It can be very expensive to hire a professional web design firm to design your website. And by spending all that money, it still doesn’t give the certainty that you will be happy with the end results. Unfortunately, it is hard to really put forth the design you want them to achieve. Only you know what you want. Designing your own website may take more time but it will be less expensive and more tailored to what you want.
Make sure you put your website through the NoScript test. Try downloading the Firefox extension and activating to make sure your website is readable. While you may need to have some scripts running, you do not want to see a completely empty website if they are turned off.
Scour forums for ideas and instructions on how to get the most out of web design. Google to find the best resources and start your research.
You want to have a site that is easy to navigate, if you want to attract visitors. Ensure that links are easy discovered and displayed in a prominent location. Good menus make navigating your site much easier. Always post the links to your primary pages on every sub-page to keep visitors on your site.
Minimize page sizes and loading times. Some Internet users have slow connections, and they will grow impatient with your site. Reduce your load times so visitors have no reason to leave.
Broken Links
Never allow dated or irrelevant content to remain on your website. If a reader lands on your page and sees an expired offer, it will definitely be a deal-breaker. Internet users want to have access to the latest information and read websites with regular updates. Set yourself a schedule for reviewing your site and removing anything that is outdated.
Check your webpages for broken links before publishing them. When a visitor clicks on one, they’ll be frustrated. You can do manual checks or seek out a program that will do a scan and give notice of broken links.
Your background is the keystone of your design. Some sites have moving GIF backgrounds, which can be great at times, but can make your text difficult to read at other times. Use a light colored background which fits into your site’s color palette.
Preserve the personal information users submit on your site safely. When a user needs to enter their information multiple times to sign up for various options you give them, make it so that they don’t have to enter duplicate info from beginning to end on their own repeatedly. This information retention and re-use makes site transactions much easier, and many people will appreciate that.
Always provide text content for links when you set up the design of your website. The purpose is to ensure that your customer or client is clicking on exactly what they are hoping to find. Any links on your website should contain text because links without text can be accidentally selected without the viewer’s knowing.
You always want to have a maximum page load time of ten seconds. An efficient site that is nicely designed is going to load properly and quickly. Make sure online visitors obtain the information they need rapidly.
One tool amateur web designers should use when creating graphics for their sites is Adobe Photoshop. By using this type of program, a novice designer will be able to make high quality looking websites at a fast pace. You will expend a lot of extra time and lessen your chances of creating a professional site if you neglect investing in programs such as Photoshop.
It is important to have content on your site that is not only interesting, but compelling as well. Design is certainly important, but the content is the reason that people will come back to your site. When your content is useful and provides valuable information that meets your visitor’s needs, those visitors will return again and again.
A visitor counter on the page is unattractive. Though you may think it adds to the appeal, your visitors will not agree. Use a different way to monitor your traffic.
Besides the simplicity that you can see once you learn a bit about it, one very satisfying thing about web design is the great power it offers you to convert ideas into reality with nothing more than a little effort and software. As the tips above show you, there are many design techniques to keep in mind so you have a wonderful website. Be sure to use these methods as described.