/or purchases.
Once your site is published online, you don’t get to stop working on it’s design! It’s important to actively monitor, adjust and update your site. This doesn’t mean you need to update your site every day, but updates should be relatively frequent. This goes double if your site covers fast-moving topics like politics or hosts videos. There is more to updating a website than there is to updating a blog. You will have to put work into it.
Sketch out some ideas of your site. Your friends and family can comment on your sketches, give you advice on what to add or take away and help you to alter your plans.
Design your page so that previously entered information is saved and automatically used to fill in informational boxes. For example, if a person has to enter their information to register for an account, and then is filling out a form on your website that requires the same information, you want to have their data saved, so that they do not have to take the time to fill everything out again. This kind of “sticky” information saves your users time and effort, and they will likely appreciate the streamlining this kind of good design provides.
When you are seeking a hosting service to put your website on, do your research and be 100% sure of what is included within the cost. Find out how much disk space, bandwidth or CPU usage you are allowed. You need to know exactly what you are paying for.
Avoid using captchas beyond the initial registration procedures. The captcha makes visitors do too much work. Except for devoted members, most people will likely leave your site and look elsewhere.
Do not use JavaScript more than you have to. Even though it can give your website a more transparent and responsive look, it can give some users problems. Each web browser is different, and each has a new version on a regular basis. Some people accessing your website are going to do so with a browser that is not fully updated and compatible with your JavaScript. Also, consider that JavaScript isn’t regularly enabled in everyone’s browser. Your website may not have any functionality to offer these types of users as a result.
Your customer will likely be far more interested in your content than in your page’s layout. Stay true to your original purpose and use imagery to help you achieve that; in other words, keep design simple and make sure it communicates your message. The simpler your content, the more quickly it should load.
Begin your attempts at web design with simple sites that can be evaluated for potential problems. Try starting with a couple basic pages that just have text in order to see how you do.
Make sure your fonts and color schemes stay consistent throughout your site. Keeping a consistent design, will encourage visitors to proceed with confidence. This can be easily avoided by using consistent colors and images on all of your site’s pages. Take it a step further by making all your marketing efforts fit the same design features.
Link your logo to your home web page. Just about everyone expects to be able to click on the company logo to be redirected to the home page. It can cause frustration for the visitors to your site if the logo is static. They will then have to waste their time searching for a link to your home page. A clickable logo makes your site much easier to navigate.
With the tips you have just read, designing an effective, appealing website should be a snap. There are core principles that you need to master that will really bring together the entire process of designing a website. Put these tips into use when you start your website and you’ll be successful in the end!
