Most people think flashy sites are going to gain more visitors; this is only the case for those with speedy Internet connections. The most successful sites are simply and tastefully designed for user friendliness. Keep reading to learn helpful advice about creating a simple and effective website.
It is always good to add a favicon to your website. The favicon is a 16×16 image file in the .Ico format. This image is the one you see next to the URL bar, next to the title of the page on an opened tab and is also visible on your bookmarks tab if you choose to bookmark a page. The favicon will help users quickly recognize your page in their browser without reading any text or directly viewing the page.
Avoid trying to add every new gadget to your website. It can be tempting to make your site look cutting edge by including every new web design option out there but it can end up turning people off. Simple will generally get the job done even better than a flashy layout.
Break up long text blocks. Having a huge wave of text is unnecessary for any site, especially when you can break it up by using images, or even separating it into different pages. Boring your viewers will only make them leave, so keep things as simple and fresh as possible.
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.
To help your website visitors easily navigate through your site, design it so that it becomes easy to find “stuff.” When you have a simple site that makes it easy to locate information, you keep your visitors there much longer. If you make it difficult for them, then they will get frustrated and leave.
Every page of your website should have a way to return to the main page, or “home.” This ensures that when users navigate deeper into your site, they always have a way to start over if they lose place of what got them to the page they are on currently.
Use ALT tags for your images when designing your site. These tags are very important for the handicapped segment of your target audience. In addition, if the image is a also a link, you can tell visitors where the link takes them and what it does. ALT tags are the only way your images are going to help you with your search engine rankings.
Make text easy to ready by using colors that contrast or backgrounds that are easy to read text on. When your text is harder to read because the background or text color creates eye strain or portions of text that are unreadable, site visitors are less likely to stick around.
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.
As stated above, it is better to stick with simple designs in a website. If you know how to design a website that is nice without being too flashy, it will succeed. Try these tips out seriously, and you can go far.
