1. 1. Tips That Will Help You Become A Better Web DesignerSoapbox Digital MediaIf you have not learned much about the topic of web page design, it may seem confusing andintimidating. However, once you learn more about the subject, you will realize that it is really not sodifficult. Use these basic techniques for a website that is attractive, easy to navigate and informative.If you are designing a website, think seriously about hosting it with grid or shared hosting, rather thanVPS or dedicated hosting. That is because you dont know how many visitors your site will attract,and you want to avoid overpaying or underpaying before you have a good idea of what your hostingneeds will be.Consider your site visitors Internet bandwidths when you add videos to your site. You may want tochange your videos to 5,000 kb/s, but that still can be much quicker than someones internetconnection. Videos with extremely high speeds like this will load slowly and buffer frequently forvisitors on slow connections.Your best bet is going to be to start small, and move up to larger websites. This way you can easilysee what youre good at, and what you need to work on. Begin by making a few very simplistic pagesthat offer just basic text, and check out how well you do with that.Make sure that you place a search box at the top of each of your webpages, and ensure that the inputfield is at least 26 characters. Pay attention to the wording on your search box and keep it simple,with a command that simply states that your customers can "search" from that location. Followingthese guidelines ensures that site visitors can quickly find and use this feature to locate information.Validate each web page you design. There are a lot of WYSIWYG editors that can add many junkcodes to your sites design. If you rely on these sorts of programs, use a validator to find problems sothat they can be fixed by hand. Validating your code is an important step in website development, butbe sure to use a good service.Continually educate yourself on site design. When you figure out some of the aspects related to sitedesign, you need to try to tackle others that are new to you. This could slow down your site-buildingprocess, but what you learn during this whole process is invaluable, and soon you will be able tocreate websites without blinking an eye.If you are just beginning the process of creating a new website, realize that shared hosting is alwaysyour best option. This is because when your site is new you will have no idea how much traffic it willreceive, and the last thing you want to do is pay for bandwidth that you dont need. Remember, youcan always upgrade your web hosting if needed.Make it simple for your viewers to share things they find on your site, such as great products orspecial promotions. It will make it much easier for them to get the word out about what they havefound on your site, while boosting the traffic to your site at the same time.Pay careful attention to which colors you choose to use together in your website design. The text on
2. 2. your web pages, in particular, needs to be clear and easy to read on the colors you choose for yourbackgrounds. It is typically easier to see darker lettering that is set upon light backgrounds than thereverse. If youre unsure about the color combo youve used, solicit feedback from a trusted friendbefore the site goes live.Avoid the use of CAPTCHAs whenever you can. You will want to give your visitors a break frompersistent needs to respond in order to view your pages. Only the most devoted members will stay ona page with captchas, while others will leave to go to other sites.If your site has a logo, you need to ensure it links back to the home page. Over time, most peoplehave started to expect to find a clickable logo that takes them to your main web page. These userswill become frustrated if clicking your logo has no effect and they have to go hunting for a linkelsewhere. Making your logo clickable is just good design.Try using a newsletter for getting repeat visitors. If you provide customers with an opportunity to keepabreast of upcoming promotions or events, they will be more likely to return. You can incorporate aform in the sidebar of the site and track users that sign up. Make sure you only send off thenewsletter to people that want it, or youre sure to find yourself in some trouble.Review your site for broken links regularly. Before uploading any page, you should do a thorough testto identify any misdirected links. Visitors who encounter broken links and errors will not stay on yoursite long enough to view your product. So you dont run into problems, make sure you check to see ifeverything works.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, youll only end up disappointed and frustrated.Instead, give yourself enough time to allow yourself to work slowly and avoid careless errors.Offer a sitewide search option at the top of every page. This makes your website more usable,content accessible and leaves visitors fulfilled. This feature can be included with ease, and is aworthy addition to any site.If you want to maximize the potential of your website design, ensure that your pages appear correctlyon all web browsers, so any visitor can view them. What works in Chrome may not present properly inSafari, Internet Explorer or Firefox. Before your website goes live, check to be sure that the pagesdisplay properly in all of the most popular browsers.Ask yourself if your website looks good and if everything a visitor might need is easy to find. Yourvisitors will not stay on your website if they do not find it appealing. Help users avoid frustration withyour site with simple, logical design that makes information easy to find.When it comes to figuring out a design for your website, there are many things you must consider.There are many factors involved in website design, and this can make it seem quite intimidating;however, it really isnt too extraordinarily difficult. The information contained in this article will provideyou the knowledge you need to design and publish your very own site.