As a website design company in Las Vegas, I can say that learning as much as I could from experts was how I got started. I looked at their sites, checked out their code, and even borrowed from their designs. Today there is a great deal of information available to help you get into the game, and this article is a great place to start learning.
HTML5 video is set to become the next standard for displaying videos on the web and naturally, you should offer both a way in which users can stream your content through an HTML5 format as well as another format such as flash for those who have an older browser version.
Put a tagline on your site. Using a tagline simply means that you will need to come up with a quick statement that lets visitors know what your site is all about. It’s important to use a tagline that is clear since you have about eight seconds when someone goes to your page to get them interested in exploring your entire website.
Speed is important in the Internet, and this is why you need to see to it that your website loads fast. If someone visiting your site has to wait a while in order for a page to load, it’s likely they will click off your site and leave. They probably won’t return.
A good website should display and function in any type of web browser, so it is vital that you test your website in every browser currently on the market. If something works in Chrome it might not work in Firefox, for example. Therefore, check to see that all pages display correctly in all the large browsers prior to your site going live.
Make sure that you use the right anchor text. The anchor text of a link should clearly describe what the visitor should expect to see when he clicks on the link. For instance, if a link leads to your widget ordering page, the anchor text might read “Order widgets.” Specifically avoid using “click here” as anchor text.
To help your website visitors find their way home on your site, always include a link to your homepage on each page of your site. Having a home page link that is visible allows your reader to easily make their way back to starting point. If you do not have a home page link then your visitors might get frustrated and leave your site altogether.
To help you design a more professional looking site, do not include an image in the page background. A background image screams low quality site, plus these site usually take forever to load. When you are going for a more professional look, the last thing you want is your visitors waiting forever because images are still loading on your pages.
Build your website using a content management system. Knowing how to build a website using just HTML and CSS is good foundation knowledge, but this can only produce a static website. Web design has evolved into providing dynamic content. If you couple your coding skills with the use of a content management system, you can practically build any type of website that you desire.
Do not use blinking, scrolling text or other animations. Also, steer clear of sounds or music that plays automatically. All of these things are distracting to users and provide nothing of value. In addition, connection speeds vary from one site visitor to the next, and everyone does not have the same speed. Those users with slower connections will resent the slow-loading elements of your site.
If the design of your website needs to be mobile friendly, keep in mind that mobile devices have smaller screens and limited bandwidth. To account for smaller screens, you should try to design your website as a single narrow column so that the user only needs to navigate vertically, as opposed to both horizontally and vertically. Limited bandwidth means that you should be extra concerned about your file sizes. You can also opt to create a separate version of your website specifically for mobile devices.
Any good web design must include the proper planning as you are getting started. This planning process includes selecting a domain and a hosting package as well as planning out the information layout and designs. Planning is essential to web design, as it gets you ready beforehand to carry out your idea of the website.
Stay with a layout that is basic and not all that confusing so that you don’t confuse yourself. Do this so that you get the basics down first then try your best to upgrade to an intermediate site and from there progress to a site that is more advanced in the end.
Always use the same type of fonts so that guest to your site don’t become agitated by reading different types of fonts. You want people to browse through the site with ease so that they can just concentrate on the material on the site and what the site has to offer.
As an alternative to Photoshop, you could choose to use the GIMP photo editor. GIMP has practically every single feature that Adobe Photoshop does; and instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a program and using up a few hundred MBs of program space, GIMP is 100% free and runs about 35mb.
If you’re using FileZilla as a server, program the menu settings with the correct port and your username and domain. This makes it simple whenever you log back into the server, because all you do is click on the menu and select personal settings. Ultimately, this will save you loads of time.
Now that I’ve been designing websites for over a decade, I feel that I can give some advice back. Use the tips in this article, continue learning as much as you can, and stay on top of trends to ensure your websites stand out in the crowd. If I can do it, anyone can!
