If you are a would-be web designer approaching the field completely fresh, designing websites may appear to be an arcane and complicated trade. However, after you learn what you need to know, you’ll see that it’s pretty simple. The tips which follow can help you to learn what you need to know to get started.
In general, users are more interested in the content of your website than its design. Make sure that every piece of content, picture, and multimedia file you put on your website has a direct, positive impact on the message you want to deliver to visitors. The simpler your pages are, the faster your website will load.
Most Internet users find intrusive popup windows and hyperlinks that open up in new browser windows extremely annoying. Many people will have pop-ups disabled at the browser level. These are, therefore, techniques that you should avoid using. If you are considering using these strategies as a means of navigating your site, you may need to rethink your navigation system and find ways to make it more user-friendly.
Attempt to make all content globally friendly. Your dates, measurements, times and currencies have to be understood by a diverse group of people around the world as possible. Remember that it is the world wide web, and that you may have viewers from many countries; make your site is user-friendly to accommodate visitors from all around the world.
Aim high and be a stickler for perfection. Since “perfect” websites don’t exist, this mentality can make you expand and improve upon what you create. Keep this positive, ambitious attitude, AS it will serve you well on every web design project you do.
Watch your use of color combinations when building your site. It is important to have text that is easy to read on your chosen background color. Dark text on a light background is the easiest for your visitor to read. When in doubt about the effectiveness of your color choices, solicit the opinions of friends.
In order for your website to be successful, it must work properly regardless of the browser that is used. You should therefore make certain that all of your web pages are thoroughly tested on a variety of browsers. What may work great in Firefox, may not work well in Internet Explorer or Chrome. Prior to releasing your website to the public, you should verify that all of your webpages appear as intended on every popular web browser.
Let people cancel any action they have started. For example, put a “clear” button on a form, an unsubscribe link on all newsletters and a “cancel” button on orders. By not letting visitors cancel something that they don’t want to finish, you’re pretty much forcing them into doing something. This can harm your return visits or purchases.
Consider your website’s background carefully. While some websites utilize moving GIF backgrounds, opt for simple background since these moving backgrounds can make text hard to read. Choose a background that complements your site instead, and visitors will easily understand they message you want to convey.
We hope this article has taken the mystery out of website design. The more you know about it, the easier it will be for you to design a website that meets your needs. If you use what you’ve learned above, you should be able to create a great website very quickly.