Have you ever seen a website that you were just really impressed with? Many things make up a good website, like images, white space and the layout. This article can give you a number of tricks and techniques you can use like the pros. Keep reading for great tips.
When you're thinking about how to design a website, you need to be sure to think about the navigation. You want your navigation to be easily accessible and easy to use. Put the navigation bar on every page in a noticeable place. Also, make sure that it flows well with the rest of your page and doesn't distract visitors.
Make sure your text and background has the proper contrast. There's evidence showing that white text on a black background is easiest for most people to read, but other colors are fine so long as they're readable. Also keep in mind that people with visual impairments may not be able to read your site if the contrast is poor. Check to see if your site complies with various contrast standards using the tool at http://snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html .
You will want to make sure you stay up-to-date with new information on website design found in various places around the Internet. An Internet search on your computer will give you access to a lot of info.
To help you design a website that is free of clutter, do not include any scrolling text on your site. Websites that have things constantly moving back and forth on the screen is really distracting to the visitor. Not only is this distracting and annoying, it screams unprofessional and will cause your visitors to leave quickly.
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.
If you want your site visitors to spend as much time as possible on your site, make text easy to read. One of the most common design mistakes is using graphic backgrounds with patterns or dark colors; combine this with equally dark text and you have a recipe for disaster. Unless the text is clear and easy to read, your site will not be a success.
Do not use images for your background. When you think about some of the biggest websites on the Internet, they do not have images as backgrounds. When you use image backgrounds, you represent yourself as someone who is not well-versed in web designing. Images as backgrounds also cause your site to load slower, which can lead to user frustration.
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.
If you intend to use advertisements on your site as a way to increase your earnings, make sure to maintain an appropriate ratio. Keeping your advertisements at no more than 25 percent of your content ensure your site is not cluttered with too many of them. Just like people would not watch television if it was nothing but commercials, site visitors are less likely to stay on your site if you have too many advertisements.
When designing a website with a lot of text, choose your fonts wisely. While serif text will work well for a title or headline, the body of the text should be in a serif font, which is easier to read on a computer screen. Try to use common computer fonts such as Times New Roman and Ariel.
You need to check your website's performance across a wide array of different web browsers. Each individual browser will interpret your site differently, and sometimes, the user experience varies dramatically between each browser. There are various resources to find which browsers are more popular. Make sure to view your site in the most-used web browsers and as many mobile browsers as possible.
Try including real customer testimonials. Very http://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/online-marketing few want to be the first to try a product or service, so let customers know that others have tried your wares and that they were pleased with them. Try asking some clients that have done projects with you to create a short paragraph about their experience with your company, to put on your site.
When designing your website, it is a good idea not to stray too far from popular conventions. For example, most users expect that when they click on the website logo at the top of a webpage, they will be taken to the home page of the website. If your website behaves differently, it can confuse the user. In many cases, straying from such conventions can lead to a poor overall user experience.
You can get ideas from other websites, but incorporate them into a vision all your own. Create http://feeds.feedburner.com/Friendfeed-Janineshandy designs on your own, and improve on the ones you've witnessed on other websites. If you do this, you'll constantly improve your abilities and reach your potential as a web designer.
Part of designing a good website is finding the best website hosting package. You want a package that offers ample disk space, bandwidth, email accounts, and such. If you cannot find a good website host for your project, then you shouldn't start your project. Hold out until you can locate a premium host.
Avoid adding too much content on your page that will make your site lag which can deter people from coming back to your site. You want people to have the feeling of wanting to come back to your site, not the other way around. So be sure to check your site from time to time to make sure what you add isn't lagging it up.
Make certain that your website displays well at all screen resolutions. You can do this by utilizing percentages for the width and height of the elements on your webpage, as opposed to fixed pixel dimensions. In addition, a page that displays properly at a lower resolution, will generally work well at higher resolutions. Prior to making your website public, you should test it at various resolutions to ensure that all of your visitors will have a comfortable experience.
The logo for your website should be placed on top of every page. This is the easiest way to maintain consistency in your website design and link every webpage together. It also helps visitors remember your website. Choose a logo that really shows what your business is about.
Now that you've learned some of the ins and outs of web design, you should, hopefully, be a bit more eager to use it to your advantage and gain a reasonable amount of profit through it. Website creation is the future and now you have a good idea of how to become good at it. Use this to your advantage and become successful for years to come.
