Website design can be very exciting, and extremely frightening too. You may not understand what needs to be done first, who can teach you the basics, and how much money you’ll need to spend. You should go through this article to find out more about the basics of web designing and create the kind of design you always wanted.
Use the proper graphic tools for web design. Remember, bitmap images are huge and usually don’t work well, PNGs work fine. For non-photographic images, text buttons, and screen shots, use PNG or GIF. For photos, you can use JPEG images.
Speed is vital online, so be sure your pages load quickly. You cannot expect much patience from your visitors. If they are stuck looking at an incomplete page for minutes on end while your content loads, they are quite likely to close your site and find what they’re looking for elsewhere.
Make certain that visitors have a way to search for a particular topic on your site. People who are seeking something in particular are bound to be interested in finding a search box upon reaching your site. If your site is not equipped with one, visitors may go to an alternate site. You should put this search box on the top of your page, preferably the right side. This is where many visitors look for it.
Minimize your page sizes. For customers with slower Internet speeds, a slow loading site can cause loss of interest. You do not want your page viewers to be stuck waiting for every page to download, or they may end up abandoning your site.
Retain user information so that people don’t have to waste valuable time re-typing information into forms. 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. Keeping information “sticky” like this will make it simple to sign up for things on your site, and visitors will appreciate that you have saved them time.
Have the data that users enter into fields preserved so that it can be transferred over to other portions of the site where the same information has to be filled out. For instance, if someone fills out a form using personal information, he or she should have to enter that same information in again when he or she goes to fill out an additional form. With this “sticky” information, you create a simpler, easier experience for your users, which will prompt them to stay on-site longer.
Avoid pop-ups. This is one of those most hated marketing tactics on the web! Your customers will agree that if they visit a site, and are overwhelmed with pop-ups, they’re likely not to return. You can avoid losing customers and visitors, by simply refusing to allow pop-up ads on your website. If you use a host who forces you to utilize pop-ups, you probably need to search for another host.
Make sure you are prioritizing your user’s needs. The site designer should always be working on the needs of the user. How easy information can be accessed and the website use are critical. These are essential elements you must keep in mind. Try looking at the websites from your audience’s perspective when designing.
It is very important that customers can navigate any website easily. Navigation link placement is essential in how long visitors will stay on a website. Navigating your site must be easy, consistent, and neat for visitors to have a good experience.
Take the time to do keyword research. Though your primary focus is on supplying proper content and information to your customers, you need to build a customer base. Proper keywords will make visitors want to stay longer.
Reducing Flash
Continue to improve your site’s load time whenever possible. Visitors are not going to wait around for a slow site. Some techniques you can use to insure fast loading pages are reducing Flash, minimization of CSS coding, and reducing Flash and graphics on your page.
If you are lost when it comes to web design, turn to the Internet. There are thousands of websites you can use to garner inspiration. Find a site you admire, figure out why you like it, and determine whether or not you can improve upon its premise. Just remember that borrowing others’ ideas isn’t enough to make your own page successful. You need to improve on them as well.
Master your subject matter fully before you try to share it on the internet. This means that no matter what information you share, do your research. You can lose readers if you give them false or unclear information. Knowing your subject is important when making a good blog.
It is no longer on trend to use a visitor counter on your website. Although it may be something that you find valuable, your visitors are not interested in seeing it. Get rid of that unsightly counter and instead use alternative tools to help you gauge traffic.
Start small when learning how to build a website so you can figure out what you know, and what you need to get better at. Try starting with a couple basic pages that just have text in order to see how you do.
Graphics can add interest and value to your website. You need to do text wraps around images to avoid a bland-looking site. Interesting and creative looking content intrigues people and makes them want more.
Make sure your site loads quickly. If visitors must wait a long time for something to load, they will want to leave the site. Use less graphics, avoid Flash, and optimize your HTML.
After reading this advice, it should be easy for you to start your website. Establish a budget, ask for help from professionals if you need to, and start drawing sketches. If you use these tips, you can design a great website without having to spend a lot.