Set up your website to store personal information that users might need to reenter multiple times. 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. Creating “sticky”� information in this manner makes the whole process much more simple and smooth, and your visitors are sure to appreciate the time you save them as well.
To help new web designers make good sites, use Photoshop. Programs like Photoshop are great for new web designers, because it allows them to quickly create professional websites. If you don’t have an easy-to-use tool like Photoshop, it will drastically increase the time and effort required to build a professional-looking website.
Your website should also feature links which allow your visitors to share what they find with their friends on social networking sites. This will let them spread your message quickly and also boost your site’s traffic.
If there is a logo placed on your site, that logo needs to link back to your homepage if someone clicks on it. This type of clickable logo has become a standard expectation from most Internet users. If your logo isn’t “clickable”, that frustrates users, because they have to look around the site for the “home” link. If your logo is clickable, people will find your site more navigable.
Allow your visitors to contact you through email, a contact form, comments or social media. This will let them communicate with you if they feel something is missing, or they do not understand what they see on your webpage, and you will be able to fix it. Negative and positive feedback are useful in improving your website.
Learning web design gets easier when you practice often. So, go ahead and start up some simple pages with HTML and C+ to see if you have some of the fundamentals down. You have to begin practicing at some point, so it’s best to begin now rather than waiting until later.
Create a comprehensive “About Us” page. Many websites contain very uncreative and dry pages for these areas. Make it a little more exciting! Get a little personal with this information by describing how you got started with web design, who your family members are, and what your business goals are.
You should update your content and get rid of expired content regularly. You will lose the attention and credibility of your readers if the promotional offer on your page expired months ago. Readers want current information and want to feel safe in dealing with a company that is on top of things. Make sure you regularly schedule time to add new content, and to remove old.
Make sure you use a descriptive title on your site. For proof of why this matters, go to your favorite search engine and use “untitled document” as your query. You will see what a common mistake not providing a webpage or website with a title is. You must name your site. Search engines utilize titles in their algorithms, so do not get left out for simply not having a title.
Meta tags are key to your site if you want to attract people to your site for short and long periods of time. Make sure you include them. Your site can show various search engines exactly what your site is all about when you have meta tags. Tags that incorrectly label your site can cause visitors searching for your site’s niche to not find the site, reducing the number of hits.
Be certain that the website is simple to use and visually pleasing. If your site is ugly or confusing, visitors will just turn around and leave. Help users avoid frustration with your site with simple, logical design that makes information easy to find.
Think things over very carefully before adding Flash content to your website. Flash can look exciting and high-tech, but on some machines it will lag and cause a site visitor’s computer to lag. Some phones and tablets, especially those made by Apple, won’t run Flash at all, which can destroy the user experience if there’s no alternative content.
You can create concept sketches before starting the coding of your site. This technique will allow you to plan out the necessary functions and aesthetics of your website. This makes a great beginning point.
Always use fonts that look professional and are readable. The font is one of the first items people notice when coming to a site. Don’t use fancy fonts, such as Comic Sans since many computers don’t have them. Unusual fonts can be classified as subsets on a viewer’s screen. The results are uncontrollable and often unattractive.
Make sure that your designs aren’t that similar to other designs in your immediate niche. Look at competitors’ websites to ensure that you haven’t accidentally made a similar design for your site. If you’re too similar visitors might confuse your site with the competition. You don’t want to be generic!
Make sure to check for any broken links. Do this from time to time, before uploading it to the server. If your visitors cannot access the information they need because of broken links, they will get frustrated and leave. In order to prevent this from occurring, proactively test thoroughly for full functionality.
The article you just read emphasizes that no matter how good you are at web design, there’s always time to bone up on the basics. The biggest problem you’ll have finding information is wading through the numerous sources that cover basic web design. This article speaks for itself; it details several basic strategies that are an essential part of good web design.