Good website design is important for maintaining a good online business. When done properly, you will be ahead of the competition. Not everyone knows what goes into a great web page design though and that’s where these tips come in handy. The expert advice below will help.
Make sure the combination of colors your site uses is attractive and makes the site easy to read. You should be striving to achieve easily readable and visible text set against your chosen background shade. There is data that shows that people have an easier time reading dark text on a light background. The opposite is still readable, but not optimal. If you can’t decide if the colors are right, ask someone you know for feedback.
Search Box
Test your site to ensure it passes a NoScript test. Download the NoScript extension on the Firefox web browser and activate it to see if your website can still be read. Some content is unable to work without the proper scripts.
Incorporate a search function that lets visitors find what they need. A search box is essential. Without this tool, the visitor might leave and go searching on another website. Put the search box near the top right side of the page, since that tends to be common.
Be certain to ‘remember’ personal information that might have to be re-entered by the same site visitor. For instance, if someone fills out a form using personal information, he or she should have to enter that same information in again when he or she goes to fill out an additional form. With this “sticky” information, you create a simpler, easier experience for your users, which will prompt them to stay on-site longer.
You want to thoroughly research keywords for your business. Though your primary focus is on supplying proper content and information to your customers, you need to build a customer base. Knowing the right keywords will help you bring people that have an interest in the things you have on your site.
Unless your website can be viewed on a variety of browsers, it is unlikely to produce the desired results. Ensure that the site can be easily navigated on the most popular browsers. Different browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or Chrome may not display content the same way; what works in one might not work in another. Prior to going live with your website, see how your pages look on every popular browser.
Avoid using too may font types. You need to consider how large the font is since some may be too small for concentrated website reading or smaller screens. Many websites use Verdana, which can be simple to read in various sizes and colors.
To work out the visual aspects of your site design, you can use a program like Photoshop to create mockups. Even without professional training, a web designer with a good grasp of Photoshop can turn out attractive, useful websites very quickly. If you try to skimp on price by using a generic program that doesn’t do a good job, you may find yourself spending much more time than necessary to finish your website.
File Sizes
Keep your site fresh and up-to-date, and promptly remove any outdated content. If your page is promoting a special event that happened 6 months ago, you have already lost readers. Visitors want to visit sites that have the most up-to-date information, and leaving up outdated information shows that you are not committed to that. Be certain to review your website on a regular basis to remove outdated items and add fresh, new content.
No matter how aesthetically designed your site is, make sure all files have smaller file sizes. This is because the speed of your website loading is directly influenced by the file sizes. It is always better to have your website load as fast as possible. Remember that not all visitors will have a high speed connection to the Internet. Test your site to make sure that it loads up quickly, even when accessed on a dial up connection.
Make sure your load times are low. Visitors would rather leave than wait. When you reduce your graphics and other fancy elements, you will speed up access to your pages and retain your visitors.
When designing your own site, you should remember that you do not have to make use of all the available free space. If you attempt to fill every pixel on the site, you are asking for an overwhelming mess. Try to create a good amount of space within your site’s content, this allows your visitors to clearly see the page and give them a much better viewing experience. White space is often even more valuable than a flashy design and layout.
Keep personal information handy in the event that it must be re-entered by a repeat visitor of your website. Make it easy on your visitors by keeping information that they may need for other forms or orders. Creating transferable form information will make the overall process simpler and quicker for your visitors, and they will be happy with the time you have saved them.
Hosting your own site may not be a wise idea, regardless of how much money you have to invest. Design as much as you can on your own, though allow somebody else to do the hosting. This will save you a lot of time, and provide you with the ability to concentrate on other important things apart from the security and safety of your site.
Make sure you have different designs from other designs of those in your particular niche. Before you begin designing, have a look at the websites of your competitors. Having a similar website will simply make your business blend in with the rest. You will be just another generic version of any competitors that had their sites up before you.
Continue learning as you design a site. Once you master one facet of website development, move on to the next. Although this can slow the process of building your site, you’ll receive the information that is needed to spit out dozens of sites as you learn.
Use shortcuts. Many things have shortcuts when it comes to web design, and by taking the time to learn them, you will find faster ways of doing many different tasks. You can even use HTML codes to help make changes quicker so that your pages don’t need to be uploaded again.
It is important to know that white (unused) space, on your site is a great idea and should not be cluttered. This available white space can make reading your site easier. This will prompt your visitors to read more, stay longer and seek you out in the future.
Remember to create a search box at the top of your website and it should contain a minimum of 27 characters. The search button should clearly be labelled “SEARCH”. These things will make sure that the search box is easily seen, easily used, and will help site visitors find what they are looking for.
Gather inspiration and ideas from other webpages, from styles of architecture and design and incorporate them into your website development. Take in what you like and avoid the parts of the site you do not like.
Creating a newsletter can help you get repeat visitors. You can keep your visitors informed about important events, updates, and changes when they sign up for a newsletter, and the flow of information will often tempt them to revisit your site. Put the form for signing up in a prominent location, such as a sidebar, and use it to compile a list of visitors who opt in to your newsletter. Your newsletter should only go out to those who specifically request to receive it, or you run the risk of turning off your customers.
When deciding on an appealing domain name for your website, look into auction sites such as Sedo. These sites can offer a wealth of site names that are up for sale or abandoned.
As this article has shown, web page design is a big key to online success. It can make others take notice of you in a positive light when done correctly. But when it some to website development, there are some things to remember. These tips will help you design more effectively.
