You’ve come to the right place if you’re interested in making your own websites. The helpful information here can help you successfully create a great site. Using these tips will allow you to reach your goals with regards to website creation.
Keep your topics separate. Put each topic on a different page. This will reduce visitor confusion and facilitate readability by the search engines.
Keep your homepage simple. People scanning websites glance quickly at each site they see, so of you front page is simple enough and shows them what they desire, then they are likely to stay. Make sure that you provide a very clear description about your business or other purpose for your site. Other information on your site should also be minimal, but still clear, so that you don’t overwhelm your visitors.
Fixed-position navigation is useful to visitors. This means you need to lock the site’s panel for navigation in a place that scrolls while the visitor does. This offers convenience for visitors and can help marketers as well when it allows visitors to take action easily, such as signing up for promotions.
When designing a large website, include the ability to search throughout the site. At the top right of every page in your site, incorporate a search box which will let visitors search for a term that appears on your site. You can add search functions to your site with Google and FreeFind.
Make sure the content on your website is compelling and interesting. While the look of the design is important, the content is what keeps visitors returning to your site. Visitors are likely to return to your website if they find the content informative and it fulfills their needs.
White is an effective and visually attractive background color for a website. White puts the focus on the content, making it easier to read. If you are trying to to exude a professional tone, a white background lends a trustworthy feeling to your site. You will come across as an amateur if your site design is cluttered and distracting. It is usually preferable to have a simple background.
Be sure to view your website designs in all the popular web browsers. Your content may show very differently to customers using alternate browsers. Research the most popular browsers and fix your site accordingly. It’s also a good idea to test out your website on different operating systems.
You must be sure that your site is optimized properly so that it can be viewed in all browsers. 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. Specifically, read about the “box model bug” that plagued IE for years.
File types can affect the time it take for a website to load. You should use GIFs or JPEGs for graphics. PNG and BMP may work better for graphic creation, nut they usually have larger files sizes. Make your files manageable to keep loading times down for visitors.
Web Browsers
Make sure that all of your colors match one another. Make text visible against the background hues. The better choice is using darker fonts against backgrounds that are lighter. If you have doubts about your color scheme, run it by a few people and see what they think of it.
It is important to remember to test your website’s design on various web browsers. Each individual browser will interpret your site differently, and sometimes, the user experience varies dramatically between each browser. There are a number of resources that you can use to determine what popular web browsers should be tested. Use all popular browsers to test your site, including the mobile web ones.
Even if you invest a bunch into your site, hosting yourself isn’t wise. Your design should reflect your idea of your business but paying for a hosting service is the best way to keep your site safe and secure while avoiding you the stress of maintaining a server.
Make sure your domains, as well as your sub-domains, have taglines that are clearly visible. They should be in bold, large text and be placed in the viewer’s initial line of sight. It will immediately let them know what the goal of the page is, the offer it’s providing, the reason it exists, or the purpose of it. Most of the time, this determines whether or not this visitor remains on your page or exits out.
Incorporate a search function that lets visitors find what they need. For people who look for specific things, they’ll look for a search box first. If your site does not have one, expect them to find a site that does. Make sure your search box is visible. The right hand side of the page, at the top, is the best location.
Now you know how to make website design your field of mastery. However, this is only some of what you need to know, and you’re going to have to keep learning. Keep reading and learning and staying on top of your craft.
Onaolapo Adeyemi is a travel and technology writer. If he’s not on tour, you’ll find him in New York with his wife, and pet parrot hanging out at Starbucks.
