The task of creating a website can be daunting. No matter what your level of experience is, it can be difficult to do. There is so much to take into consideration such as the color scheme, and layout. Information regarding website development is forever changing. This article will help to get you up to speed on what you need to know today to create the website of tomorrow.
Help your visitors navigate your page via fixed position navigation. This involves locking your site’s navigation panel as visitors scroll down. This helps anyone who just stumbles across your site view it more seamlessly. It can also make it easier for them to do something you want them to do (like get on your email list).
Be sure to select the correct graphics when designing your website. Do not use bitmap for your images as they take up too much space. For screenshots, text buttons, and other non-photographic images, use PNG if the image has more than 256 colors, and GIF if not. JPEG files are best for photographs.
A tagline can be very beneficial for your site. This lets people know about the site. The tagline serves to entice people to linger at your website rather than just pass through. Research shows that visitors spend roughly 8 seconds deciding if a website is worth exploring further. So make your tagline count.
Be careful with the color combinations you use when designing your website. Be sure that your written content is clearly visible and easy to read against the background you choose. Dark text colors on lighter backgrounds tend to be easier on the eyes than light colors on dark backgrounds. If you have doubts about your color scheme, run it by a few people and see what they think of it.
Keep personal information handy in the event that it must be re-entered by a repeat visitor of your website. For instance, if a visitor registers for your newsletter and they are going to use the same information to make a purchase, be sure the data they’ve already entered is kept, so they do not have to re-enter the same information. Doing this will make everything much easier for the people that visit your page, and they will definitely appreciate the time saved.
By testing the way your website will work in different browsers, you can ensure that the maximum number of visitors see your site they way you want them to. Something that functions fine in Firefox, might not even appear on the screen of a computer using Internet Explorer or Chrome. Prior to formally launching your site, verify that it displays correctly in each of these popular browsers.
Continue to improve your site’s load time whenever possible. Visitors won’t wait around forever for pages to load. Use less graphics, avoid Flash, and optimize your HTML.
Broken Links
Check your site for broken links. Check on this multiple times before uploading to the server. It is incredibly important to keep broken links to a minimum. If visitors encounter them often, they will disappointed and no longer come to your site. To prevent this from happening, do a quick check to ensure everything is working properly.
When you design a site, try to stick to just a few web fonts. Also, think about the way various fonts look on a standard screen. Little serif fonts (such as Times New Roman) can be difficult to read. Verdana is a font used by many sites. It is easy to read in most sizes and colors.
Website counters were popular in the 90s but are rather unattractive now. It adds nothing to your website and is an outdated feature. Get rid of that unsightly counter and instead use alternative tools to help you gauge traffic.
Always proofread any information you put up on your website. Your goal is for people to be able to read it easily and quickly. With errors, you will risk looking unprofessional.
Task based usability tests are a great way to determine how effective the design of your website is. The general use for these tasks is to be able to locate a function or some information within your site. If your site is well-designed, the user will be able to accomplish the tasks. They can give you valuable feedback if they encounter an issues.
Good websites are optimized for older IE browsers, like 7 and 8. People may say they dislike Internet Explorer, but a majority of them still use it. Workarounds are needed for many elements to be visible in IE. You should read up on the frustrating “box model bug” that has plagued IE for a long time.
Talk to a pro to learn a lot about website development. If you seek out professional guidance and stay dedicated to educating yourself, you will almost certainly develop professional-quality web page design skills.
A search feature needs to be integrated into the home page and any subsequent pages to follow. This increases the site’s usability five-fold, and makes it easier to get to anyplace on the site from any other place on the site. These tools are easy to add to your site, and they provide a huge added value for your readers.
If you use FileZilla, be certain that your username, proper port and domain are all programmed into its quick menu settings. By doing this, when logging back onto the server, you’ll just have to choose your own personalized settings off the menu. This saves a lot of time.
If you have some ideas for more than one website, you should reserve a name for your domain, now. Come up with a creative name, but once you do so it is vital that you reserve it as quickly as possible. You’d be shocked at how many people share the same thoughts. Great minds often think alike.
Ensure your site stands out among the rest. To make sure this does not occur, have a look at the websites of your competitors. You won’t rise above the competition if you create the exact same, or even a similar, website to your competitors’ website. Your site will be considered as a copycat of your competitors’ and not seem trustworthy.
Designing a website is a multi-part process with many considerations, including the color scheme, site layout and hierarchy. A well-designed website includes many different elements, but that does not mean that learning them all is impossible. When you implement what you’ve learned from the article above, you’ll be more than ready to start designing an effective, appealing website.