A good web designer will create a site so simple that it’s elegant. Really great web design is in a class by itself, and will separate the business or interests it represents, from the rest of the pack. Educate yourself if you want to become a great web designer. In order to further your knowledge base about designing websites, you should check out the tips discussed in this article.
Don’t use splash pages for your site unless required by law, and especially don’t use a Flash intro. Most people just want to get to your content as quickly as possible, and don’t care to look at useless splash pages. If you have some amusing content that you absolutely want visitors to see, integrate it into the homepage instead.
Give your visitors the ability to search your site so that they can more easily find what they are looking for. If someone cannot find what they are looking for right away, their next thought will be to look for a search field. Put this somewhere obvious and include a search button.
Educate yourself about shortcuts, then make a habit of employing them. There are plenty of site design shortcuts so that you can save time. For example, there are HTML codes that can let you make quick changes to your site without needing to re-upload the page.
Learn the basics of HTML and CSS. Although there are many templates that allow you to just fill in the blanks, in order to create a web page, these templates provide only limited design possibilities. Understanding how the mark-up language and stylesheet work together will enable you to customize your website to your heart’s content.
Minimize the amount of clicking or scrolling visitors must do to access information. The more a user has to click or scroll around to find the information they seek, the more likely they are to give up looking for it. Aim for having at least 400 words on every page of your site by combining pages that have content that falls below this number of words.
Use ALT tags for your website. It helps those who are surfing the web with disable graphics. It also helps those with visual impairments, as images can be translated to voice. In addition, if the image is a also a link, you can tell visitors where the link takes them and what it does. Lastly, search spiders use ALT tags, so this can help you in the SERPs.
Make sure you are prioritizing your user’s needs. Your focus should remain on the end user at all times. Factors of note are usability, accessibility, user experience and interaction. You should think about all these things as you do your job. Look at the site through the eyes of a user as you design.
Make use of your grammar and spell checker. Yes, some mistakes may get passed some of your audience, but it will not get past everyone. You could lose some of your audience because of this, particularly if you make mistakes frequently. Do your best to correct your grammar and spelling on your site.
Reserve a domain as soon as you can. Once you’ve thought of a domain name that you like, you should reserve it so that it’s still there when you’re ready to use it. Lots of people follow this line of thinking. It is almost like everyone is connected in this way.
Beautiful web design is an awesome sight to see, but that’s only if it’s done the right way. A good design is a delight to behold, while a bad one sticks out like a sore thumb. Luckily, with a little study and practice, you can gain the necessary skills to produce good designs. Keep the above tips in mind to design a successful website.
