You will likely feel intimidated by starting a brand new website, but see it as an exciting new venture. Understanding where you should start, who you should turn to for mentoring, and what kind of budget you will realistically need really can make your head spin. The advice here will help you start on the road to success.
Using a fixed position navigation will help your users use it with ease. This allows you to lock the panel for navigation in place while users scroll. This is good for visitors, but also for internet marketing professionals, because it helps facilitate the desired action.
You will need to pass the NoScript test. Download the extension to ensure your website is readable. When your site is just a blank page, you have a problem.
Pay attention to the way the different colors you use on your website interact. You want to make sure that your text is easily visible against your background colors. Using dark colored text on a light colored background generally ensures that the text is easy for visitors to read. Don’t be afraid to ask a friend or colleague for their opinion of the color scheme.
Be mindful of your background. While some websites utilize moving GIF backgrounds, opt for simple background since these moving backgrounds can make text hard to read. In order to preserve your website’s focus, and make it easy for your visitors to comprehend, you should choose a background image that harmonizes well with your site instead of clashing with it.
A search function should always be included when you develop a site that is very large. The best place to put your search text box is in the top right hand corner as that is where the bulk of websites put theirs. You can get a search bar from Google or FreeFind.
Ensure that you’re including a method of receiving feedback from your site’s visitors. This will help you recognize mistakes in your design and give you the opportunity to fix them. This lets your visitors feel like they are actively involved in your site and will want to visit again.
Other than the aesthetics of your site design, one of the most important things to consider is keeping all your file sizes to a minimum. The sizes of the files affect the loading time of your site. You want your website to load as quickly as possible. Remember that some of your visitors are going to be using slower Internet connections than others. Check out your website on all types of connections, including a dial up connection.
Leave out the frames if you want the website you create to be optimized for the major search engines. Information within frames cannot be read by search engines. You will lose viewers if they can’t find your site because a search engine fails to find what they searched for on your page. If you don’t do what’s necessary to make sure that your site is not ranked very high, people will not find your site very easily.
Your website should be optimized for the older versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, such as IE7 and also IE8. The Internet community loves to hate on IE, but in truth, a large portion of Internet traffic still happens through IE. Many elements are not in compliance with web standards, so finding a workaround will be required. Specifically, you should learn about a “box model bug” which troubled Internet Explorer for years.
With the information from above in hand, you are prepared to take the beginning steps to create your website. Develop a plan on what you can spend on the site, seek out those who can advise you, and start a rough draft of your website. You are now able to design a website that will fit all your criteria, and you won’t have to spend a fortune doing it.
