Some hosting services offer a tool to build your own website. Use this tool to create a very basic layout but do most of the coding yourself. You want to integrate your own personality into this site, and this means tweaking and adding some things on your own without the drag-and-drop site-builder the host offers.
Make sure you avoid getting free web hosting on any commercial website you have because you don’t want any headaches in the future. Though you can’t beat the initial cost of free, free hosting includes ads and other features that can detract from your site. This will negatively impact your design and cause customers to leave and not come back, costing you more than the hosting ever would.
Design your website as an artist would. This means that you should feel inspired by the everyday things in life, and put that inspiration to work. If something inspires you to have a design idea while you are out and about, make sure that you write down a quick note of your idea on whatever you have access to, for example, a napkin. Or, if you think of something at work, call home and leave yourself a message to remind you.
Make sure someone is testing your website’s functionality as you go along. When adding new features, have a few people test it to make sure it functions like you want it to. Things that may seem inconsequential to you, such as graphics that load slowly, may appear to be major obstacles to other people. Always seek feedback from outside sources.
Allow users to cancel an action if they so choose. 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 visitors the option to get out of an action they do not want to continue with, you are pressuring them into something. This makes them less likely to come back or buy from you in the future.
Be careful when you are adding sound to your website. Sound can often aggravate the user if they haven’t explicitly designated the audio to play and is even worse if a volume option isn’t present. It is acceptable to have video and audio links, but be sure that the site visitor is the person who makes decisions about whether they hear something on your website.
As a web designer, it’s imperative to set goals that are attainable and realistic. If you rush to meet an impossible deadline, you won’t do your best work and may have to troubleshoot a site later. Leave yourself enough time to do a good job right away.
If you are looking to get started with web design, make use of the unlimited number of resources available to you. There are numerous magazines and books about every aspect of web design. You can tap into these resources to master the art and skills of a true web designer.
Many people know there is a software called Photoshop and that they need to master it if they want to make websites that look awesome. Fewer people are familiar with the program Dreamweaver, which can be just as useful.
A website’s design is never done. You will need to stay active, when it comes to your website. This does not mean that you have to constantly change it, though you will have to preform some regular updates. If your website focuses on current events, frequent updates are an absolute must. Current is the key word here! Maintaining your site is different from making an occasional post on your blog. You still have to put in some effort, though!
If you want your site to become more visible to online users, you must learn to use proper meta tags for each page. High-quality meta tags will help search engines determine the topic of your website. If you use poor meta tags, or worse, don’t use them at all, your site will get fewer visitors overall.
Make sure that the font you are using looks professional, and is easy to read. You can see if a site looks professional by looking at the fonts. Don’t use handwriting or comic fonts as most people won’t have them installed. Use a font that is part of the default font subsets on user computers. Many times, the result is very unappealing.
Don’t include pop-up windows when designing your website. While these might seem valuable in some instances, most people think they are rather annoying. Every pop-up window you throw in front of your website visitors increases the likelihood that they will abandon your website in frustration. Once they leave, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll be coming back.
You can use some free software to help set up your site. Many people believe that expensive software is the only way to get things done, but there are multitudes of free tools available to help you get started, and keep your site running. With a little search effort on your part, the kinds of tools you need can be found, and for free.
Your search bar should be somewhere around the top of your page layout and should have the capacity to hold 27 visible characters. 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.
Are you optimistic about creating your own website now that you know what it takes to do it right? Just constantly be on the lookout for new knowledge to fill your brain with, and you should be a great web designer in no time.
