Creating User-Friendly Websites

June 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When it comes to creating and designing a website, there are a lot of different paths you could take. However, no matter what design direction you take your website, the site will be practically useless if it isn’t user friendly. Below take a look at three tips that will help you make your website look great – and useful for the reader.

1.       Keep it clean. It’s easy to get wrapped up in fancy design concepts. However, you must design with your average user in mind. This means that too many images and graphics will actually distract your reader. You want to keep the design clean so the reader doesn’t get a headache when visiting your site.

2.       Create great copy. The copy on your website needs to be compelling and relevant. Make sure your visitor can find what he needs when he comes to your website by giving clear direction and direct copy.

3.       Make sure links work. There’s nothing more frustrating that visiting a website only to find that the links don’t work. Be sure that you are testing all of your links and that they are all current and relevant. After all, having up-to-date information on your website will help you appear legitimate to your reader.

There are a lot of different areas that will affect your web design. But the three tips mentioned here will be the most useful in creating a successful website. Keep these tips in mind as you start up your new website.

Will your website be user friendly?

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Tips for a Great Web Design

May 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There are many failed websites out there in cyberspace. The key to any successful website is the web design. Be sure your website has a great web design to get noticed and keep people coming back.

 

Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc... 

Image via CrunchBase

Have a cleanly designed website. The first page that loads needs to load quickly. A ton of pictures or graphics on the first page will only cause it to load slowly. People are fickle and they want things fast. It is said that a person decides whether to stay on a website within the first five to ten seconds of landing on it. Loading time is also one of the components of Google’s new standards so a slow loading page can cost you in the search engine game.

 

Good content does trump a good design. Be sure the key information is easily displayed and readers do not have to scroll down the page to see if the information they are looking for is there. Users want to know they are in the right place fast and if they think they aren’t, your page will be in for lots of bounces.

Be certain it is easy to navigate page to page. Web design is simple. You may hold a master’s degree in HTML but a first time user that lands on your page will become easily confused and bounce right to the next one if it’s hard to understand. The page should be user friendly for all users.

There are over a million websites out there in cyberspace. Use good web design tactics to get your site noticed!

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Online Schools For Web Design

March 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

It’s important to have your college degree if you’re looking to start a great career in your area of interest. Web design is a great industry if you love being creative and designing things. Getting your degree in web design can be a frustrating, but fun thing to do.

College isn’t cheap and many people can’t afford to leave their full-time jobs to attend college. The good news is that many colleges offer online classes so if you work full-time you can still go to school.

Westwood College offers a Bachelors degree in Web Design & Multimedia through their design program that’s strictly online. From the comfort of your own home and on your own schedule, you can learn the skills needed to learn web design. They offer various web design, illustration and technology courses. The college courses will help prepare you for a career in web design.

The University of Phoenix Online is the most popular option. At this popular online school you can earn your bachelor’s degree in either Web Design or Web Development. There’s also an Associate’s program where you will learn HTML, programming and web basics. This is more for people who want to learn the basics, before getting into the big leagues and taking the classes for their bachelor’s. While these classes are online, there are many campuses located all through out the United States that you can attend if you prefer to learn on campus so you can get help from a teacher or another student when needed.

You can also opt for your Bachelor of Arts from DeVry in Web Design and Development through their well-known online program. Those who attend DeVry will learn scripting, programming and multimedia, three important aspects of web design.

Choosing a school that you feel will work best for your future and career in important since this is a huge investment you’re making.

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Hiring A Web Designer For Your Website

March 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Every businesses these days will have a website. Whether it’s a small, big or someone who is self employed, a website will help market whatever it is you’re trying to sell.

If you’re thinking about putting up a website for your company, you’ll want to know what functions and features you’re going to want on your website. Hiring a web designer for your website will be your best option if you’re unfamiliar with creating a website.

Think about what you’re looking for in a website. Do you want it to be a marketing tool for your business or will it be for personal use? Will the site be solely information or a website that’s more for clients? Also consider if you’re looking to have your website be an interactive one.

If you know anyone else who owns a business ask for recommendations of great web designers. Choose a couple of web designers that you’re interested in and contact them. After talking to them and seeing their samples, compare prices and decide who you feel could design the best website for you.

Once you’ve hired a web designer for your website, ask him or her what would be the best thing for your website. He or she is a designer so take any recommendations or ideas into consideration before making any final decisions.

Figure out how many pages you’re going to want and how you want the text and other content to look. Once you’ve made a few options, discuss them with the web designer to see what he or she says. HostGator Coupon

Meet with your designer in person and show him or her your favorite website designs to get an idea for what you really want with your website. Have your designer come up with a mock design before having it go live. Than just make any changes you see fit.

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Researching Your New Career As A Web Designer

March 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

You probably heard all the time in school how important doing your research is. You’ve probably even spent countless hours online during your high school and college years to find information on your homework assignments. Long after high school and college your researching days aren’t exactly long over.

If you’re hoping to land an amazing career as a web designer, you’re going to want to learn all about the exciting world of web design. This is an industry that many creative individuals are looking to get into. There’s more to web design than what you probably know off hand, which is what experiences they’re looking for, how much you can make and what skills are needed to make it as a graphic designer.

