While it can be scary to embark on the road to creating a new website, the rewards can be worth it in the end. Read on to get tips on what web design entails and what the best way is to implement it.
Be sure your site has a tagline everyone can see. A good tagline is a central motto or exclamation that lets a reader know what your website is focused on. Clear taglines are effective in potentially capturing the attention of a reader in the critical first few seconds they visit your site.
One of the biggest mistakes a newbie designer makes is not verifying how a site looks in several different browsers. Different browsers show websites in different ways. You need to know how your site looks to all visitors that are arriving at your page. You may also want to view your site using a different computer operating system to make sure that everything is compatible whether they are using Windows, Mac, or Linux.
Visitors will enjoy your website, if they can navigate it easily. Links should be highly visible and easy to locate. A navigation menu will also help visitors locate exactly what they’re looking for. To help visitors find their way back, be sure to have a visible link to the main page on all your pages.
Let visitors cancel actions if they want to. For example, put a “clear” button on a form, an unsubscribe link on all newsletters and a “cancel” button on orders. Visitors with second thoughts are not going to appreciate being locked into an action. They will feel that they are being forced to act against their wishes, and it will be unlikely that they will want to return to your site after such an experience.
Minimize your page sizes. Not everyone who uses the Internet enjoys speedy connections, so they are likely to lose interest if your site takes a long time to load. If the wait is too long, your visitors may give up and leave.
Make your visitor’s life a little easier by preserving the content they enter into forms. If users register on your site, some of their data should be saved. This makes it easier to fill out forms, and is considered to be very convenient. Creating “sticky”‘ information in this manner makes the whole process much more simple and smooth, and your visitors are sure to appreciate the time you save them as well.
Newsletters can generate repeat visits. Allowing your customers to sign up for updates or important events can have them coming back for more. Place a signup form on your site in a sidebar, while maintaining a list of everyone who signs up. Only send the newsletter to those who request it, or you could find yourself in hot water.
Let people cancel any action they have started. Types of such actions would include registering an email, filling out forms, or browsing your site for archives or topics. If your visitors can’t easily change their mind and back out of registering for a site feature, they may feel forced to complete a transaction. This isn’t good for your web traffic or your reputation.
When designing your website, you should avoid using too many different types of fonts. You should also think about how different fonts will look and how readable they are. Many websites use Verdana, which can be simple to read in various sizes and colors.
File Sizes
Learn what you can about site design shortcuts so that you can use them. In the world of web design, shortcuts are common place. Look into them and you will discover that they can help with most things. You can even find HTML codes that help you make quick changes.
While you want to keep the aesthetics of your site in mind, you also need to make every effort to keep your file sizes to a minimum. This is because file sizes are directly correlated with load times. It is always better to have your website load as fast as possible. This is because not all of the visitors you’re going to attract are going to have a powerful operating machine or high speed Internet. Try to test your site regularly, especially with a slower dial-up modem. This will help you to know for sure that it will quickly load in every situation.
When deciding on what background color to use for your site, white is a good and effective choice. Having a white background tends to make the website easier to view and read and it also gives it a professional look that makes it appear more trustworthy. Colors, patterns or other designs are distracting and don’t have a place on a website. Simple backgrounds are generally better.
Do not use pop-ups on your site. There is nothing worse than confronting a cascade of pop-up ads when visiting a website. Most people will immediately leave a website that has pop-ups, even if they are on big websites. You can avoid losing customers and visitors, by simply refusing to allow pop-up ads on your website. Is your host making you use pop-ups? Time for a new host.
Always use fonts that look professional and are readable. Look at the font of a site and you can distinguish whether or not it’s professional. Do not employ exotic fonts that will be absent from many visitors’ computers or over-used fonts such as Comic Sans. A font can be subset to the default font on your user’s computer if they don’t have it. This may make your entire design look bad.
Developing your web page design skills is a great way to improve your website’s visibility and get in touch with your target customers. When done correctly, a good website is a great add-on to give you the ammunition needed to promote your business. Start applying these tips right now to create a successful design.
White is generally a safe background color to use when designing a professional website. Few visitors take issue with a white background, which looks professional or, at worst, neutral. Text content is also more clear on a white background. You will come across as an amateur if your site design is cluttered and distracting. When it comes to backgrounds, simpler is generally better.