Most people look at web design as a difficult task. However, this is only true when you don’t make the effort to learn the ropes of design. There are many programs for software that make web design easy. The following article will offer advice on choosing the best software for your particular needs.
Use fixed-position navigation so your users can navigate your site with ease. This involves the navigation panel remaining static as the user reads down the page. This makes thing convenient for visitors and facilitates them taking advantage of your calls to action.
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.
Always ensure you are giving meaningful feedback, as this is what creates the communication between a website and its visitors. For example, if an action taken by a visitor results in an error, do not simply display “error occurred.”� Instead, provide a message that explains what happened and how the visitor can correct the error by taking a different action. Without this feedback, visitors are more likely to grow frustrated and just give up by leaving your website.
You must always include the capability to search if you are working on a large website. Put in a search box in the right-hand corner up on top of the homepage, as this allows the site visitors to type in a single keyword that shows up anywhere on your site. You can get free search boxes from Google or FreeFind.
Use ALT tags on your images. These tags make it easy for those with disabled graphics and offer descriptions for those who are impaired visually and make use of translation tools for images. ALT tags can also help out if your images link elsewhere. Lastly, search spiders use ALT tags, so this can help you in the SERPs.
Organize your links and avoid putting too many links in one area of your site. Doing this can confuse visitors and make them leave your site. If you do have many low- to mid-importance links, emulate the “blogrolls” seen in many blogs and tuck them away in a column on the right side of the page.
Use breadcrumbs and make it so that clicking on the site logo returns you to the homepage. Breadcrumbs are markers that show where the visitor is in the site structure. For instance, the breadcrumbs might read “home furniture beds.” When the user clicks a link in the breadcrumbs, he can return to a page further up in the site hierarchy. Clicking on a business logo should generally take the visitor back to the homepage as well.
Web design is very simple if you know what you are doing. When you follow simple rules and instructions, you can really do well with web design. Use these tips to understand what you need to do.
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