Is becoming a great web designer something you want in your near future? Are there many goals on your plate, but your lack of knowledge in web design is keeping you from them? Read this article to get a better idea of what web design is about and find out where to start your education.
Be sure you have a search tool that lets others search when on your site. If visitors to your website are searching for something in particular, they will immediately look for the search box. If you don’t have a search box, they’ll just go to the next site. The ideal placement is the upper right hand corner of your page.
Always mark files that must be opened in an external program with an icon. Many sites host PDF files, and less commonly, DOC files, that must be opened in Foxit Reader and Microsoft Word/OpenOffice, respectively. These files should be marked with an icon representing the file type, and a link to download the appropriate viewer if the user does not have it.
Test your website before it goes live. There’s nothing worse then launching your new website and having to take it down right away due to bugs or other issues. Get a group of people together who are using different web browsers and computer platforms, and ask them to use a beta version of your website, writing down any issues they come across.
Always research keywords before writing content. While your primary focus should be providing website visitors with useful information, you also need to gain a customer base. Knowing what keywords people use to find your site via search engines is a must for your website to succeed.
Don’t allow pop-ups on your website. Even if you believe it is a good strategy, most visitors will be annoyed by them. In fact, you may drive them to leave your site out of irritation and frustration with your pop-ups. You could lose a visitor for life.
Try having a clear and consistent layout in the design of your sites. Clean layouts that make use of a lot of white space tend to enhance the site’s readability and overall look. The layout must be focused on the content. Try using fonts that are on every computer in order to avoid having your site appear incorrectly.
When designing a website with a lot of text, choose your fonts wisely. While serif text will work well for a title or headline, the body of the text should be in a serif font, which is easier to read on a computer screen. Try to use common computer fonts such as Times New Roman and Ariel.
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 minimize your image usage. Generally, simpler designs are more effective for the user. So keep your site simple, but also neat. Avoid cluttering pages with large, bulky images that have long loading times. Try being creative with the layout and using your “eye.”For example, use eye-catching focal points to get a viewer to visit something specific.
After learning what we’ve taught you, are you more optimistic about your chances? You should. If not, then go ahead and reread this article so that you are feeling like you understand web design in a way, that makes you confident when thinking about the subject.
