Many people today want to create a website of their own, but don’t know how to do it. In order to build a quality website you must have knowledge. This article has some novice web design tips.
In order for your site to bring in visitors, its navigation must be intuitive. Links should be displayed where users will find them easily. Menus render your website easier for users to surf. Link back to the homepage from every other page on your site; this makes it far easier for users to get around.
Use a style sheet to stay consistent. There is almost nothing more disconcerting than being sent to a page that looks at nothing like the site you were just looking at, even if it is concerning the same subject. Style sheets help with saving your formatting, so each page looks similar to the rest.
Consider using free software to design you website. There is a pervasive myth that expensive programs do the job of web design better than the alternatives, but there is plenty of free software that does a great job. You simply must be willing to find these helpful design resources.
If you desire feedback from your visitors, design your site to include a feedback form rather than a guestbook. A feedback form lets your site visitors contact you without having anything negative be shown to everyone else who sees your site. If you have a guestbook then everyone can read both good and bad comments, something you really do not want people to see, especially when the comments are negative.
Different types of files can be larger than others, and that can make a big difference to your website loading time. Your graphics should normally be GIFs or JPEGs. PNG and BMP files are probably better for web graphics, but they also use much more disk space. Convert your images to file types that are smaller and easier to manage if you want a guaranteed great user experience.
To help you create good web pages and fix mistakes on your own, learn computer languages. Educating yourself on how a website actually works will help you quickly fix any mistakes. Knowing how to deal with problems on your site will save you time and money, as you will not have to rely on outside help to remedy the situation.
Do not forget to test your site on several major browsers. A given web browser will interpret a website differently than another one will, and sometimes the differences are quite drastic. A little bit of research will help you decide which browsers are used most often, at that time. Use different browsers to test your website, even mobile web browsers.
To help your website function the way it is intended to, make sure all your links are working. If you have broken links then your visitors may get frustrated when they try to click on something that interests them. Frustrated visitors is not something you want because they end up leaving your site mad.
Try to make sure that any music or pictures that you’re linking to is hosted on your own web server. Do not hotlink to any other website images. This can be construed as bandwidth theft and it could put you in violation of a copyright too. It’s not worth the risk.
If you feel stuck, do some Google searches to find out how others worked through it. A plethora of websites are available that can help spark your inspiration. Pick a site you like, figure out why you like it, and see if you can implement those techniques into your site. Borrow ideas and create your own to build a truly unique page. Then, improve on the design elements you like.
A lot of times when you load up a page to your file server, you cannot find it when you type in the address via your browser. You always need to double-check and ensure that you named the file correctly. Some people literally waste days trying to pinpoint the problem they believe is major, when in reality it’s only a simple typo.
How effective is your site’s design? Try a task-based usability test. The point of using tools like these would be to discover some issue that is hidden deep within the depths of your site. If your website is well designed, the user should have no difficulty completing the task. If there is a flaw in the design, the task can show what parts of the website need to be improved.
Make sure that your fonts on your pages are well structured and aren’t changed up too much as people scroll through your website. You don’t want people to become confused and agitated with inconsistency, people like things to flow one way because it shows that you know how to handle things on a professional level.
Add a site map to your web design. Site maps serve an important role when it comes to search engine optimization. The search engine spiders use them to crawl efficiently over your site to help rank your pages better. They also serve an operational purpose for you as a designer. A site map is essential to keeping track of your website architecture, so you can add pages to it more effectively.
Make sure that you include an “About Us” page on your site as you are designing it. Do not just add blocks of text that are boring to read – Jazz it up a bit! Provide background information, maybe include some photos of you as you work toward getting to the point where you are at today.
When you are working toward building a successful site, be sure to include a page that is full of real customer testimonials. You may even want to inquire as to whether some of your customers would be willing to submit photos of themselves that you can link to their review to make it more personable.
As you read in the beginning of this article, all you really need to build a website is a little bit of information. A couple of tricks can get you well on your way. Use the following tips to get you moving towards designing your first website.