If you are interested in trying to get into web design then this is the article for you. Keep reading to find out where to start, and what you should take into consideration. Whether you are new or a professional, there is a lot to learn.
Photoshop is a good program for creating great content for your new web site. It is also novice friendly. Using a program like Photoshop can help amateur web designers create professional looking sites really fast. If you do not have a top program like Photoshop, it can make it hard and really time consuming to acquire enough knowledge to build a really nice site, quickly.
While you may wish to play a large role in the design of your site, it is not necessary to undertake the entire project on your own. In order to be successful at web design, you need to know about content creation, graphic design, web programming, user interface design and search engine optimization. You shouldn’t be embarrassed if you aren’t an expert in all of them. You can always resort to hiring a web design company to finish any tasks you’re unable to do on your own. You can even ask them for advice as they do it so you can take it over and do it yourself next time.
Hosting your own site may not be a wise idea, regardless of how much money you have to invest. You should design it yourself (or at least as much as possible), but allowing someone else to host your site frees you up and allows you to focus on other things besides the site’s safety and security.
Each page on your site should include a tagline in both the domain and the sub-domains. Use large or bold font so that your visitors notice these taglines right away. A tagline of this type will clearly identify what is offered on the page and have a defined purpose.
Try making a favicon to use on your site. Make you site recognizable in your customer’s favorites list with this small graphic. A favicon that is easy to remember will cause your page to jump out from a page full of bookmarks. Choose an icon that corresponds to the theme of your site.
Functional websites work out for all visitors, regardless of their browser, so it’s essential that your website is tested across all the major platforms. If something works in Chrome it might not work in Firefox, for example. Prior to releasing your website to the public, you should verify that all of your webpages appear as intended on every popular web browser.
If your site has a logo, you want to be sure that when you click it you go right to your homepage. It is common these days for sites to have a logo or image that visitors can click on to return to the home page. Static logos frustrate users because it forces them to search for the link to the homepage. Having a logo that is clickable makes your website much more easy to navigate.
Most visitors don’t like to come to a website that has pop-up windows. In most cases, people just turn this functionality off on their browser. With that in mind, you shouldn’t even bother with this type of design option. If you are entertaining the idea of using them to enhance navigation, consider instead upgrading your overall navigation system with something that doesn’t annoy people.
Use every resource you can! All types of magazines and books exist for designing a site, and these cover all aspects of web design. You can tap into these resources to master the art and skills of a true web designer.
Photoshop is a very effective and helpful tool when it comes to web design. However, many overlook another program called Dreamweaver that is extremely useful for web design also. Do yourself a favor, and familiarize with Dreamweaver and the benefits it can provide.
Many times, visitors to your site will be more interested in content over the design of your page. Your web pages should be kept simple, with only relevant information and images that help your visitors see what exactly it is you are communicating to them. A simple page will load quickly.
It might be best to look at alternatives to Flash. Despite it’s visual appeal and features, it can be a problem when a website visitor’s computer can’t effectively use the feature. Also, you should keep in mind that a lot of mobile Internet tools, such as smartphones and tablets, will not display Flash. You could be cutting yourself off from a pretty large pool of potential visitors by using Flash.
Do not use pop-ups on your site. Your customers will hate being flooded with popup ads. They’ll be much more likely to leave your site out of annoyance if they are confronted with pop-ups. Stay away from annoying ads to ensure your customers come back again. If your host gives you no choice about using pop-ups, you probably ought to choose a new one.
Be very critical of the fonts you choose. The font type on a website is a quick indicator of how professional it is. Don’t use silly fonts, especially Comic Sans, or rare fonts that most people won’t have installed. If your reader doesn’t have the font you require, their browser will substitute a default font instead, possibly throwing the layout of your entire page off. This could cause it to look bad.
If you want to host videos, read the rules of your host to make sure you can. Many hosts do not allow for video hosting on the servers they provide. All of the FLV files occupy a huge amount of server space, so there is no point setting up a website to accept them if your web host can’t make the space.
You now should have a good base of knowledge about web design skills, and you might just be ready to try to do some designing of your own. Always look for new things to learn, so you can expand your skillset and be a better web designer.
