It can be daunting to stare down the prospect of designing a website. Regardless of whether or not you are an experienced web designer or a novice, the task can still be daunting. There are so many different aspects to consider, such as layout and color scheme. The other problem is that new technologies, techniques and ideas pop up daily which you’ll have to learn to compete. To design a website that is successful, follow the tips below.
Ensure your site can pass the NoScript test. See if the website is readable. Some content, such as ordering systems for products, can’t work without scripts, but if your site is simply blank with scripts turned off, that’s bad news.
Frames have been uncool to use since the 90’s. These flawed systems were popular in the past. Visitors are bookmark junkies and frames make that task extremely difficult and a simple scroll an annoying effort. There are more modern ways to build layouts today.
Be careful when introducing new colors into the design of your website. Your content should be read easily without assistance or adjustment. The text opted for should be dark in color, with a lighter color used for your backgrounds. If you have doubts about your color scheme, run it by a few people and see what they think of it.
Do not use any type of pop-ups. Nothing is worse that going to a website and being bombarded with pop-up ads. Many visitors to a site will just click away from a site with pop-ups, even if the site is a popular one. In addition, many people now have pop-up blockers anyway. It’s best to stay away from this type of ad to keep your visitors happy. If your host tries forcing pop-ups on you, look for another one.
Be sure to do good keyword research. Of course, fresh content should be your main focus, but you must also optimize your site. Knowing the keywords that will bring visitors is crucial.
Let site visitors give feedback. By doing this, if you discover a missing item or if you don’t know how to properly utilize your page, it’s possible for you to fix it. Getting visitors to your site to feel they are involved is a smart way to be certain they are going to go to your site again.
Keep all of the site files you use as small as possible, regardless of design. This is because the size of the files dictates the speed at which your website loads. You want your site to load instantly. There are still people who will be using your website that do not have a high-speed connection. You want to perform a test to make sure your site performs well, even with dial-up modem connections.
Alt Tags
During the process of designing your site, use ALT tags for your images. These tags are important because they describe the images people see when they don’t have their graphics turned on or they’re for people that can’t see and need help with getting a website read to them. Even if you use links for your images, the ALT tags will help to explain what the link does. It may also benefit your search engine rankings.
Your site should be optimized to handle older editions of Internet Explorer, such as IE7 and IE8. Most people do not like Internet Explorer, but others still use it. These do not render the web elements to the web standard, so there must be workarounds. You should read up on the frustrating “box model bug” that has plagued IE for a long time.
Which file formats you use for graphics is key to user satisfaction. Your best choice for graphic files are GIFs and JPEGs. While PNG and BMP files create crisper graphics, these types of files can take up significant disk space. When you change your images to smaller files, your website visitors will find your website easier to navigate.
All load times on the website you design should be as fast as possible. Those who visit your site have little in the way of patience so ensure your site is designed to load quickly. Some techniques you can use to insure fast loading pages are reducing Flash, minimization of CSS coding, and reducing Flash and graphics on your page.
Be sure to always look at the links on your site, and make sure none are broken. This should be done frequently, before uploading to the server. Broken links are one reason for web visitors to leave a site. To keep this from happening, check everything to make sure that it works.
Research is crucial when designing a website. You must know your niche well to have your sights set on your targeted customer base. You need to always imagine ways to design your site in order to draw their attention. This will make your design efforts more efficient.
A number of factors must be considered when designing a website, including layout and color scheme. Although it’s frightening to design your own site because of the various factors, it shouldn’t have to be hard for you. Follow the tips provided in this article, and you will be well on your way to designing a successful and appealing website.