Doing website development yourself can seem scary and fun, particularly if you’re inexperienced. The tips you’ll read here will make your journey a little easier, leading to an amazing end product.
Choosing the right graphics can either make or break a website. PNGs work well, but bitmap images may be too big. Use a GIF instead if the image contains over 256 colors and PNG for test buttons and screen shots. Use JPEG format for all photos on your website.
It’s imperative that you include a tagline somewhere that will be very noticeable on your website. The tagline is some statement or motto that indicates the nature of your business. This can be beneficial in introducing users to your site.
Before going live, test your website against NoScript. This is a Firefox extension you can download, and it will check your site’s readability. While you may need to have some scripts running, you do not want to see a completely empty website if they are turned off.
Go through all links on any page on your website carefully to make sure there are no links that are broken before you upload the page. Nothing frustrates visitors more than clicking for a page they want and getting an error page instead. You can manually check links or use a program that will find broken links for you.
Keep personal information handy in the event that it must be re-entered by a repeat visitor of your website. For instance, if someone filled in their name and address when creating an account, pre-populate this information when the customer fills out an order form. Developing “sticky” data like this streamlines the user experience, and your visitors will likely appreciate the convenience.
Do not use any type of pop-ups. Few things are worse than being overloaded with pop-ups. This often causes people to leave a site, meaning they never take the time to get to know your product. Just avoid these irritating ads, so your users will be happy. If your web host forces you to have pop-up ads, try to find another web host.
When designing your website, you should avoid using too many different types of fonts. You need to also be mindful of how some fonts appear on monitors, since smaller serif fonts are difficult to read. Verdana is a font used by many sites. It is easy to read in most sizes and colors.
Take the time to actually use your site as you are building it. You need to ensure that visitors will not have a problem viewing and using the page. Continue to test and make improvements throughout the life of your website.
Stick with common fonts that look professional. They are common for a reason. Look at the font of a site and you can distinguish whether or not it’s professional. Fancy fonts, such as those that look like gothic lettering or calligraphy, can often be hard to read. Other fonts, like Comic Sans, send a message that you aren’t professional. In case your user’s browser cannot display the font your website uses, a secondary font can be set. When the font defaults it can tend to make your webpage look much worse than it really is.
Even though development platforms provide you with code, some are not nearly as trustworthy as classic text editors. A WYSIWYG editor allows you to drag and drop, cut and paste, and basically create a website as you would a word processing document. Use a text editor to reduce mistakes, and additionally help to learn the process for yourself.
It is exciting to take on the website creation that will control the flow of visitors and users for your website. What a boost to your business! Think of designing your website as a part of your marketing campaign. Start today, and use the great tips provided in this article for your best chance at success.
