Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Even if you're an experienced web designer, it's always beneficial to keep learning new techniques. This could be difficult when you have so many places you could find these. Fret not, because this article is going to help you obtain those basics in no time at all. Below is a list of tips for any web designer that can help to create wonderful websites.



Web design is a subject that you always want to stay informed on. With this in mind, if you have any friends that are also into web design then you will want to keep in contact with them. You can exchange any new information you learn so that you're both on top of your game when it comes to web design.



Have a visible tagline. The tagline includes a motto or clever phrase that speaks to the purpose of your business. The tagline serves to entice people to linger at your website rather than just pass through. Research shows that visitors spend roughly 8 seconds deciding if a website is worth exploring further. So make your tagline count.



Try learning about and using shortcuts as much as you can. Nearly everything in web design has a shortcut, and if you check them out carefully, you can find quicker ways to accomplish most items. There are some codes in HTML that allow for faster changes to each page than re-uploading each one.



Try pulling images into your post to maximize engagement. Pictures on your website can provide a friendlier approach to visitors. Many people find pictures appealing and will spend more time on the site and looking at them.



Make your links obvious. Customers do not like spending time wading through your site searching for something they are interested in. Having a site map, as well as providing big, prominent links will help your viewer find what they are looking for without wasting time in a hunt. Lead them to your information.



Be sure the websites you're designing are cross-browser compatible. You must check your site in the most popular versions of every top browser. Some examples include Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Opera. Many users use these browsers for surfing online, so you need to be sure your designs are being seen correctly on whatever they use.



The best web sites communicate a lot of information in a small amount of words. If you are long-winded, people will easily get bored and find another site that is more concise. Make sure any content is relevant and easy to understand - newspapers use an eighth grade reading level, which is the most common literacy level.



Make sure your business logo is well-designed and prominently on every page of your site. Your logo is a key component of your brand, and it should be one of the first things people see when they go to your website. If you can't come up with a good idea for a logo, there are design firms that will make you one at relatively low cost.



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.



Pay attention to your background colors and your text colors when designing a site. Something like red text on a blue background doesn't work well. And if you think that white text will pop with a black background, it could be a little too bright for your readers. Go with something subtle.



Forums are going to be your best friend in the next few weeks, this is because there's a lot of information to be gained from various forums where you have the ability to gain endless amounts of knowledge from people all over the world. So check out what websites and forums can help you along your way with web design.



Allowing guest content on your site is a good idea, but never, ever let someone else get into your server to post it! You need to receive the content via email. A lot of amateur site designers actually allow people to access their host's server. Even if this doesn't lead to theft, it's still a really bad idea.



Develop a checklist of items you want your website to display. Even the best web designers out there sometimes lose ideas if they don't act on them. If you create a checklist, you can always make sure that you're putting everything you wanted on your website. Keeping it written down is also a way to brainstorm for new ideas.



It is likely that you are going to run across interesting designs and techniques on other websites, but it is critical that you use your creativity when designing your own website. Come up with your own ideas and features or improve upon some that you admired on other sites. Taking this step is sure to help you maximize your efforts in website design.



I hope you've learned from this article and feel confident that you're ready to get started in the world of web design. Whether you are just starting to create your own site or you plan to build websites as a career, your first step is learning how it's done. Now you can move on to the fun stuff, enjoy!