Many people build websites, but the pages are hard to read. Using the correct font size provides the viewer with a pleasant reading experience. The information that follows will help you learn crucial tips like these about web design.
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.
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.
Always mark files that must be opened in an external program with an icon. Many sites host PDF files, and less commonly, DOC files, that must be opened in Foxit Reader and Microsoft Word/OpenOffice, respectively. These files should be marked with an icon representing the file type, and a link to download the appropriate viewer if the user does not have it.
Creating a site map is a very important part of the web design process. A site map is an effective way to inform visitors of the various kinds of content that your website has to offer, and is a great tool for navigating your website. Search engine crawlers will also utilize your site map for similar reasons, and therefore, including a site map will help boost your search rankings. Make sure your website has a site map, and that it is through.
To help you design a more professional looking site, do not include an image in the page background. A background image screams low quality site, plus these site usually take forever to load. When you are going for a more professional look, the last thing you want is your visitors waiting forever because images are still loading on your pages.
Even more important than a good looking website is one that loads fast, and that means all of your files should be small. Your website's loading time is directly affected by the file sizes you have on your site. You want your website to load very quickly when potential clients visit. Remember, some of your website's visitors will not be using a fast Internet connection. Try to test your site regularly, especially with a slower dial-up modem. This will help you to know for sure that it will quickly load in every situation.
Avoid frames at all costs. Just don't use them. While they can make it simple for your menu or header to appear all throughout your site, the address bar won't change on each page. This can make it impossible for your visitors to link to any specific page on your site.
Don't include pop-up windows when designing your website. Most people will be turned off by a site that pop's windows up in their face. If customers see these popups and get frustrated, they may not come back to your site.
Try to make sure that any okc web design music or pictures that you're linking to is hosted on your own web server. Do not hotlink to any other website images. This can be construed as bandwidth theft and it could put you in violation of a copyright too. It's not worth the risk.
Avoid frames at all costs. Just don't use them. While they can make it simple for your menu or header to appear all throughout your site, the address bar won't change on each page. This can make it impossible for your visitors to link to any specific page on your site.
Selecting the right server to upload your files, it is important for site design. You want a file server that is reliable, secure and fast. The pros go with FileZilla because it fits the bill in terms of speed and reliability. You can choose this or something similar; what's important is that you have a reliable file server.
As you are designing your website, keep in mind that you are not required to utilize all of the space available. If you insist on making use of each pixel, your site may end up cluttered. Allow for good spacing between elements, which will in turn, make the experience more pleasant for your visitors. White space is often even more valuable than a flashy design and layout.
Allowing guest content on your site is a good idea, but never, ever let someone else get into your server to post it! You need to receive the content via email. A lot of amateur site designers actually allow people to access their host's server. Even if this doesn't lead to theft, it's still a really bad idea.
Focusing on your target audience is important even for website design. For instance, if you're designing a site in order to sell winter coats, you're not exactly going to have a beach themed background with Joe Strummer tunes playing upon entry. Keep your site closely related to its targeted audience.
As stated in the beginning of this article, pop-ups can be really distracting to your web site visitors and it something you do not want put on your web pages. If you know the correct way to put in ads without being distracting, then you will have a successful site. Apply the information from this article so you can have website that will not annoy your customers.