More than Just Lines on a Map: Best Practices for U.S Bike Routes
Need Help With Designing Your Site_ Then Read These Tips!
1. Need Help With Designing Your Site? Then Read These Tips!
Web Designers
Many people give up their interest in web design when they start thinking seriously about how to
design their first website. If you have avoided website creation because it seems too difficult, the
advice in this article can help you learn more so that you can dispel your fears.
Keep your links working and up-to-date. Good web design relies on being user friendly, and broken
links are frustrating to your visitors. Create a schedule of checkpoints at which you can test your links.
Never use pop-ups. There is little worse than visiting a site and being attacked by pop-up ads or
newsletter sign-up boxes. It is not unusual for some people to refuse to stay on a website, and not
return either, if it contains pop-up ads. It's best to stay away from this type of ad to keep your visitors
happy. If your webhost places their own popup ads on your website, it is time for you to change your
webhost.
You want your title to be descriptive on your website. Just for fun, look-up the search term "untitled
document" on the web. You will find that this is often a mistake that others make. Good page names
are absolutely essential to your site's success. Search engines make use of this as a large portion of
the algorithms they use for determining page rank.
There should be a tagline for each page in your site, that is clear and easy to understand. They
should be in bold, large text and be placed in the viewer's initial line of sight. A tagline is also useful
because it offers quick information about the overall purpose of your site. Within seconds, a visitor
can judge whether or not the site is relevant.
Offer to store personal information for returning users. For instance, if someone filled in their name
and address when creating an account, pre-populate this information when the customer fills out an
order form. It's annoying for visitors to have to re-register for different site functions, so work to make
the site experience positive for your users.
Set up your website so that people can easily search it. This is especially important if you have a
large website. The best place to put your search box is on the top of your homepage. Shoot for the
upper right corner. Users often expect to see a search box in this area and may want to search your
site for the information they are looking for. You can use Google search or FreeFind, as they both
give you access to an engine which is free and simple to use.
Most of the time, visitors go to a website to learn something or to do something, rather than ooh and
aah at the site's design. To help your users find what they need quickly and efficiently, keep your
website simple and include only relevant information and photographs. Having a simpler page will
decrease load time.
As you decide on advertisements for your site, keep limits in mind as to the amount you include. If
you do this, your site will instantly appear spammy and unprofessional, meaning visitors will not be
attracted to it. Limit your ads to those which are relevant to your content and target market.
2. Once your site is online, do not assume your work as a designer is over. You should strive to stay
involved with your website's design. Regular updates are important as they show that you are
bringing something new to your site. Updates will almost definitely be needed if your website hosts
articles or videos featuring current events. Updating a website is much different than updating a blog.
Website updates require more time and work.
Be considerate when it comes to your site background. There are certain websites that utilize
animated GIFs for their backgrounds. While such backgrounds can be attractive in some cases, they
can also make it difficult to read the content on your website. Choose a background that is not too
distracting for your readers, and that goes well with the rest of your design.
Create a favicon for your website. A favicon will help users who add your website to their bookmark
see your page more easily. As they look through their bookmark list, your favicon will stand out more
than the bookmarks of other sites. Pick a favicon that matches your theme.
Sound should only be used in appropriate situations when you create your site. Sound can often
aggravate the user if they haven't explicitly designated the audio to play and is even worse if a
volume option isn't present. Audio and video links are great, but the user should be in control of them,
with the ability to turn them on and off, and control the sound.
Almost all of your site visitors will be annoyed by pop-up windows or links that automatically open
new windows. Many browsers block these types of pages automatically, before the user even sees
them. With that in mind, you shouldn't even bother with this type of design option. If such techniques
are part of your site navigation, you should consider reworking your navigation system to avoid them.
It is essential to create realistic goals about how long each website design tasks will take to complete.
If you try to meet deadlines which are impossibly strict, you'll only end up disappointed and frustrated.
Instead, give yourself enough time to allow yourself to work slowly and avoid careless errors.
You really should have a dedicated space set aside, where you can design websites and manage
your own site. Remove the distractions, and create a clutter-free, efficient space. Make sure your
office equipment is easily accessible, and ensure that your office space is conducive to designing
good websites.
This may seem obvious, but it is important. Read over each page you change or add before you
upload it to ensure it's free of typos or grammatical errors. If you miss any it will make your content
look unprofessional, cheap and untrusttworthy. This lack of professionalism will greatly reduce your
visitor count.
The more you learn about and practice web design, the easier the process becomes. So once you
have the basics, start a simple web page using HTML and C+. See if you've got what it takes.
Practice is one of the most reliable ways to improve web design skills; start practicing early and often
to get the maximum benefit.
Now that you are aware of some ways you can improve your website development skills, you can be
happier about your future in web page design. Just be aware of the ever changing website
development landscape as there is always more you can learn, and soon you will be a skilled web
designer.