A designer of web sites can really create a thing of beauty, function and form when they have a good grasp of the process. An appealing and user-friendly site will stand out from the competition. Overall, knowledge is power, and this is true even when it comes to web design. Use the information from this article to develop a deeper understanding of web design principles.
Make sure to preserve personal information that may need to be entered again by the same user of your website. For instance, if someone filled in their name and address when creating an account, pre-populate this information when the customer fills out an order form. “Sticky” data will ensure that the user fills out all the forms they need to instead of leaving when it becomes too difficult.
Whoever your target audience may be, loading time ought to be under ten seconds. A site that is designed well will only take a few seconds to load. If the site takes too long to load, you run the risk of losing your audience.
You should also consider implementing fixed-position navigation. By locking the menu to a fixed point on the screen, you can make sure it is constantly visible to the user regardless of where they scroll to on the screen. This makes thing convenient for visitors and facilitates them taking advantage of your calls to action.
Have a simple front page. A lot of people will only look at the front page. That’s where they are making the decision whether to spend more time on your site. While you should describe the purpose of your business and what it offers, reduce distractions be keeping all else to a bare minimum.
Search engine capabilities are an essential part of a large site. Make sure you add a search box allowing your viewers to search for terms in your site. FreeFind and Google can help you install a search function on your website.
Know your subject. If you’re going to have a blog site or something similar, you have to be sure things are done to learn about that subject before posting anything. When your visitors see that you can’t be trusted because you’re giving out erroneous info, you will lose them. The trick to a great blog is knowing your subject.
Ensure your website can pass the NoScript test. Download the NoScript extension in Firefox and test it on your site to see if it is still readable. While you may need to have some scripts running, you do not want to see a completely empty website if they are turned off.
Search Engines
Keep frames off your page. People like frames, but search engines will not see your info if it is inside a frame. If search engines are unable to see some of the key information presented by your site, your ranking is bound to suffer. Your ranking is often what determines the number of visitors you have.
White is perhaps the best option for background color. White backgrounds make copy much more easily readable and give your site a more mature look. Complex backgrounds distract your readers and visitors, and might slant your page towards an unprofessional image. It’s usually better to keep your background simple.
A site that is going to be successful must work with all browsers. This is why it is vital that you test all your pages to ensure that they properly display in all the various browsers. The most popular browsers are Internet Explorer, Firfox, Safari and Google Chrome and what works with one might not work with the others. Before you website is launched, test the display of each page in all major browsers.
When creating your website, make separate CSS sets for different browsers and consider using conditional loading. Doing this will make it easier to test and maintain your website. You do not want to run into problems when making changes to your site.
Using a development platform can make it easy to code your web page, but they are not necessarily reliable. Most people use a design platform to generate code for any features that they want on their website, and then they simply copy and paste the code into their webpages. However, if you would like to keep the errors to a minimum, and increase your experience, then obtaining classic text editor would be the way forward.
Use a small amount of content when you first set your website up. You don’t want information that will confuse the visitors to your page.
Be vigilant in policing your website for content that has become obsolete or outdated. If you’re talking about events that happened a year ago, you are behind the times. The average online user values fresh content and attention to detail. Set yourself a schedule for reviewing your site and removing anything that is outdated.
Find out from your targeted audience what they might like to see when visiting your site. This will help you to design and also install features on your site. Giving the people what they want is vital to almost any type of success.
On every page, be sure that you include a tagline that is clearly visible. The taglines should be in larger, bolder text so that visitors can identify them immediately. The tagline should sum up the reason for the page’s existence. Visitors should know whether they have any business at the site just by looking at the tagline.
Remember that some people’s connections aren’t as fast as yours if you post videos on your website. A video that is converted to 5,000 kb/s will load faster on some computers, but it might be faster than some Internet connections allow for. It will not only take forever to load on a slower connection, but will likely go unviewed by people who have neither the time nor the bandwidth allowance to see it.
If you are designing a very large site, you should always include search capabilities. It is best to put a search box in the top right corner right of your homepage. Make sure that anyone can search for any item that would be included in your site. FreeFind and Google both distribute a search function which you can use on your site.
Web design can yield absolutely gorgeous results when done correctly. It’s easy to distinguish good from bad in website development, but getting from good to better — or best — takes more subtle touches. By following the previously mentioned tips, you’ll create web pages that are a pleasure to view.