If you want to learn how to start getting into web design then look no further. A lot of people want to learn to become more independent and start doing things like building their own websites for business reasons or have the ability to build websites as a freelance worker. Whatever the reason for wanting to learn web design use the tips in this article to assist you in your endeavors.
For multimedia presentations, take advantage of the new HTML5 standard. Although HTML5 isn’t quite as robust for animation and games as Flash, it has the advantage of working stably on mobile phone browsers, including those contained in Apple hardware. HTML5 is also quite a bit leaner than Flash, so load times will improve, as well.
Avoid useless scripts. Scripts like counters and date/time scripts don’t really serve any purpose, and since they are all JavaScript, can add a few kilobytes to the page’s file size. Getting rid of these elements also frees up space on the homepage. Replace those useless scripts with useful content that keeps users coming back.
Include a link to the homepage on every page of your site. One of the best ways to do this is to make a graphic title for your page that can be included on all pages. Web users are used to clicking on a graphic to return home so there won’t be a learning curve to navigating your site.
Always take outdated information and content off of your website. If there is content on your page highlighting an event that is already part of past history, your readers are going to abandon you quickly. If your website looks neglected and disused, your potential customers will surely take their business elsewhere. Be certain to review your website on a regular basis to remove outdated items and add fresh, new content.
Remember the background. Some sites use moving GIF images in the background which may at times be good, but mostly it just makes the text hard to read. Make your site easy to read by choosing a background that complements the thrive-themes of your website and doesn’t overwhelm it.
Always separate topics. Have an individual page for each different point. This makes your website easier to understand for both visitors and search engine crawlers.
It does not matter how you have designed your website; you have to make sure that every file has a small file size. The size of the files making up your website is the direct cause of your site’s load times. You want your site to load instantly. Remember, some of your website’s visitors will not be using a fast Internet connection. Perform tests on your website to make sure that it loads fast, even when a dial-up connection is used.
Don’t allow pop-ups on your website. Even though you may find a reason to have them, your visitors will find them annoying. A user who is constantly closing pop-up ads is more likely to look for information on a different site without endless nuisances.
Organize your links and avoid putting too many links in one area of your site. Doing this can confuse visitors and make them leave your site. If you do have many low- to mid-importance links, emulate the “blogrolls” seen in many blogs and tuck them away in a column on the right side of the page.
Pay attention to the graphics you use. You should use GIFs or JPEGs for graphics. PNG and BMP files take up a ton of bandwidth. Make your files manageable to keep loading times down for visitors.
When designing a website, you want to keep the privacy of your customer’s information in mind. Set up proper encryption for submitting data, and never store customer passwords and such in a text document. Make sure you set up your website properly so that your customers know that visiting and interacting with your site is safe.
Meet with a professional web designer and learn how they do things. The easiest way to improve is to learn from someone who already knows the trade. By doing this, you are helping to guarantee that one day you too will be a professional, because you are willing to take the time and gain the knowledge to do things the correct way.
Do tests on your site to make sure that it’s up and running properly on different operating systems and different type of browsers as well. When you do this you then cover all of your tracks and make sure that as many users as possible are able to browse through your site.
Don’t use JavaScript too much when designing your website. Some people do not have java-enabled on their machine, and many are still using out-of-date browsers. Instead of using too much JavaScript and AJAX, make your sites clean and lean a bit more on graceful degradation. Remember, the goal is to make your site user-friendly for all users.
Sketch out the layout of your site before you begin to build it. Show your family and friends your sketches to get their feedback, so you can get a sense of others’ opinions of your site.
Validate each web page you design. Most popular WYSIWYG editors don’t generate code that is even remotely close to being valid. Use a validation service to check your code if you use this type of editor. The W3C provides a no cost service that validates web pages.
While reviewing your newly designed site, make sure that you have used techniques that lead to success including any necessary images or information the customer has requested or you need to promote your goods and services. You might want to have the BBB, if you wish to convey a sense of trustworthiness.
Using all of the information you learned from this article you should feel a bit more confident about getting into web design. Keep in mind that in order to be successful in web design you have to always expand your knowledge on the subject so that you’re up to date with the latest information. When you do this then you should have no problem becoming successful in web design.