As a web designer myself, I can say that learning as much as I could from experts was how I got started. I looked at their sites, checked out their code, and even borrowed from their designs. Today there is a great deal of information available to help you get into the game, and this article is a great place to start learning.
Avoid adding in fluff and other unnecessary things to your site that can discourage people from exploring your site more or from coming back in general. You want to make sure that everything on your site is of great quality and has substance. When you do this people really appreciate that you took the time to put real effort into your site.
Make sure that you periodically go back and try to remember all that you've learned thus far. One of the biggest problems people have when they first start out with web design is that they learn one or two things and forget them a couple of days later, which can hurt their website progress.
A great tip for every web designer is to create a visual sitemap prior to actually building your website. This is a great way to gauge what your website will need, and it will provide you with much more structure than if you just started building your site right away.
Add a site map to your web design. Site maps serve an important role when it comes to search engine optimization. The search engine spiders use them to crawl efficiently over your site to help rank your pages better. They also serve an operational purpose for you as a designer. A site map is essential to keeping track of your website architecture, so you can add pages to it more effectively.
Make sure that the font that you are using is readable and professional. It is imperative that you present your site in a skilled manner to remain credible. Using brightly-colored print or Comic Sans font is not going to make your visitors take you seriously and put their faith in the fact that you know what you are talking about.
Make your links obvious. Customers do not like spending time wading through your site searching for something they are interested in. Having a site map, as well as providing big, prominent links will help your viewer find what they are looking for without wasting time in a hunt. Lead them to your information.
Do not use blinking, scrolling text or other animations. Also, steer clear of sounds or music that plays automatically. All of these things are distracting to users and provide nothing of value. In addition, connection speeds vary from one site visitor to the next, and everyone does not have the same speed. Those users with slower connections will resent the slow-loading elements of your site.
Now that I've been designing websites for over a decade, I feel that I can give some advice back. Use the tips in this article, continue learning as much as you can, and stay on top of trends to ensure your websites stand out in the crowd. If I can do it, anyone can!
