Many people mistakenly assume that one website is just as good as another, but this simply is not true. Check out the website of a major corporation, then look at a site that is hosted on Google or Yahoo. The difference should be obvious, and these differences all come down to one thing in the end: website creation. Here are some solid suggestions on how to make website development work for you.
Always look for broken links prior to publishing pages on the web. Visitors will be annoyed if they click on broken links. Feel free to manually check them or use some programs to scan and report the broken links.
Test early and test often to maintain accuracy. This is to make sure your site will be easier to perform maintenance on. That will allow you to make necessary design changes during the build process.
The harder you work on your web page design, the easier it will be for you to learn new techniques. Start with some simple pages using C+ and HTML to make sure that you have the fundamentals down pat. The sooner you start practicing, the sooner you’ll be an expert.
Your website should be able to be scanned without problems. Through usability tests, it has been determined that many readers online do not read all content. Normally, most are just scanning for interesting parts. Use sub-headers to break text into sections your readers will appreciate. In addition, be sure to keep key information toward the top portion of the page. This helps make sure that visitors get the information they need in the quickest way possible.
A visitor counter on the page is unattractive. While you may like to see how many visitors you’ve had, most of your visitors do not want to see the counter. This is something that is not necessary.
Ask friends and colleagues about HTML, Photoshop or Dreamweaver. Obviously, you want to ensure that all the new information you have just learned has been remembered. It would be quite a nuisance to be halfway through developing a new site and find you can’t recall the details you need.
Keep your front page as simple as possible. People scanning websites glance quickly at each site they see, so of you front page is simple enough and shows them what they desire, then they are likely to stay. Blow the horn about your business and its unique qualities, but reduce the amount of extra fluff on your site.
As you design a site, look to your target audience. Ask them what is important in the sites they like. This is key to designing a good site that is tailored to your audience. The advice you glean from your target market will prove to be invaluable.
Try speaking with a professional web designer in order to learn some great tips and ask any questions you have. They already know the right and wrong way to do things and can quickly help you get on the right track. Gathering as much knowledge as you can will ensure that you can become an expert yourself some day.
Build a feedback-gathering mechanism into a website to gather visitors’ opinions. You will find out if a link is broken or if a page is not loading properly. If you actively seek your visitors’ feedback and make changes as a result, your visitors will feel like active participants in your site. This will encourage them to keep visiting the site.
Avoid the use of CAPTCHAs whenever you can. CAPTCHAs annoy visitors because they have to complete some useless task just to get the information they want or post a comment. Unless they have already registered, they will probably leave your site and browse somewhere else.
Do not expect to create a website as successful as Facebook. The odds say otherwise. The best website development skills may help you make attractive and functional web designs like the pros. Use everything you have just learned and start designing your site today!
Make sure that your user’s needs are a priority. A good web designer will always remained focused on the needs of the end user. It’s important to consider accessibility, usability, user interaction and user experience. These considerations deserve your primary attention. Look at the site through the eyes of a user as you design.