The decision to hire a web design firm to develop your site may set you back thousands of dollars. And the money you spend doesn’t even guarantee that you’ll be satisfied with the results. Unfortunately, it is hard to really put forth the design you want them to achieve. Perhaps you have a clear idea of what your website should look like, but a professional might see it differently. Keeping this web design advice in mind, you are sure to make something you can be proud of.
Set up your website to store personal information that users might need to reenter multiple times. For instance, if a person registers on your site and a portion of the same exact information is required for filling another form out, ensure that the information they’ve already put in is saved so that he or she doesn’t have to put in this information again. Developing “sticky” data like this streamlines the user experience, and your visitors will likely appreciate the convenience.
Refrain from the overuse of Javascript. While Java opens many doors towards an interactive website experience, a lot of Internet surfers are going to have difficulty with it. Every web browsers is different and they are constantly updating. Some visitors will have older versions of their browser, which doesn’t support the latest JavaScript. Also, some visitors will not have JavaScript enabled. If you choose to use JavaScript every time, you will prevent some users from being able to effectively use your site.
Do not work with pop-ups. There is little worse than visiting a site and being attacked by pop-up ads or newsletter sign-up boxes. Many people leave any website immediately if pop-ups occur, even if they’re interested in the website. It’s best to stay away from this type of ad to keep your visitors happy. If the host you uses forces these pop-ups on you, you may want to consider looking for a new host.
There are many free programs available to help you develop your website. Don’t be fooled into believing that pricey software is what you have to use; there are many free tools that can get your site up and running. Do some searching and you’ll find some excellent free tools to use.
Photoshop is a great tool that novice designers should invest in to help make better looking web designs. Using a program that has great reviews behind it can help speed up the time it takes to create a website. If you don’t have an easy-to-use tool like Photoshop, it will drastically increase the time and effort required to build a professional-looking website.
Ensure that you’re including a method of receiving feedback from your site’s visitors. That will allow you to fix any problems that you may not otherwise notice. Give your visitors a sense of engagement so that they will return to your website in the future.
Make sure that all the files on your website are small in size. You need these small file sizes regardless of the overall design of your site. This is because file sizes are directly correlated with load times. You want the speediest load times possible. Remember, too, that some visitors may be using dial-up or other low-speed connections. Run tests to ensure that even dial-up users report a smooth user experience.
Avoid excessive use of pop-up windows. Most people will be turned off by a site that pop’s windows up in their face. Frequent pop-ups can cause your visitors to become disturbed enough to leave your site, hurting your reputation.
When the time comes that you must choose your webpage’s background color, be mindful of the effectiveness and conservative choice that white is. White backgrounds give your site a professional look, as well as make the content easy to read. However, intricate background images are often difficult to pull off; more often than not they appear sloppy and distracting. When choosing a background for your website, a simple background is better.
Use relevant meta tags to increase site traffic. Using relevant meta tags on each page of your site will help search engines categorize the page and show it to people who want to know about your page’s topic. Poor or useless tags that are irrelevant to your site will deter future and returning visitors.
Run tests on different browser applications to make sure your site works on all of them. Each browser program handles sites in a different way, and these variations can alter the user’s interface significantly. There are a number of resources that you can use to determine what popular web browsers should be tested. Make sure your website works in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and the major mobile browsers.
Try writing a good “About Us” page. Some websites “About Us” pages are very dull and boring. Make yours exciting and interesting! Let your visitors know a little bit about you. Share tidbits of information such as your business goals, your beginnings in web design and the sources of your inspiration.
Be very critical of the fonts you choose. A site’s look can hinge on whether or not it’s fonts are professional. Don’t use handwriting or comic fonts as most people won’t have them installed. A font can be subset to the default font on your user’s computer if they don’t have it. Your site can look bad when this happens.
Do not clutter your website by using every square pixel of space that you have available. Using all pixels within the site could make your website seem overwhelming and cluttered. Try to create a good amount of space within your site’s content, this allows your visitors to clearly see the page and give them a much better viewing experience. It can actually work to your benefit if you allow some space to be left uninhabited.
Web design can be very gratifying in its ability to give you instant, visible results. Implement what you just learned from the article above, and you’ll have a great site in no time. Ensure that you utilize them.