Have you come across websites that are so well designed that they make you marvel at how they were done? There are many key elements that can make or break your site. This article can give you a number of tricks and techniques you can use like the pros. Keep reading to uncover more secrets on web design!
Look at your site in many different browsers. If you just check it from you personal computer, what you see may be vastly different from what others see. Make sure that your site is compatible with all popular browsers. Before you decide to go live, you should always have others using different browsers and operating platforms review your site to verify it works on different systems.
Make sure your webpages aren’t too long. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and if your most important content is “below the fold,” it may not even be read. If you have a lot of related content that needs to stay together, consider breaking it up into sections and adding links to each section.
Your site should be able to pass a NoScript test. You want to activate NoScript after downloading the extension on Firefox so that you can read your site. Some ordering systems or other types of content cannot run script-free, but if the site is blank without the script on, that’s not good.
Break up long text blocks. Having a huge wave of text is unnecessary for any site, especially when you can break it up by using images, or even separating it into different pages. Boring your viewers will only make them leave, so keep things as simple and fresh as possible.
Make sure that you get rid of any material that is outdated on your site. If you’re talking about events that happened a year ago, you are behind the times. The average online user values fresh content and attention to detail. Mark a calendar for when you will sit down and update your website, being careful to take off anything that is not current or relative anymore.
Test your site to see if the major translation services work properly when translating your site. Some sites receive many international visitors, and these visitors sometimes use services like BabelFish and Google Translate to translate the text to their language. Certain web design problems, especially poor server side code, can break these services.
To help you design a site that is easy for people to read all the information, make sure the pages are not too wide. If the pages are not too wide then they will fit on most people’s computer screens. If the page is too wide, then part of your valuable information could be left off the page.
You should always put in the effort to make a customized error page for your site; this page should include a basic sitemap that links users to the major sections of your website. This ensures that if visitors follow a bad link or spell your URL wrong, they will be able to find what they are looking for.
You want to make your site content compelling and intriguing. Your design is also important, but the content is the part that keeps visitors coming back. When a website contains helpful information that fits the needs of viewers, they’ll be more inclined to return later on.
Now you know a lot of different secrets for creating great websites. Start with a rough draft and list the elements you liked about those other sites. Then, work these elements into your site. Open your mind and let all of your ideas flow into the best design you could possibly create.
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