Should You Design A Website For Your Business?

TIP! Have your website prominently feature a tagline. This will let people know what your business represents.

Usually the success of a website is defined by how well it is designed. Implementing website development that comports with industry best practices helps you create a good-looking website that does what you want it to do. However, if you poorly design your site, visitors will leave in droves without even bothering to look at any of the content. Here are some suggestions that will help you make smart decisions about the design of your site.

TIP! A simple to navigate website will retain visitors. Visitors should be able to locate clear, unambiguous links quickly and easily.

Make sure that a tagline is prominently displayed on your website. A good tagline is a central motto or exclamation that lets a reader know what your website is focused on. This is important since the average user knows if they want to stay and explore a site within eight minutes.

TIP! Use shortcuts. There are often shortcuts that can be used for just about anything when it comes to web design.

You will need to pass the NoScript test. Download this extension in Firefox and see how your site looks. There are some elements (e.g. ordering products) that will not work if there is no script. For this reason, if your website is blank and has no scripts, it will not work.

TIP! Optimize your website to handle computers that may be running older versions of programs like Internet Explorer 7 and 8. The Internet community loves to hate on IE, but in truth, a large portion of Internet traffic still happens through IE.

Watch your color scheme on your site. Your text should remain the main focus of attention and should be easy to read. Dark text colors on light backgrounds are usually easier to read compared to the other way around. If you don’t know whether your color theme functions well, ask a friend or colleague to provide feedback.

TIP! Think about your user at all times. This is one of the most important aspects of web design.

Set up your site so that visitors can cancel actions they initiate if they change their minds. This could be anything from filling out forms to registering for email newsletters. If your visitors feel forced into completing something they no longer want, it may leave a bad taste. They will probably avoid visiting your site in the future.

TIP! Never underestimate the value of great meta tags throughout your website. Having meta tags that are quality will help show the search engines what your site is about.

Stay away from using pop-up ads. This is one of those most hated marketing tactics on the web! It does not matter who or what the website represents, most visitors will not hang around if they are bombarded with pop-ups. Make sure your customers are happy by eliminating these pesky ads from your site. If your web host forces you to have pop-up ads, try to find another web host.

TIP! As you design your site, incorporate independent CSS paging for browsers and make use of conditional loading. Testing and regular maintenance is much easier this way.

Keep the loading time to lower than ten seconds. Efficient sites should be visible in seconds so the viewer does not get side tracked. Most people who use the Internet want instant gratification, so it is best that your website provides it.

TIP! If you’re stuck in your designing, keep in mind that you can usually find help online. If you need inspiration, browse some of the other websites out there.

Keep your topics separate. If you have many topics on your site, try keeping them on separate pages. This ensures that no one ends up confused and leaves as a result. Search engines will also have an easier task of ranking specific pages.

TIP! There are many newsletters available that distribute both proven and novel web design information. Sign for some of them to keep yourself inspired and give yourself a web design “safety net” you can rely on to maintain your base of knowledge on the subject.

Make your front page very simple. People surfing the web will quickly decide if they are going to delve into a website based on the front page. Describe your business in detail and what it does, but keep other distractions and details to a minimum.

TIP! Make sure the entire website is entirely read over and over again to insure it looks professional and well-designed. Your goal is to make it easy for people to read your content.

Know everything you can about your subject. It is very important that you conduct plenty of research about your subject if you are thinking about using the site as a blog. People will not come to your website if you don’t appear to know what you’re talking about. To have a good blog, knowing about the subject is crucial.

Search Engines

TIP! If you’re using FileZilla as a server, program the menu settings with the correct port and your username and domain. By doing this, it will make logging in that much easier, because you can just select your settings.

To help you design a website that is optimized for search engines, do not include frames. Some users enjoy pages with frames, but search engines don’t find the info they contain. The search engine will give your website a lower ranking if it can’t see the great content you are providing. If that happens, you will not get as many visitors.

TIP! Have another person constantly test your website functionality through the entire design process. Whenever you add something new, you should have a person come by and give you constructive feedback.

Be sure to make sure that your website works on the different browsers that are out there. Your site may look quite different on different browsers, so don’t be caught unawares! There are many resources available where you can find out which browsers are currently popular. Make sure your website works in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and the major mobile browsers.

TIP! Try using time management when you build websites to get work completed on time. There are many small tasks involved in web design.

One thing you want to think twice about is a website counter located on your page, as they have more negatives than positives. Visitors really don’t care how many other people have visited your site. Get rid of that unsightly counter and instead use alternative tools to help you gauge traffic.

TIP! Don’t assume that you have to make use of every last inch in your website layout. Using plenty of blank or “white” space is a common design strategy, and a very effective one.

Two factors that directly determine the success of your website is how good it looks and how easy it is to use. Websites that use web page design best practices, generally get more traffic than those that don’t. The opposite is true for poor website development, it may discourage people from entering your traffic. Put these practices to use to build a site that will be enjoyable for your visitors, and you’re sure to have a successful website on your hands.