Tips For Designing Your Website You Cannot Live Without

Sotero Garcia Aug 1, 2012 · 9 min read

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

If your site has a logo, you want to be sure that when you click it you go right to your homepage. Just about everyone expects to be able to click on the company logo to be redirected to the home page. This, of course, causes frustration for them if it does not occur as they must then spend time searching for a home page link. Making your logo clickable is just good design.

TIP! If you want your website to cater to the needs of visitors, it must be user-friendly and simple to navigate. You should have the links on your site prominently displayed and easy to navigate.

Some people, and you may be included in this group, think that every website is pretty much the same. If you feel that way, browse through Facebook and then look at a site that is hosted on Google. You will notice important parallels between each site, as well how different designs are needed based on the needs of the individual website audience. Check out the tips below to expand you web design knowledge.

Make sure someone is testing your site for proper functioning as you are designing each step. Each time you change your website or add something, have a friend visit your site and try it out. While you may not think your videos are loading slowly, a objective opinion may not agree. Feedback from others will be invaluable to you as you build your site.

TIP! It’s all right to rely on a host for tools to set up your basic design, but to add more advanced touches, you’ll want to do some of your own work. Going beyond templates means you’ll have a website that stands out, offers your visitors content they’ll come back for and gives you greater profits.

Ask yourself if your website looks good and if everything a visitor might need is easy to find. If that is not the case, visitors are not likely to stay on your site for long. To avoid visitor frustration, streamline and simplify, while still presenting all needed information.

You don’t have to fill all available space when designing a site. When the entire screen is full of content, the brain becomes overwhelmed. Leaving sufficient gaps between the different page elements will make people more comfortable. Sometimes, empty space can contribute to the look of a page as nicely as content does.

TIP! White is an effective and visually attractive background color for a website. Studies show that a white background with black text is the easiest for people to read, leading your content to appear expert and trustworthy.

Make sure that you place a search box at the top of each of your webpages, and ensure that the input field is at least 26 characters. The button that puts the search query into the system should be labeled “search”, rather than “submit” or “okay.” Following these guidelines ensures that site visitors can quickly find and use this feature to locate information.

Even more important than a good looking website is one that loads fast, and that means all of your files should be small. This is because the size of your website’s files directly affects its loading time. A website that loads more quickly is always a top priority in web design. The other factor to bear in mind is not all visitors access through high-speed connections. You want to perform a test to make sure your site performs well, even with dial-up modem connections.

TIP! Hosting your own site is not a good idea. Having an experienced team of experts running your server for you, including upgrading the software and dealing with hardware failure, will leave you time to focus on your site itself.

Keep your font selection professional and readable. Many times you can tell a site is not professional because of the fonts they have chosen. Don’t use handwriting or comic fonts as most people won’t have them installed. If a site visitor has not installed a certain font on his or her computer, it may display as a default font. This can interfere with the design of your website.

Search engine capabilities are an essential part of a large site. In the upper right-hand corner of the homepage, include a search box that allows users to search for a single term that appears anywhere in your site. FreeFind and Google both offer search plugins that can easily be added to your website.

TIP! This is rather obvious, but it is important. Do not upload your page to your server without reading over each word to make sure that there are not any grammatical or spelling errors.

Steer clear of captchas. Being forced to use a Captcha frustrates users, as they simply want to use the website. Captchas are especially frustrating for website users with visual and hearing difficulties. Unless they really greatly desire the content you provide, most visitors will just head for your competition instead.

When adding videos to your website, you should take into account that some people’s Internet bandwidth isn’t very high at all. You may feel that your videos look their best when you stream them out at 5,000 kb/s, but a user with a much slower connection is not going to enjoy the experience. This means that viewers are going to be starting at the “buffering” screen more than the actual video.

TIP! Pay attention to the colors on your website to make sure they match. It is important to have text that is easy to read on your chosen background color.

On every page, be sure that you include a tagline that is clearly visible. You will want every person who visits your website to see this text in bold, with a large font. Taglines are an easy way for visitors to determine if a page is relevant to their needs.

Get advice from professionals; they can save you much hard work and grief. 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.

TIP! Try using a favicon on your Internet site. This is a very small graphic, but it will make it easier for your guests to bookmark your website.

Be sure to make your site title as descriptive as possible. Take a minute to search for a common term “untitled document”. You will learn how frequently this mistake is made. You must make naming your site a priority. The title of your website is an important factor in the algorithms that search engines use.

Have a homogeneous pattern of color and fonts all throughout your website. Being consistent in the design of your website lets visitors know they are still on your site. Keep your graphics consistent on every page to avoid this problem. Take it a step further by making all your marketing efforts fit the same design features.

TIP! Publish a newsletter, to increase your likelihood of having repeat visitors. Letting customers subscribe to updates and new information can keep them coming back.

Take a look at domain auction services when the new site you’re designing needs a domain name. Domain auctions sell names that someone else paid for but is no longer using. Getting the right name for your website can help increase traffic. Although it’s sometimes pricey, the advantages of a relevant domain name are worth every penny.

Ensure that you’re including a method of receiving feedback from your site’s visitors. This will let them communicate with you if they feel something is missing, or they do not understand what they see on your webpage, and you will be able to fix it. If your site visitors feel actively involved in the process, they will be return viewers.

TIP! To make the most of your site’s space, you need not assume that every single pixel must be accounted for and packed with images, text and videos. White space helps people to clearly see your site, which in turn allows them to read and absorb the information much better than a site that is packed with too much stuff.

A great “About Us” page will help your readers understand who you are and what you do. Many websites contain very uncreative and dry pages for these areas. Crank it up a bit! 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.

When choosing your hosting service, you should review the package you are purchasing carefully. Pay close attention to how much bandwidth, CPU usage and disk space each package includes. Be certain that you are aware of what you are paying for.

TIP! Development platforms create your code for you, but some of them are not as reliable as a classic text editor. The reason for a platform is to design all the features of the site, so that you can then paste the code that is generated.

Use free software to set up your own site. Do not listen to people who tell you that you can’t design and operate a website without relying on pricey software packages; you can find a free alternative for virtually every task. With a little search effort on your part, the kinds of tools you need can be found, and for free.

Having a website and designing it yourself means, you need an office space. Avoid distractions, to make everything effectively work in your space. Set up your work space for optimum efficiency with everything you need right at your fingertips. This will make working on your website much easier.

TIP! A level of perfection should always be the goal for any web designer. The perfect website doesn’t exist, but keeping standards high will help you constantly improve.

In order for your website to be successful, it must work properly regardless of the browser that is used. You should therefore make certain that all of your web pages are thoroughly tested on a variety of browsers. What may work great in Firefox, may not work well in Internet Explorer or Chrome. Prior to formally launching your site, verify that it displays correctly in each of these popular browsers.

Keep in mind that your entire website doesn’t have to be all designed by you solo. Web design encompasses many different aspects, including programming, graphic design, content creation, optimization for search engines, and user interface design. So, don’t be ashamed to ask for help if you need some. When you are not sure how to design something, keep in mind that there are professional web designers out there who can help you get it done.

TIP! Validate your code before uploading each web page to the server. Lots of WYSIWYG technicians will tack on unneeded code to what you’ve done.

You may not come up with the next big thing on the web. It’s possible, of course, but unlikely. However, it’s not at all impossible for you to use your web design skills and create a page that is unique and profitable. Take the insights gained and here apply them to your great new website

Designing a website is just like creating a work of art. This means that you should be prepared to receive inspiration as it occurs. For example, if you come up with an idea while dining out, write it down on your napkin. Even if you have to call yourself and give a reminder about an idea, do so.