From blogs to storefronts, great web design is always key in presenting your content to the world. Who will trust what you have to say if your site looks unprofessional? The information contained in this article will help you to build a website which looks great, functions cleanly and brings you the traffic you deserve!
When starting your own website, use a shared server or grid hosting package as opposed to the much more expensive dedicated hosting. Dedicated hosting can destroy your budget before you even get started, so go with the less expensive shared hosting when you begin so that your website starts out on the right foot.
Don't load rich content automatically. Rich content mainly refers to music and videos, but anything other than text or graphics qualifies. Many people browse in work environments where sounds suddenly playing is a big problem. Also, many people find such rich content annoying in general. Rich content should require some interaction from the user before playing.
When establishing yourself as a web designer you need to have a good list of references. After you have done work for someone you need to take the time to ask them about their experience and if you have their permission to use them as a reference for future clients. Most people will not mind if you have done good work for them.
Incorporate a tagline prominently on your website. A tagline is a motto or statement that expresses what your business is all about. Using a clear tagline is important because when someone visits your page, you have roughly eight seconds to capture their attention and entice them to explore the rest of your site.
No matter who your target audience is or what your site is intended for, you should always aim to keep loading time to ten seconds or less. A well-designed, efficient site should pop up in visitors' browsers in a matter of moments. The majority of online users demand instant gratification, and it is in your best interest to provide it.
Optimize load times on your website. If visitors must wait a long time for something to load, they will want to leave the site. Try reducing your number of graphics, Flash, and script on your pages, optimizing your HTML, using SSI files, using client and server caching, creating expire headings, and minimizing your JS and CSS coding.
Do not use images for your background. When you think about some of the biggest websites on the Internet, they do not have images as backgrounds. When you use image backgrounds, you represent yourself as someone who is not well-versed in web designing. Images as backgrounds also cause your site to load slower, which can lead to user frustration.
I hope you've learned from this article and feel confident that you're ready to get started in the world of web design. Whether you are just starting to create your own site or you plan to build websites as a career, your first step is learning how it's done. Now you can move on to the fun stuff, enjoy!
