Use professional-looking, and readable fonts. Fonts say a lot about the professionalism of a site and the business it represents. Don’t use handwriting or comic fonts as most people won’t have them installed. If your website calls for a font that your visitors do not have, a default font will be substituted. This may make your entire design look bad.
A search feature needs to be integrated into the home page and any subsequent pages to follow. This increases the site’s usability five-fold, and makes it easier to get to anyplace on the site from any other place on the site. Site searchers are easy to place into your site, and you will find that the benefits they give you will be worth the amount of time and effort that you put into implementing them.
Your website should have a favicon. The little graphic will have your site looking more noticeable, especially if your visitors bookmark the site. When looking through their lists of bookmarks, a memorable favicon will make you stand out. Just be sure that you favicon is aligned with the theme of your site.
All web designers should always strive for perfection. Since “perfect” websites don’t exist, this mentality can make you expand and improve upon what you create. Having this attitude will benefit your design endeavors, regardless of the site you are creating.
Eliminate Flash from your site and look for an alternative. Flash can appear high-tech and exciting, but it can make for long load times on older systems. In addition, some tablets and cell phones are not Flash-enabled, which can make it difficult for these types of visitors to enjoy your website.
Perform a thorough error check of your site, including checking for broken links. Do this from time to time, before uploading it to the server. Checking links is important since visitors who click the link will become frustrated if they find unavailable content on a frequent basis. Make sure everything is in working order to keep this from happening.
Have links on your own website to make it easier for visitors to share products or information you provide on a social networking site. This allows visitors to share information about your site and your product offering with members of their networks.
If you are hoping to outsource your site creation, you should avoid hiring close personal friends or family. If you are looking for a web designer, you should probably avoid enlisting the help of a family member or close friend. If the work is substandard, firing the help will be a problem.
Be aware of the background you choose. Many sites make use of background images in the animated GIF format. Sometimes this provides an excellent effect; at other times it can make the text of your page illegible. Your audience will have a more pleasurable browsing experience if your background is conducive to reading your text.
Let visitors cancel actions if they want to. This includes anything from filling out a simple set of questions, up to registering for a product or service. Forcing your user to complete an action they don’t wish to will ensure they never sign up for anything on your site again, nor are they likely to return at all.
Distribute keywords that are relevant to your intended audience throughout your website. Design is important, but the artistic elements of a website take second place to the ability to persuade your readers. Keep your client base in mind when designing your site. Find words and phrases that your readers can absorb and apply to their own life. Discover approximately five keywords, and then layer them into your design.
Remember, designing a website does not need to be expensive. For each pricy, popular, useful web design tool, there exists one of equal usefulness that costs less. For example, you can use free open-source software instead of paid software. Open source software ultimately saves you a great deal of money.
Throughout the design process, you should perform useability tests periodically. Before going on to the next feature, ask an impartial observer to comment on the one you just finished. While a video that loads slowly may not seem too terrible in your eyes, someone else might think differently. Always seek out different, outside opinions.
When you design your website, remember that you do have have to fill up every bit of space. By insisting on utilizing all the available tips and tricks, you can make a site that is not friendly to your users. Those visiting your site will actually be relieved by having extra space and not feeling overwhelming. White space is often even more valuable than a flashy design and layout.
Be certain to ‘remember’ personal information that might have to be re-entered by the same site visitor. If users register on your site, some of their data should be saved. This makes it easier to fill out forms, and is considered to be very convenient. With this “sticky” information, you create a simpler, easier experience for your users, which will prompt them to stay on-site longer.
Color combinations are key in branding your website. The text needs to show against the background easily so your site is easily recognizable as yours. Using dark colored text on a light colored background generally ensures that the text is easy for visitors to read. If you’re unsure about the color combo you’ve used, solicit feedback from a trusted friend before the site goes live.
You have reviewed a lot of information in this article. Use it right and you will soon find that you have created an Internet site that meets your goals – a site that helps you to create lasting business relationships with consumers by providing a very user friendly and welcoming format. Doing this will increase you chance of success and bolster you bottom line at the same time.