If you want to have a successful website, you need to understand proper web design practices. Web design is about much more than making a site look good; good design can make your website more appealing to visitors, easier for them to use and identify with. That will help you attract more visitors, and encourage them to return to your site time and time again. If you want to design a great website, then this article can help to lead the way.
Keep the size of your web pages small. A lot of modern web pages are full of unnecessary elements, including huge images, Flash advertising, and lots of AJAX. Many people, especially those in rural areas and other countries with less-developed internet infrastructure, don’t have high-speed Internet and will have to wait forever for a large page to load.
Be wary of web hosting companies who claim that they offer unlimited bandwidth to their customers. Usually there is something that is written in the small print that is far different than that. In many cases people end up having problems when it comes to fair use policies.
To help keep your site visitors happy, do not underline words. Underline words on the internet signifies that the word is a clickable link. If you have too many words on your pages that are underlined with being clickable links, then your visitors will be frustrated after continuously trying to click on them.
Know what you’re talking about. If you are using the site for blogs, research something thoroughly before you post it. Providing bad information will only lose you readers. You need to understand the subject to write a good blog.
If you are not feeling confident in any area at all when you’re designing a website then go ahead and ask for help from someone. You can either find help from a friend or from strangers on places like forums on the web. Just be sure you don’t tackle anything without knowing what you’re doing first.
When you make a page that has links, be sure that each link is accompanied by text content. This will let your visitors know what they’re going to click on. It is very easy for visitors to your page to accidentally hit a link if it has no text content.
Watch the amount of flashy multimedia that is on your site. Don’t overdo it with a bunch of “extras”. Flash graphics and multimedia may appear enticing, but these may make it difficult for visitors to find the desired information from the site, particularly if they’re viewing your site from a non-Flash compatible device.
Using a development platform can make it easy to code your web page, but they are not necessarily reliable. A platform lets you choose the features you want for your site, and it then generates the code for you automatically. If you hope to gain a real understanding of coding, though, then a text editor is a good learning tool.
If you become lost at all during your web design process then you might want to look up videos online. You can find a lot of videos on places like youtube which give you step by step tutorials on what you should be doing during your web designing processes.
Make sure you are always on the lookout for as much information as you can grasp your mind around when you’re getting into web design. There usually isn’t anything that you can learn that isn’t going to benefit you in web design, unless the information you learn isn’t true so be aware of this.
When designing your website, it is a good idea not to stray too far from popular conventions. For example, most users expect that when they click on the website logo at the top of a webpage, they will be taken to the home page of the website. If your website behaves differently, it can confuse the user. In many cases, straying from such conventions can lead to a poor overall user experience.
Have a visible tagline on every page and sub-domain. These tags should immediately draw the visitors’ eyes when the page loads. Good taglines are high on the page and formatted in large, clear text. This tagline let’s people know what the page is about and whether or not they should stay there or not.
Best practices in web design are constantly evolving. What was standard a year ago could be deprecated today, or even be completely unusable. This is why it is so important to stay up to date, and also crucial that you verify everything you learn. Make certain that the information you acquire is current and not outdated.
Site maps are an excellent piece of technology that allow users and search engines to get a better view of your site’s functions and layouts without extra work. Include a link to your sitemap from the homepage and leave it as simple as possible. The sitemap doesn’t need fancy graphics or fonts, just layout your website and update it when needed.
Be sure to check around for people that can assist you with learning programs such as dreamweaver and photoshop. You can learn a lot through the internet but nothing beats hands on training from someone who is experienced with these programs, so talk to a friend and see what they can teach you.
Don’t overuse graphics. Pictures and other interesting graphics can be fun and visually pleasing, but keep in mind that those things take a long time to load on a site visitor’s computer. Opinions are also different, so what you think is a great visual touch might be unattractive to someone else. Keep graphics simple and site visitors will better concentrate on your products, services, and content.
Paying attention to the design of your site is essential for a successful online business. Potential customers will find your site easy to navigate and will be impressed with your professionalism. If you want your website to be successful, then great web design is a must. This article has provided you with several fantastic web design tips. Let them help you make a success of your website.