To run a successful website, a solid knowledge of beneficial website creation techniques is vital. Proper design allows you to make a site that’s easy to use, aesthetically pleasing and that looks professional. You will build your visitor base, and ensure return visits. This article gives you many tips that are going to help you design an outstanding website.
Check your site in all of the different browsers. What you’re seeing in one browser may not actually be what other people are seeing. Make sure you understand the popular browsers out there to design for all. You will also want to send your site to someone that’s using a different operating system so you can see that their browser is compatible with yours.
Make sure all links on your website are working properly before you publish your site. Nothing is more frustrating to a visitor than clicking on a link and being taken to an error page. If you have very few links, you can check them manually. If many links, try using a link-checking program that can do the work for you quickly.
Don’t keep outdated content on your site. If you have something on your site that lists an event that happened months ago, chances are you have lost some readers. Users will spend time on websites that are well-maintained, and the presence of your outdated information will tell them that your site it not being properly cared for. Set up a review schedule so you are able to update the content, and remove the items that have nothing to offer anymore.
Search Engines
To help you design a website that is optimized for search engines, do not include frames. Users generally like frames, but information within frames is not picked up by the search engines. This will preclude you from having a positive ranking. You will lose out on visitors, if this happens.
Make sure to check whether your site works on all Internet browsers. Each individual browser will interpret your site differently, and sometimes, the user experience varies dramatically between each browser. A little bit of research will help you decide which browsers are used most often, at that time. Test the website on all browsers, even the popular mobile ones.
Step up your creativity when you write your site’s “About Us” page. Web designers often forget to be creative when they create the company bio area of the site. Make yours exciting! Try to give people a little look what your personal background looks like, try to show what made you get into web designing, who or what inspired it, and what you would like to achieve with your business.
There are many good books which can help you learn more about website design. Just keep in mind that since you are new to the website creation world, you want to start out with the basics and build from there. Avoid skipping any steps and learn at your own pace, so you can eventually become a great web designer.
If you are just starting out in web page design, use a simple template for your layout, then modify it with your own code. Begin with the basics and evolve your site as time goes on and you become more advanced in your capabilities and understanding of web page design.
One way that you can see how well your site has been designed is by taking advantage of site usability tools. The general use for these tasks is to be able to locate a function or some information within your site. If you have a well-designed site, users won’t have a problem doing this. On the other hand, if it is not, the task can give you some insight as to which areas of your website could use improvement.
Allow “site searching” on all of your pages. If you do this, visitors will perceive that your site is more user-friendly; it becomes instantly easier to locate the targeted information. This search option is surprisingly easy to add, and will greatly improve navigation throughout your site.
It’s fine to have a new user fill out a CAPTCHA when he registers for you site, but after that, he shouldn’t see another CAPTCHA. The captcha triggers a response from the viewer that he or she now has to perform complex problem solving just to view a simple webpage. Unless your visitor is already devoted to your site, he or she will likely leave your page and go somewhere else.
There are quite a few advantages to solid design practices. Your site will look more professional and people will enjoy using it, trust your company and pay attention to your content. The design of your website can be what makes or breaks it. The tips from this article are yours to use as you see fit. Use what you’ve just learned and design a successful website.