When you are not knowledgeable about web design, it can seem intimidating. After you complete a few projects, you will improve your skills and find that it is not as difficult as it seemed. By using the advice provided here, you will be on your way to designing a functional, beautiful website.
If you’re designing a website, make sure the code you write has a valid HTML+CSS. Although most browsers can make sense of code that isn’t valid, it could be rendered correctly or incorrectly. Valid code will render the same way most of the time in modern browsers. You can check the validity of your HTML code with an HTML validator.
Use JavaScript to include a custom font on your web pages. Libraries like Typekit and Google Web Fonts make it easy to include esoteric fonts on web pages, even if most visitors don’t have those fonts on their computers. It works by embedding the font itself into JavaScript so that it can be decoded by the client on the fly.
Speed is the governing factor of the Internet and it is imperative to ensure your website loads at a fast pace. If a visitor needs to wait while the page loads, they may click off your site and not return.
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 cakrabet. Certain web design problems, especially poor server-side code, can break these services.
Use a descriptive title. Many site owners forget to name their pages, or name them something generic, such as “Welcome Page.” Search engines do use title descriptions in their rankings, so make sure you are as descriptive as possible, without going overboard. Make sure it is usable for your viewers and the search engines.
To help your visitors be able to easily read your site, you should design it using contrasting colors. If you use colors that contrast, it makes the text stand out. If you have black text with a black background you will not be able to see the information, but if you have black text with a white background it becomes simple to read.
Consider using free software to design you website. While many will say it is the expensive software that makes a difference in your site, however, there are some free options that can offer nearly as much. Just do some research and see what you can find that can help you along the way of your web design efforts.
Use custom error pages to make your site more informative. For instance, if you want people to report dead links on your site, either put a server-side script on your 404 pages or have a form or email address that visitors can use to report the error. You should have custom pages for 403, 404, and 500 errors, at the very least.
You should now be well aware that web design does not have to be mysterious, or overwhelming. The more you know about it, the easier it will be for you to design a website that meets your needs. Use the tips you’ve read here to get your site ready to go.