Web Design Guide: Information And Advice For Builders
From EjWiki
The Internet is one of the most popular things in all the world's history. Whatever you are into, know there is a website with your name on it. The sky is the limit once you have a firm grasp of web design. These tips can help.
Always look over your website in many types of browsers, as you are designing it. What you're seeing in one browser may not actually be what other people are seeing. You need to know how your site looks to all visitors that are arriving at your page. You may also send people you know with other operating systems to see if their browser works like yours.
The faster a web page loads, the more it will be appreciated. You should minimize the loading time of your site's pages. If a visitor has to sit and wait for several minutes while your pages load, they are almost certainly going to click away from your site and go somewhere else, and they probably will not come back to your site.
Always mark files that must be opened in an external program with an icon. Many sites host PDF files, and less commonly, DOC files, that must be opened in Foxit Reader and Microsoft Word/OpenOffice, respectively. These files should be marked with an icon representing the file type, and a link to download the appropriate viewer if the user does not have it.
White space is an important part of web design, so don't be afraid to use it. Cluttering up your web pages with too many images or too much text, or using a distracting background, will only irritate your visitors. White space can make the important elements of your page more visible.
Make sure that you include efficient search capabilities when you're designing a large website. Try having a search box in the upper-right of your homepage that allows searching for terms on your site. FreeFind and Google both have these capabilities for a website.
Prioritize your user's needs. This is one of the most important aspects of web design. This is going to have everything to do with accessibility and usability, as well as different types of social interaction. You need to make sure you are meeting the users needs on all levels. Always look at things through the eyes or screen of the viewer.
Make sure to test early and to test quite often. Usability and interaction testing needs to start not long after you start the preliminary design phase of any website. Keep testing and improving as the design nears completion.
To help make sure your website works as you are designing it, test it one of the browsers like Internet Explorer. When you test the website as you go along building it, you can quickly correct any problems that might show up once you live. When your website goes live you want your visitors to be able to see everything working correctly.
Watch the amount of flashy multimedia that is on your site. Don't overdo it with a bunch of "extras". Flash graphics and multimedia may appear enticing, but these may make it difficult for visitors to find the desired information from the site, particularly if they're viewing your site from a non-Flash compatible device.
If the design of your website needs to be mobile friendly, keep in mind that mobile devices have smaller screens and limited bandwidth. To account for smaller screens, you should try to design your website as a single narrow column so that the user only needs to navigate vertically, as opposed to both horizontally and vertically. Limited bandwidth means that you should be extra concerned about your file sizes. You can also opt to create a separate version of your website specifically for mobile devices.
Make sure you are always on the lookout for as much information as you can grasp your mind around when you're getting into web design. There usually isn't anything that you can learn that isn't going to benefit you in web design, unless the information you learn isn't true so be aware of this.
Site maps are an excellent piece of technology that allow users and search engines to get a better view of your site's functions and layouts without extra work. Include a link to your sitemap from the homepage and leave it as simple as possible. The sitemap doesn't need fancy graphics or fonts, just layout your website and update it when needed.
The website design is not over just because the website has been launched. Do not simply abandon your site after you have launched it. You don't need to constantly tweak it, but it's critical to update the site regularly. Regular updates are crucial, especially if your website hosts anything relating to current events. The necessary alterations to a website are different from a blog. It's going to take some hard work and attention to detail.
Make sure your site includes a search box. This is really important, because people are accustomed to having that function, and when they want to find something on your site, they need to be able to find it. If they can't find what they need, they may leave your site altogether.
It's not difficult to build a good website if you have an understanding of web design basics. The more web design skills you have, the better the sites you will build. Design a terrific site by applying the principles shared here.
