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Friday, November 16, 2012

Looking For Fresh Web Design Tips? Check These Out!

By Ericka Kocsis

Many people strive to be good at web design. Yet a lot of people overlook what it truly takes to become a good web designer and let others take in all the benefits associated with web design. This article can teach you how to get started or improve on your web design skills.

Video is an increasingly important element to any website, so make sure that your hosting service can accommodate it. There are some hosts that forbid hosting videos. This is because the FLV files can take up a lot of server space, so it is prudent that you ask first before you waste your time.

You should not only place your search box close to the top of the page, but should allow visitors to type 27 or more characters into the box. Use the word "Search" on the button for starting a search and avoid words like "go" or "submit". Following these guidelines ensures that site visitors can quickly find and use this feature to locate information.

Don't have pop-ups. There is not a person out there who will want to visit a website and get overwhelmed with pop-up ads. Many people will close a site immediately if it uses pop-ups, even if it's a site run by a well-known brand or company. Stay away from those irritating ads and your visitors will be pleased. If your web host forces you to have pop-up ads, try to find another web host.

If you allow advertisements on your website, do not go overboard. Too many ads will make your website look like a scam, and your visitors will not trust it. Only keep the ads, which are the most relevant to your site.

Error check, or validate, your web pages to avoid problems. Lots of WYSIWYG technicians will tack on unneeded code to what you've done. Therefore, when using these editors, it is essential to use a validation service to validate your code on your website. Validating your code is an important step in web design, but be sure to use a good service.

White is perhaps the best option for background color. White backgrounds not only make the text easy to read, but also make your site appear more professional, as white is the standard background color for corporate sites. Complicated background designs on the other hand can be distracting, and can make your website feel less professional. It is usually preferable to have a simple background.

Having unused space (white space) on your site may be a really good design feature, rather than cramming so much stuff thinking that visitors want to see something. This available white space can make reading your site easier. This will prompt your visitors to read more, stay longer and seek you out in the future.

Photoshop is a popular application and web designers must learn it. Fewer people are familiar with the program Dreamweaver, which can be just as useful.

A newsletter can help you to get more repeat visitors to you website. You can keep your visitors informed about important events, updates, and changes when they sign up for a newsletter, and the flow of information will often tempt them to revisit your site. Place a signup form on your site in a sidebar, while maintaining a list of everyone who signs up. Just send your newsletter to subscribers.

You can use a What You See Is What You Get code editor (WYSIWYG), but using a text editor such as Notepad, gives you full flexibility when editing your code. The concept behind development platforms is that once you choose your site's features, you paste the code created by the platform into your website. To reduce errors, and for actual experience, you should try to use a type of classic text editor.

If you design websites, think like an artist. Be open-minded and, when you have an idea, record it so you won't forget it. Draw sketches for possible design ideas when you think of something interesting. If you get an idea at work, call and leave yourself a message for yourself on your phone, to remember later.

If you are looking for a good domain name, but find that most are already in use, visit an auction website and shop for old domain names. You'll see many potential names for your domain that are up for sale.

Make your own favicon. A favorite icon, or favicon, will make your website easily recognizable. When a visitor browses his bookmarks, a distinctive favicon will stand out. Take some time to create a favicon that reflects the theme of your site and mirrors your logo.

When making multiple pages for different subcategories on your site, the copy/paste function can be your favorite thing about your PC! Instead of generating new HTML code for every single page, copy the main section of code; tweak it where needed, and then save it as a new file each time. Having this master copy to work from will speed up the process of designing each new page!

Now that you better understand how you can be a competent website designer, hopefully you also feel you may be able to make a bit of money from it. Whether you profit from your website or someone else's, having a good website design is helpful.
 
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