Website design can make you money. If you know how to design great sites, you can work for yourself or for others. You can work on these sites in your spare time, which can be a great way to make a little bit of extra money on the side.
Ensure your website can pass the NoScript test. Download and run the NoScript extension on Firefox and find out if the site is readable? While you may need to have some scripts running, you do not want to see a completely empty website if they are turned off.
Web designers gave frames the boot in the 90’s. Frames worked well in the earlier days, but there are too many flaws in the design. Frame designs make it harder for readers to bookmark your site and scrolling becomes a chore. There are better ways to allow your users to browse your pages easily.
Use a fixed-position navigation format for easy navigation for your users. This involves the navigation panel remaining static as the user reads down the page. This isn’t only very convenient for your visitors, but is also great for marketers.
Broken Links
Check your copy for broken links before you publish your page. People will become frustrated if they a link leads them to a broken page. Use a program or check links manually to be sure you have no broken links on your site.
Do not use pop-ups. Few things are worse than being overloaded with pop-ups. The majority of people will leave a site if it contains pop-ups, even if these sites are very large ones. Avoid using these irritating ads to keep your visitors happy. If your web host forces you to have pop-up ads, try to find another web host.
Smaller pages are better. Users with slower Internet connections may decide that the wait is not worth it if your site is slow to load. Users will be quick to leave a website that has pages that take too long to load.
Optimize your site for older versions of Internet Explorer (IE7 and IE8). Most people have a love-hate relationship with IE; however, many people are still using it, including older versions. They don’t render pages that have to do with regular standards on the web so you have to figure out a work around. Read up on the so-called “box model bug” which has bothered IE users for a long time.
Don’t put pop-ups on your website. This can be very annoying to your users. People will not want to visit or click away immediately. Keep the ads you do use simple; you don’t need crazy pop-ups.
Learn all you can about website design by researching online. Online research and expert information will teach you how to put together a quality website. If you don’t have tips from the experts, then your site is going to look like a novice built it.
Use shortcuts often. There are often shortcuts that can be used for just about anything when it comes to web design. HTML codes are one shortcut that allows you to fix things on your pages without the need to re-upload them.
Usability tests that are task based are a good tool for determining the effectiveness of a website. These tasks involve finding information on your website. If the site is designed well, any user should find the task quite easy. If there is a flaw in the design, the task can show what parts of the website need to be improved.
If at all possible, incorporate a way for visitors to search throughout your site for the information they are seeking. This ensures that all parts of your carefully designed site are always accessible to the people that need them. It is not complicated to incorporate a site search, and it will pay off in a big way.
Your design process will be more successful if you are learning at each step of the way. As soon as you figure one aspect of site design out, you should attempt to tackle another. This may lengthen the amount of time it takes to build a website, but you will truly know everything you need to know in order to build sites in the future.
Keep the front page of your website simple. A lot of people will only look at the front page. That’s where they are making the decision whether to spend more time on your site. Make sure that you provide a very clear description about your business or other purpose for your site. Other information on your site should be minimal, but still clear, so that you don’t overwhelm your visitors.
If you’re wanting to design multiple sites, you need to learn how to work with multiple platforms. Knowing MySQL, Java, PHI and more will benefit you in the future. It does not matter if you are designing for yourself or for your friends, you should work on becoming a multi-faceted web designer.
Visual Sitemap
To help you plan ahead, you want to make a visual sitemap. This can give you an idea of where you want to go in the future. A visual sitemap gives you an open view of the progress being made with your structure. You’ll now have the ability to determine any areas which need improving, or areas that have been neglected. You cannot discount having a clear image of your end product.
Adobe Photoshop is a valuable software program for any dedicated web designer. By using this type of program, a novice designer will be able to make high quality looking websites at a fast pace. It can take a lot more time to build a nice site if you don’t use top-notch software.
With everything you read about in the above article, you should be able to understand how to create a website. With these tips, you will soon become a web design expert.