Helping You Understand Web Design With Simple Tips
Helping You Understand Web Design With Simple Tips
You want to gain more knowledge about web design but your time is valuable and you may find it difficult to spend time reading up on it. Use this set of tips in order to quickly and efficiently learn some great knowledge that has to do with web design and how to use it for success.
It is always good to add a favicon to your website. The favicon is a 16x16 image file in the .Ico format. This image is the one you see next to the URL bar, next to the title of the page on an opened tab and is also visible on your bookmarks tab if you choose to bookmark a page. The favicon will help users quickly recognize your page in their browser without reading any text or directly viewing the page.
When you design a web page, always choose the graphics that are appropriate for your purposes. PNGs are currently the best standard for graphics online. Use a GIF instead if the image contains over 256 colors and PNG for test buttons and screen shots. Try using JPEGs for photos.
Avoid using frames. Most sites have abandoned frames on their own as better alternatives have become available, but there are still sites out there that are trapped in 1996. Alternatives to navigational frames include fixed-position navigation panels, having navigation in multiple areas (e.g. left and bottom) or simplifying page structure so that navigational links are never far away.
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. The worst experience for a visitor is to have interest in learning more only to click the dreaded dead end link. You can check your links manually, or there are programs that will scan your site for you and report any broken links.
Give your visitors the ability to search your site so that they can more easily find what they are looking for. If someone cannot find what they are looking for right away, their next thought will be to look for a search field. Put this somewhere obvious and include a search button.
Make sure that you use the right anchor text. The anchor text of a link should clearly describe what the visitor should expect to see when he clicks on the link. For instance, if a link leads to your widget ordering page, the anchor text might read "Order widgets." Specifically avoid using "click here" as anchor text.
Always ensure you are giving meaningful feedback, as this is what creates the communication between a website and its visitors. For example, if an action taken by a visitor results in an error, do not simply display "error occurred."� Instead, provide a message that explains what happened and how the visitor can correct the error by taking a different action. Without this feedback, visitors are more likely to grow frustrated and just give up by leaving your website.
In conclusion, web design is something that you are interested in learning more about but you often find that you do not make the time to do anything about it. As mentioned earlier, you have just read some of the best tips around, organized in an easy to digest format. Use this expert advice and become a great web designer.