Designing A Web Site? Here Are The Best Tips


TIP! Be sure to select the correct graphics when designing your website. Keep in mind that bitmap images are quit large.

If you think every website is pretty similar to one another, carefully examine a site like Twitter, then check out some random kid’s site on Google Sites. You will find that there are major differences in the appearance and useability of these very different sites. To learn more about web page design, read through these helpful tips.

TIP! Make sure to view your website in a variety of browsers. What you get on your browser isn’t always what your visitors see on their browser.

Choose proper graphic for your web designs. PNGs work well, but bitmap images may be too big. Use a GIF instead if the image contains over 256 colors and PNG for test buttons and screen shots. JPEG images can be used for photos.

TIP! Never underestimate the value of a site that is simple for visitors to navigate. Make all links prominent and easily located.

Fixed navigation panels are a good way to allow your visitors to easily navigate your site. Websites that employ this technique have a navigation panel locked in place even when visitors scroll down. This is convenient for the user and for Internet marketers since it lets users perform desired actions like signing up for newsletters or buying products.

TIP! Let users cancel actions if they desire. This includes anything from filling out a simple set of questions, up to registering for a product or service.

Ensure your site can pass the NoScript test. The NoScript extension that is available for Firefox can be used to see if the site can still be read. 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.

TIP! No matter the niche or what the intent of the site is, you must aim to make them have 10 second or less loading times. An efficient site that is nicely designed is going to load properly and quickly.

Make sure your website is easily scanned. Usability tests indicate that the majority of online users fail to read content in its entirety, scanning instead for bits of information that are of interest to them. Using bolding, color changes and breaks between sections of text makes your content easier to scan and makes it more likely that visitors will return. Put important facts near the top of the page. Doing all this makes your visitors’ experience more enjoyable because they can find the information they want without any problems.

TIP! If you are creating a very big website, you want to always incorporate a search function into the site. Try having a search box in the upper-right of your homepage that allows searching for terms on your site.

Make sure to preserve personal information that may need to be entered again by the same user of your website. An example of this is if someone fills out a form to register, and then has to fill out other forms for other things. If the person’s info transfers from one form to the next, it will be much more convenient and less time consuming for the user. “Sticky” data will ensure that the user fills out all the forms they need to instead of leaving when it becomes too difficult.

TIP! To help make your website more attractive, incorporate some pictures that you took. Having pictures on your website gives off a more user-friendly approach to your site.

Consider using free software to design you website. Investing in powerful software packages like Photoshop is only worth it if you think they’ll pay off in the end. You simply must be willing to find these helpful design resources.

TIP! Optimize your site for older versions of Internet Explorer (IE7 and IE8). Everyone loves to hate Internet Explorer, but the sad fact is that a large minority of internet users still use these old versions of IE.

Do not go overboard in using lots of fonts when creating your website. You have to consider how the fonts you choose display on computer screens. Some are simply too hard to read. Verdana is a good font that is popular on the Internet.

TIP! Focus on conditional loading as you build your webpages as well as CSS that is specifically for pages opening in varying browsers. You can do maintenance and testing much quicker and easier if these things are in place.

Know what your subject is. For example, if you are creating a blog, don’t post without doing your research. The last thing you want to do is distribute incorrect information. The trick to a great blog is knowing your subject.

TIP! As you select a hosting service for your website, you need to make sure you know everything that is included in the package. What you are going to need to know is CPU usage, bandwidth, disk space, and some other areas that come with the package.

Your navigation methods should be clear and easy to maintain. Navigation link placement is essential in how long visitors will stay on a website. You must provide the user with easy navigation to create the right experience.

File Types

TIP! Keep your taglines visible, and include them on every page in your domain and sub-domains. Keywords will make your website more relevant to search engines and increase traffic to your site.

Choose file types carefully. Generally you are better off using GIFs or JPEGs for your graphics. While PNG and BMP files create crisper graphics, these types of files can take up significant disk space. Convert your graphics into file types with more manageable sizes if you want to ensure that your visitors have a great user experience at your website.

TIP! Remember literacy levels as you write your content. Not all users will be well educated, and some may actually be beginning readers.

It does not matter how much money you have invested into the website, being a site host is not a great idea. Designing the site yourself is a good idea, but when it comes to hosting, it’s usually better to use a third party. This will free up your time to concentrate on more important things.

TIP! Managing your time wisely is important when building a website. There are many small tasks involved in web design.

To get you started on designing your first website, you need to get good advice. Getting good advice from site design experts is key in order to build a good website. Without the proper education from a skilled expert, you will end up creating poorly designed web pages that nobody will want to see.

TIP! If you are making multiple pages within a subcategory of a website, use the copy/paste feature on your PC, it will help a lot! When you can re-use pre-existing code with only a few minor tweaks in each different page, generating all-new HTML code over and over is a waste of time. You can utilize the master copy continuously.

Chances are you are not designing the next Twitter or Facebook site. Do not let these odds work against you. However, using quality web design methods will help you quickly and easily create a website that is attractive and functional. Apply the information found here and you will be on your way to designing like a pro!