You probably feel excited and
frightened about creating your own website. First-time site builders are often
confused about fundamental issues like where to start, how to get advice and
what their site will ultimately cost. These tips should help you create a basic
plan to begin your website.
Make sure to view your website in
a variety of browsers. This will help you to make sure your site works for
everyone. You want to know about the different popular browsers and approach
web design accordingly. Make sure to also send the site to someone running a
different OS to make sure those browsers are compatible.
Don't try to fit too much onto
one page when you're designing a website. If your page is too busy it will take
a lot longer to load and can overwhelm visitors. When you're going to be
putting up a lot of content, create pages for everything you can to reduce the
clutter on your page.
Avoid cramming page elements
together. Each section of your page should be naturally separated from each
other, as this makes the purpose of each section more clear. The easiest way to
separate sections is by using DIVs, but there are other ways, including
absolute positioning (not recommended), the CSS margin command, and floats.
Use a style sheet to stay
consistent. There is almost nothing more disconcerting than being sent to a
page that looks at nothing like the site you were just looking at, even if it
is concerning the same subject. Style sheets help with saving your formatting,
so each page looks similar to the rest.
Set up your website to store
personal information that users might need to reenter multiple times. For
instance, if a person registers on your site and a portion of the same exact
information is required for filling another form out, ensure that the
information they've already put in is saved so that he or she doesn't have to
put in this information again. This "sticky" information can make the
process easier and smoother for visitors and they'll appreciate it.
Use shortcuts often. There are
many shortcuts that can be used when designing your website. Learn as much as
you can about shortcuts. You can even use HTML codes to help make changes
quicker so that your pages don't need to be uploaded again.
Do not utilize pop-ups. Few
things are worse than being overloaded with pop-ups. Even large, popular
websites can lose visitors by mistakenly employing pop-up ads. Avoid annoying
your customers, by staying away from these irritating advertisements. If your
host forces pop-ups on you, it may be time to find a new one.
Have you considered writing a
newsletter? If you have your clients subscribe to updates, they will have a
reason to come back again and again. Stick the sign-up form in a spot that's
out of the way, such as in a sidebar, and keep good records of those who sign
up. Make sure you only send out the letter to those that have explicitly
requested to view it.
To help your visitors be able to
easily read your site, you should design it using contrasting colors. If you
use colors that contrast, it makes the text stand out. If you have black text
with a black background you will not be able to see the information, but if you
have black text with a white background it becomes simple to read.
Avoid use of too many different
fonts in any one web design. You have to keep in mind how these fonts render on
the computer screen; for example, small serif fonts are difficult to read. Most
websites opt for sans serif fonts, like Verdana, that looks fine in different
sizes and colors.
If you want your site to become
more visible to online users, you must learn to use proper meta tags for each
page. Quality meta tags will help search engines index and present your website
to their users. If you have poorly thought out the meta tags that have no
reflection on what your sites content is, you will not be getting many
visitors.
Add a search feature to a
website. When visitors come to your website, they want to easily be able to
find what they are looking for. A keyword search feature will make it easy for
people to find the right page on your site, especially if the website you are
designing is very complex.
Do not place adds that pop up on
your site. Ads are crucial for making money, but pop-ups are needlessly
annoying. People will refrain from visiting your site if this occurs.
Simplicity is key when it comes to ads. You do not have to rely on pop-ups.
Although the tools that a host
makes available for web design can help you arrange your site's basic layout,
you shouldn't rely on them exclusively. You want to integrate your own
personality into this site, and this means tweaking and adding some things on
your own without the drag-and-drop site-builder the host offers.
Try your best to update the
content of any old sites that you have. You want to make sure that any of the
sites you build seem like they're up to date with the technology that is out
today - you don't want a site that looks 10 years old.
Graphics can add interest and
value to your website. Placing text wrapped around images gives your site a
professional look and doesn't look barren with nothing there. If your website
is nice, you will get more return visitors.
Never force your visitor to take
a specific path through your site or interrupt their workflow. Don't pop up ads
or insist they complete a survey to move on. By removing a viewer's options and
forcing them to do as you please, you are likely losing their service and
creating a bad review for your domain.
Having reviewed this article, you
are ready to apply the many ideas you have learned to your own design projects.
You will need to draft a budget, look for advisers, and start making a sketch
of your site. If you use these tips, you can design a great website without
having to spend a lot.
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