There are numerous ways that a website can be used. They can be used for selling goods or services, or expressing thoughts or ideas. Though many people want a website, many are unaware of how to do so. Keep on reading for some great tips for making your site one that people will remember.
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.
Creating a site map is a very important part of the web design process. A site map is an effective way to inform visitors of the various kinds of content that your website has to offer, and is a great tool for navigating your website. Search engine crawlers will also utilize your site map for similar reasons, and therefore, including a site map will help boost your search rankings. Make sure your website has a site map, and that it is through.
Avoid using animated GIFs on your site. These were popular in the late 1990s, but newer technologies have replaced the uses for animated GIFs that were actually useful. Animated GIFs are low in quality and large in file size. Use static icons for page elements and actual video files for complex animations.
Add a search feature to a website. When visitors come to your website, they want to easily be able to find what they are looking for. A keyword search feature will make it easy for people to find the right page on your site, especially if the website you are designing is very complex.
Test your site early and often. As soon as you have something built to test, it is vital to keep checking what users will actually experience. Be sure that you stay diligent about website testing and improvements as it keep growing.
Be sure to always look at the links on your site, and make sure none are broken. Do this each time you upload new content to your site. Checking links is important since visitors who click the link will become frustrated if they find unavailable content on a frequent basis. If you wish to prevent this from happening, you should regularly check your links.
Always make sure that your site design works well on every browser. Your coding might look great in Firefox, but it could be askew in Internet Explorer. You need to find out exactly how things look in all browsers and then code in a way that leaves your site looking the same on every popular browser.
A great web design tip is to ensure that your site is able to be found with or without the subdomain. You should be able to find your site by typing www.mysitehere.com and also http://mysitehere.com. Sites that work like this are also able to be found without a prefix at all. You can type mysitehere and find it.
When you are deciding which hosting service to use, make sure that you understand everything that the package will include. It’s important to understand what your needs are in regards to CPU, RAM, bandwidth, hard drive space and specific software needs like PHP or MySQL. Make sure you know what you are getting.
As was said before, websites are a great tool to have. You can use it for many different purposes, from sales to idea sharing. Should you want your own website, then what you have read here can easily help you build the site you want.
