Most of us do not have the time, money or skill to build custom cars or choppers. But we all have the tools necessary to design custom websites. As long as you can grasp how web design works, you will be able to design stunning pages that attract people instantly. If you want to know more about web design, read through these tips below.
One tip that every web designer could use is to keep their file sizes as small as possible. Web sites with large files take much longer to load and this frustrates people who have slower internet connections. Make sure your pages load fast by keeping file sizes to a minimum.
A great tip for people trying to decide on what type of website they want to design is to understand that inspiration can come from anywhere. Be it a movie, hanging out with your friend, or simply people watching, you can find the idea for your next website any number of ways.
Make sure to test early and to test quite often. It’s very important that you carry out your site’s user interaction and usability tests as early as you can in the design phase of your website. Make sure to keep improving and testing it as your website continues to grow.
Don’t use too many different fonts or text colors on your web pages. Word processing or web authoring software may present a dizzying array of specialty fonts or wacky colors, but if you use too many, the text on your website may become unreadable. A good practice is to use just one or two fonts per page and avoid excessive use of bold or italic text.
To help you design a site that is easy for people to read all the information, make sure the pages are not too wide. If the pages are not too wide then they will fit on most people’s computer screens. If the page is too wide, then part of your valuable information could be left off the page.
Web Design Tips That Put You On The Path To Success
Make sure that when you ad advertisements to your site that they aren’t overwhelmingly huge. You want to make people feel comfortable when they come to your site, not the opposite. So add content that isn’t going to clutter the rest of the content on your site and people will see your webpage in a more professional manner which can encourage them to come back.
When you are designing a page with links, make sure that the link has text content. Links that show content are clearly visible to the visitor so they know what they are clinking on. If there are links on your page without text content, they could accidentally click the link through a keyboard shortcut.
Master the art of locating navigation menus in the right spot if you want a great website. A good tip to implement here is to check around to see how other people are handling their navigation menus. This is the spot where your visitor will figure your site out. You can’t have a hidden or confusing navigation menu.
Don’t use OnExit popups on your website. This tactic is mainly used by internet marketers who are trying a last-ditch attempt to get a sale. Word about these kinds of popups get around, and they will kill your reputation as a marketer. Mozilla has even taken steps to suppress the text on these popups, citing security risks.
Learn the basics of HTML and CSS. Although there are many templates that allow you to just fill in the blanks, in order to create a web page, these templates provide only limited design possibilities. Understanding how the mark-up language and stylesheet work together will enable you to customize your website to your heart’s content.
HTML5 video is set to become the next standard for displaying videos on the web and naturally, you should offer both a way in which users can stream your content through an HTML5 format as well as another format such as flash for those who have an older browser version.
Don’t use splash pages for your site unless required by law, and especially don’t use a Flash intro. Most people just want to get to your content as quickly as possible, and don’t care to look at useless splash pages. If you have some amusing content that you absolutely want visitors to see, integrate it into the homepage instead.
Launch an alternative if you can’t launch something first-rate. Try a hobby or interest you have and launch a site about one of them. Once you get that small site under control and learn how to make a website work, then move on to the website you have dreamed of.
After reading these tips, you can instantly start practicing by signing up with a free web host or some type of demo service. You will quickly realize just how easy it is once you know the basics. From there, you can start designing picturesque sites that everyone will love. Just remember to use what you’ve learned above.