Websites Design Guidelines For The Newbie Site Designer
1. Websites Design Guidelines For The Newbie Site Designer
Are you a new web designer? Do you know where to begin with your designs? Good web page design
relies upon basic concepts and fundamentals that help make a website functional and pleasing. Can
you accomplish this? If not, try using the tips that are listed below to make better web designs.
Avoid useless scripts. Scripts like counters and
date/time scripts don't really serve any purpose, and
since they are all JavaScript, can add a few kilobytes to
the page's file size. Getting rid of these elements also
frees up space on the homepage. Replace those useless
scripts with useful content that keeps users coming
back.
Don't have pop-ups. There is little worse than visiting a
site and being attacked by pop-up ads or newsletter
sign-up boxes. Most people will immediately leave a
website that has pop-ups, even if they are on big websites. Stay away from these types of annoying
ads, and your customers will be happier. If your host forces pop-ups on you, it may be time to find a
new one.
Always take outdated information and content off of your website. You will come across as
undependable or an amateur if you have information on events that have long passed. Viewers want
to know that they are getting up-to-date information, and lack of attention in removing old products
will not install this faith. Establish a schedule to update your website, and get rid of the content that
is no longer relevant.
If you want your site visitors to spend as much time as possible on your site, make text easy to read.
One of the most common design mistakes is using graphic backgrounds with patterns or dark colors;
combine this with equally dark text and you have a recipe for disaster. Unless the text is clear and
easy to http://seattlecentral.edu/programs/webdesign/ read, your site will not be a success.
Familiarizing yourself with Photoshop and using it from the very beginning of your web designing
efforts can improve the results you achieve right from day one. Using programs like PS can make
amateur sites look professional, fast. Not having this software can lead to a design which looks
amateurish and untrusthworthy.
Make sure your website uses a consistent font throughout. Some websites change fonts willy-nilly
without any design reason to do so. This makes the content difficult to process for visitors. Most
websites, especially business websites, will do just fine sticking to basic fonts like Arial, Veranda, or
even Times New Roman.
Stay with a layout that is basic and not all that confusing so that you don't confuse yourself. Do this
so that you get the basics down first then try your best to upgrade to an intermediate site and from
there progress to a site that is more advanced in the end.
It is important that your web designs are not too similar to others which are within your immediate
2. industry circle. Visit the competition and compare it to your site. A website that is too similar won't
stand out. It will only serve to make you a diluted version of what someone else has already done.
Use conditional loading and CSS pages as you design. The application of these two techniques make
website testing and maintenance both less time-consuming in the future. Every website needs some
maintenance eventually, so you need things to be as easy as possible to make the necessary changes.
You should definitely look into your site's security. Any site that needs vital personal information
such as credit cards and PayPal accounts, it is advisable you purchase an SSL certificate. Often
times, extra security features can be provided if inquired about, so make sure to ask.
A good resource where you can learn some insightful knowledge is a book store. You can go to a
bookstore and read books that have information on html, c+, photoshop, and dreamweaver as these
are some of the key things you need to learn when it comes to being a well- knowledgable web
designer.
Many people find it very helpful to subscribe to a newsletter for website designers. This offers
periodic updates and ideas that will be useful for developing a site. Newsletters are undoubtedly
helpful for both beginning designers and professionals alike.
As an alternative to Photoshop, you could choose to use the GIMP photo editor. GIMP has practically
every single feature that Adobe Photoshop does; and instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a
program and using up a few hundred MBs of program space, GIMP is 100% free and runs about
35mb.
You want your title to be descriptive on your website. If you search 'untitled document,' you'll see
why this is important! See how many inexperienced web designers there are! Naming your site will
help search engines rank it and visitors find it. Search engines use it as a major part of their
algorithms when it comes to search engine optimization.
Ask your friends and family for advice on how your web site or sites are developing. You want to see
if what you're creating is actually enticing to people when they come visit, you don't want to make a
whole site that no one is going to enjoy, this can hurt your overall progress.
Controls for the user's interface are important, but don't design them so that they are visually
appealing, yet misleading towards their actual function. Make certain that each clickable option is
clearly understandable from the text or image it presents. If the option is not yet implemented
properly, don't allow it to be seen by average viewers.
Keep your font type simple on your website. Arial or Times New Roman is perfect for any website.
You don't need to get carried away with bubble letters or illegible chicken wings. Exotic fonts might
seem cool to you, but your visitors are going to have a tough time reading your site.
We are all used to seeing the letters "www" at the beginning of a website address. But this well
known company search sub-domain is not always necessary to gain access to a site. Be sure that
your site works with or without this, as you could lose a lot of traffic by users who don't know that it
works both ways.
You've read the advice here and are ready to put it into action, so get ready to design your site! Start
by sketching out a design and making lists of the content you'll need and you'll have your website
online in no time.
3. As stated in the above article, pretty much every business today has a website and if you know how
to follow some simple software programs, then designing a site is easy. Apply the tips that you have
learned in this article so you can get your business an online presence it deserves!
