It can be expensive to hire professional web designers. And the money you spend doesn’t even guarantee that you’ll be satisfied with the results. Explaining clearly what you want can be hard. You are the only one who truly knows what you want. If you’re wanting to design your own site, utilize the below tips so that you can create a site you’ll be proud is yours.
Do not use frames; that is old school. Frames were popular on web pages back then but they created numerous problems. Frame-based designs cause readers to have trouble bookmarking your site, and scrolling can also prove burdensome. You can employ easier techniques for better site usability.
By testing the way your website will work in different browsers, you can ensure that the maximum number of visitors see your site they way you want them to. Your content may show up fine in Internet Explorer, but it may be unreadable or badly displayed in Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Before you website is launched, test the display of each page in all major browsers.
Make sure you put your website through the NoScript test. The NoScript extension can be downloaded for Mozilla Firefox; doing so will allow you to be sure your site can be read. Some ordering systems or other types of content cannot run script-free, but if the site is blank without the script on, that’s not good.
Always be aware of the size of your webpages and keep them as small as possible. Not everyone who uses the Internet enjoys speedy connections, so they are likely to lose interest if your site takes a long time to load. You don’t want to leave your visitors waiting on each page, as they will likely just leave, never to return.
Allow your users the ability to cancel something if they are not happy with what they typed in. An action can be classified as completing a form or registering to receive content, like a newsletter. If you do not give your users the option to cancel something, then you are making them do something, which can cause users to be leery of making future purchases or coming back to your website at all.
Avoid overusing JavaScript. While it can provide a large variety of ways to build a more responsive and transparent website, it can cause problems for some of your visitors. There are many different web browsers that people use and they are constantly being updated with new features. Your goal is to have as many website visitors as possible. Also, some visitors will not have JavaScript enabled. Either of these problems can make the visitor unable to use your site.
Speed is king on the Internet, so you need to make sure your web pages load quickly. Your visitors are more likely to lose interest in your website and leave the page if they have to wait for a few minutes before having access to the content.
Be sure that your website has small files, no matter how aesthetically designed your site is. This is because file sizes are directly correlated with load times. You want your loading time to be as quick as possible. You need to remember that not every person who visits the website will have a fast Internet connection. Perform tests on your website to make sure that it loads fast, even when a dial-up connection is used.
Meta Tags
It is important that you incorporate meta tag into the design of each of your website page, if you want to increase your website’s exposure. Quality meta tags will help search engines point interested people in your site’s direction. Yet you want meta tags of high quality, and you want to make sure that the content of your site is reflected from these meta tags so you can attract as many visitors as possible.
Put in a search box that lets visitors search through your site content. If visitors are searching for something specific, they should be able to use a search box. If you don’t have a search box, they’ll just go to the next site. Put the search box near the top right side of the page, since that tends to be common.
Be mindful of what particular file type you use for graphics, since that impacts file sizes and load times for users. In general, it is best to use JPEGs and GIFs for your graphics. Just because PNG and BMP files can be more suited to web graphics, they can use a lot more disk space. You should convert graphics into a more manageable file type that will make an more pleasant experience for your users.
Web Browsers
Test your website on all the different web browsers. Because different browsers render websites differently, the visitor may not have the experience you intended. There are a number of resources that you can use to determine what popular web browsers should be tested. It is very crucial that you test your website with all of the browsers, and that will include all of the main mobile web browsers.
If you are designing a very large site, you should always include search capabilities. The best place to put your search box is on the top of your homepage. Shoot for the upper right corner. Users often expect to see a search box in this area and may want to search your site for the information they are looking for. If you need a search function, FreeFind and Google offer their services for your site.
In the “About Us” area of your site, write some good content about who you are. Most websites don’t have very interesting copy in this area. Make yours exciting and interesting! Your “About Us” page should contain information about your goals, background and inspiration.
While making your website, remember that you don’t need to use all the available space. If you attempt to fill every pixel on the site, you are asking for an overwhelming mess. Those visiting your site will actually be relieved by having extra space and not feeling overwhelming. White space is often even more valuable than a flashy design and layout.
Practice each step of website creation until you have it down pat. Easy application of the information you are learning will help you manifest your website development ideas. You don’t want to only temporarily learn something and then find you have forgotten this information when you need it.
Let site visitors give feedback. Thus, if there is a gap in your site’s offerings or visitors are confused about using your site, it will be easy for you to remedy the situation. If you actively seek your visitors’ feedback and make changes as a result, your visitors will feel like active participants in your site. This will encourage them to keep visiting the site.
The best thing about designing a website is that not only is it easy, but it does not take much to build something that represents what you envision. Hopefully this article has given you some inspiration with the advice and tips that will urge you on to successful web page design. Make certain to apply the methods in this article as they were described, and you’ll make a great site.
