Do you want to design a beautiful webpage? Does your budget prevent you from hiring a professional to create the kind of fabulous website you want for your business? This article was written just for you, and it compiles great website basics that you can master in no time.

If you’re designing a website, you need to look at your website in multiple browsers. This will help you to make sure your site works for everyone. Always go out of your way to discover what browsers are the most popular and design your site to work efficiently in all of them. 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.

Join online forums to learn even more about web design. Performing a simple web search can provide you with the information you are interested in at no cost to you.

When you are working on your web design, use the proper graphics needed for the task. Bitmap images require a lot of disk space and are unwieldy. Use a GIF instead if the image contains over 256 colors and PNG for test buttons and screen shots. JPEG images are good for pictures.

Whoever your target audience may be, loading time ought to be under ten seconds. A website that is designed well should load up very fast no matter what browser the visitor uses. Your viewers want instant gratification, so you need to provide it.

Photoshop is a good program to use if you are a beggining web designer looking to manifest an attractive site. By using this type of program, a novice designer will be able to make high quality looking websites at a fast pace. You will expend a lot of extra time and lessen your chances of creating a professional site if you neglect investing in programs such as Photoshop.

Older Internet Explorer

A tagline can be very beneficial for your site. The tagline includes a motto or clever phrase that speaks to the purpose of your business. This allows them to quickly grasp whether or not your site has information relevant to their search.

Make sure you optimize your website for older Internet Explorer versions like IE7 and IE8. While IE is the bane of everyday browsing these days, you would be surprised how many people use outdated browsers for web surfing. Workarounds are needed because the browser is not 100% compliant with standards. One tip of utter importance when dealing with the older Internet Explorer browsers is to educate yourself on the bug referred to as box model that haunted them for years.

Before you start promoting your site, test it on several different browsers. A given web browser will interpret a website differently than another one will, and sometimes the differences are quite drastic. There are a ton of resources you could use, so you are able to find out the browsers that currently have the most popularity. Double check that your site works on every browser, and don’t forget about the mobile software as well.

Take the time to actually use your site as you are building it. Usability and interaction testing needs to start not long after you start the preliminary design phase of any website. Continue to make improvements and test the site as you expand it.

Color combinations are key in branding your website. Your content should be read easily without assistance or adjustment. Reading dark text on lighter backgrounds is simpler than the opposite. If you aren’t sure if your color scheme works well, show it off to a friend for some feedback.

Using these tips will help you fine tune your website. No matter if you promote a product or yourself, a website is essential for online success. Good luck!