If you want to design a website as a hobby, for your business or even as your own career, a solid foundation of knowledge will help you get your foot in the door. From learning HTML to knowing search engine optimization techniques, there are many facets to web design.
Read on to find some advice which will cover all of the basics.
For multimedia presentations, take advantage of the new HTML5 standard. Although HTML5 isn't quite as robust for animation and games as Flash, it has the advantage of working stably on mobile phone browsers, including those contained in Apple hardware. HTML5 is also quite a bit leaner than Flash, so load times will improve, as well.
Use JavaScript to include a custom font on your webpages. Libraries like Typekit and Google Web Fonts make it easy to include esoteric fonts on webpages, 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.
Do not go overboard with graphics. Graphics are critical, but they can also clutter up a page. Graphics are not to be used for decorative purposes only. They need to add true content to the site. Having enough graphics that don't clutter the site will make your site easier to use, as well.
Make sure that you use the right anchor text. The anchor text of a link should clearly describe what the visitor should expect to see when he clicks on the link. For instance, if a link leads to your widget ordering page, the anchor text might read "Order widgets." Specifically avoid using "click here" as anchor text.
Use shortcuts. There are plenty of site design shortcuts so that you can save time. It doesn't take that long to learn about the HTML code that you can insert into your web design brisbane to help you edit any page without having to upload the page again.
Test your website in the most popular browsers and platforms to make sure that it displays correctly. Sometimes scripts that work in one browser may not produce the same results in another browser. So you may need take extra measures, like adding a function for browser detection, in order to ensure that your website will display properly under most conditions.
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.
White is an effective choice of color for your website's background. White backgrounds make your content easier to read, and give your website a more trustworthy feel if you want a professional look. Complicated background designs, however, can be distracting, or make your site appear amateur. When it comes to backgrounds, simpler is generally better.
Optimize your website for older IE versions. Most people do not like Internet Explorer, but others still use it. Workarounds are needed because the browser is not 100% compliant with standards. Read up on the so-called "box model bug" which has bothered IE users for a long time.
Meta tags that are pertinent, are one of the best ways to ensure your site attracts the right visitors. Using relevant meta tags on each page of your site will help search engines categorize the page and show it to people who want to know about your page's topic. If you use poorly constructed meta tags that don't reflect your content accurately, you won't get much traffic.
For your image tags, always try to include a brief description in the ALT attribute. Not only is this good for search engine optimization, but it is also beneficial to the sight-impaired users who rely on screen readers to describe image tag contents. Make your description short and as descriptive as possible.
In the "About Us" area of your site, write some good content about who you are. Dry or simplistic content won't get your reader interested. You can share personal information, education history and career choices that have lead you to this point in your life. Let your visitors know a little bit about you. Share tidbits of information such as your business goals, your beginnings in web design brisbane and the sources of your inspiration.
You've read the advice here and are ready to put it into action, so get ready to design your site! Start by sketching out a design and making lists of the content you'll need and you'll have your website online in no time.
Don't forget to keep reading and learning so you're never left behind.