Make sure your text and background has the proper contrast. There's evidence showing that white text on a black background is easiest for most people to read, but other colors are fine so long as they're readable. Also keep in mind that people with visual impairments may not be able to read your site if the contrast is poor. Check to see if your site complies with various contrast standards using the tool at http://snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html .
Make sure all of your webpages actually have titles, and make sure they are descriptive. A surprising number of webpages out there are called "untitled document" or "new document". This not only denies visitors a useful piece of information to remember your site, but also absolutely destroys your SEO, since search engines weight page titles heavily when ranking sites.
Learn the basics of HTML and CSS. Although there are many templates that allow you to just fill in the blanks, in order to create a web page, these templates provide only limited design possibilities. Understanding how the mark-up language and stylesheet work together will enable you to customize your website to your heart's content.
Keep the sizes of your files and images small. Excessive loading times are a death knell for any site. The larger the files are that must load, the longer a user's load time is going to be. Most users will click away if the page doesn't start to load within the first few seconds of opening your page.
Whatever your design is like aesthetically, be sure all your files are small. Your file sizes have a lot to do with the speed of your site loading. Of course, having your website load quickly is the best scenario for visitors. Remember that there are still lots of people who do not have high speed Internet. Test to be sure that even computers with slow dial-up modems can connect quickly to your website.
If you have several pages on your web site, use a navigation bar at the top to help visitors find the information they need right away. Include contact information, so they can speak with you if they'd like. Headings should be clear and visible, and paragraphs should be concise as well as easy to read.
Provide a navigation menu on every page of your site. While this menu does not have to link every single page of your site, as this could be an exhaustive list if you have a very large site, it should provide links to the main pages. This ensures that your visitors do not have to return to the home page and start completely over when it is not necessary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRJV_TSvti0
Ask somebody to test the functions of your website at every step of your design process. Each time a new feature is created, have someone check it out and let you know their thoughts. To you, a slow-loading video might not be a big deal, but a separate opinion might say otherwise. Make sure you get impartial opinions regularly.
You need to always make a visual sitemap in order to more accurately plan ahead. This will help you visualize the development of your website. You'll now have the ability to determine any areas which need improving, or areas that have been neglected. A clear overview of the project will prove to be invaluable.
Learn all you can about website design by researching online. Educating yourself on web page design from experts online is the quickest way to learn how to build a quality website. Your website will be subpar without this knowledge.
Do not use blinking, scrolling text or other animations. Also, steer clear of sounds or music that plays automatically. All of these things are distracting to users and provide nothing of value. In addition, connection speeds vary from one site visitor to the next, and everyone does not have the same speed. Those users with slower connections will resent the slow-loading elements of your site.
Create and install a website icon on your page. This is a tiny graphic that can help users to instantly recognize your site if they choose to bookmark it. As they look through their bookmark list, your favicon will stand out more than the bookmarks of other sites. Brand your icon to match your logo and website.
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.
When you add videos to your site, remember that business guide some people don't have high bandwidth. A video that is converted to 5,000 kb/s will load faster on some computers, but it might be faster than some Internet connections allow for. This can result in a video that is slow-loading and needs to buffer often.
Make sure your website development is user friendly to all levels of computer expertise. Sometimes the most professional looking and expensive sites can overwhelm a visitor and they will quickly switch to another site. Have a person you know who is not so well versed on a computer try to navigate your site. If they can find their way around, you know your site is user friendly!
Web page design is important for a number of reasons. With luck, the advice of this article has opened your eyes to what you can do online.
