The idea of designing your website from start to finish may seem intimidating. How will you design your site so it pleases the eye? And then, you have to decide where to start coding. This article is packed with practical guidelines for creating an effective, visually appealing website.
Choose the right graphic formats for your site. PNGs work well, but bitmap images may be too big. Use a GIF instead if the image contains over 256 colors and PNG for test buttons and screen shots. JPEG images can be used for photos.
If you’re creating a website, make sure you look at it in different browsers. If you just check it from you personal computer, what you see may be vastly different from what others see. Always go out of your way to discover what browsers are the most popular and design your site to work efficiently in all of them. Send your website to a bunch of friends to see if they have trouble.
If you’re designing a website, you need to look at your website in multiple browsers. What you see might not be what users will see. Research the most popular browsers and fix your site accordingly. Have a friend or colleague pull up your site in an alternate operating system to ensure their view is comparable to your own.
Get familiar with your subject. If you plan on using your site for a blog or similar endeavor, you should be sure to do thorough research on the subject before you post. When you do not seem genuine or knowledgeable, you will quickly lose readers. Having a thorough understanding of your subject matter is vital to having a successful website.
Use Photoshop to create attractive websites if you are a beginner. When amateurs use Photoshop, they often create very professional grade sites based off the capabilities of the software. When you are working without something similar to Photoshop, it will create a steeper learning curve for design, and increase the time it takes to reach your goals.
Your website should include a prominently displayed tagline. Your tagline lets others know more about you or your business. This can be beneficial in introducing users to your site.
Other than the aesthetics of your site design, one of the most important things to consider is keeping all your file sizes to a minimum. The size of the files making up your website is the direct cause of your site’s load times. It is critical that your website load quickly for everyone. Remember, too, that some visitors may be using dial-up or other low-speed connections. Test each section of your site to ensure it loads rapidly for every visitor.
Reading this article is a great start, so consider printing it out and going over it a few times to absorb it’s content. Continue learning to find the latest techniques and advancements in website creation, and you’ll be able to beat out the Jones’!