To understand what a career is like in web design, let Google be your best friend. Research different books and forums about web design. You can read up and chat with web design professionals about what it’s like working in the industry. They will give you an honest opinion.

If you know of any web designers in your area ask to speak with them. It might be easier to contact them via e-mail and see if you can chat with them for a few minutes. Ask any questions you can’t easily find on the Internet. Most of the time web designers are busy so you might only have a good 20 to 30 minutes with them.

Earn your degree in web design. Many colleges offer online degrees so you can attend class at night and from home if you have long work hours. Without a degree, you’ll find it difficult finding a job as a web designer.

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Starting Your Own Web Design Company

February 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

After spending years working for another company, many web designers will begin branching out on their own by starting their own web design company. This is an exciting, frightening and frustrating time, but if it’s your dream to have your own web design company, than now is the time to do it. Don’t let fear get in the way.

If you have a degree and understand what it takes to create websites than this is something that you can do. It could really turn into a profitable business for you. Everything is moving online and many companies are looking to start a website and will need someone to design that site for them; this is where you would come in.  If you’ve got the talent, you’ll get the business.

Before you start looking for work, create your own website showcasing your work. People are going to want to see your work before they hire you. This is your time to shine as a web designer so get creative. Just don’t do too much because your website will still have to be user friendly. If people struggle navigating through your site, you could lose out on a job.

Do a little bit of research to see what websites are successful in terms of design and what people are enjoying. It’s OK to get a little inspiration without stealing anyone else’s design.

Consider thinking about offering other services. Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click Advertising are bigger now than ever before and knowing how to do these things could really help your business soar.

Teaming up with other freelancers could also help land more work. Networking is important with anyone starting a new business.

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Designing A Website For A Small Business

February 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Many people are opting to start their own business. Anyone in the business world know just how important having a website is for your company. Marketing your business is the key to survival. Here are some basic steps to creating your website for a small business.

Get your domain name. This is the most important step. Search for websites on registering a domain name. Your company name is going to be the domain name. But still make sure the domain name isn’t already taken.

Next you’ll need a web hosting website. This company is basically going to provide you with your server space that holds all the information that’s going to be on your website.

Start developing your website. You can use a variety of different software programs that could help you create your own design. If you’re not good with doing web design or coding it might be best if you hire a web designer to create your website. This might get expensive, but your website is your most powerful marketing tool. It’s an investment that will be worth it.

Keep track on how your website is doing via Google Analytics. This website will basically let you know where people are visiting on your website and how many people are going there. You can also track how many long visitors are coming to the website and how many daily visits your website will get in total.

Always keep your content up-to-date with regular updates.

Designing a website for your small business is the only way to really help your business do well in this tough market. It might cost a lot to create the website, but this is one investment you should be making.

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All About Web Design Software

February 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Many people have an interest in web design, but don’t always know where to begin. In order to create your own website, you’re going to need a web design software. This can be quite expensive, but if this is a career you’re completely interested in, this investment will be worth it.

While knowing HTML is a bonus, but it’s not crucial if you’re using web design software. It’ll come in handy if the client wants a few changes made at the last minute.

Another great program is Dreamweaver, which will allow you to create your web site using code and seeing the design at the same time. Doing this could help make designing a webpage a little easier on you.

Then there’s Coffee Cup, which many professionals call it two editors in one. This lets you view your CSS and HTML at the same time. Most websites contain both these things so being able to see them at once could be very helpful.

The Personal Web Kid is a free software where the new web designer won’t need any HTML experience what so ever. You can easily create your website and upload it onto the server.

You can find many of the software available to download for free on the software’s website. The free download is normally a 30-day trial, which can be purchased anytime during the trial. This is the perfect change for the budding web designer to see which program will work best for them. If you’re a student, you can also find amazing web design software at amazing low prices thanks to the beauty of school discounts.

With a little browsing and free trials, finding web design software wont’ be hard.

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Becoming A Web Designer

February 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Becoming a web designer could be an exciting career option for many people. We’re all considered creative and many people use their creativity to make websites for other people or themselves.

Have you ever thought about what would have to be done to make a website for yourself or to make it as a web designer? Everyone has a website now a days, but they were created using a template that was actually designed by a web designer and made available for free or for a small fee online. Why not create your own website yourself?

You’ll want to learn how to do HTML before you can make it as a web designer. HTML is basically just coding that will help design your site. There are so many websites and tutorials on YouTube that you can check out to learn HTML.

Don’t let HTML bring you down! It might get a little frustrating at first, but you’ll get the hang of HTML once you start making practice website designs. The perfect way to really see how HTML will work, download Dreamweaver for a free 30-day trial. If you’re a student getting your degree in web or graphic design, your school should offer an amazing discount on web design software. Take advantage of that deal!

W3 Schools is the best website for students or anyone looking at becoming a web designer. They have the best tutorials and information that have to do with web design and development. It’s a great go to site if you’re a little stuck and could use a tiny bit of extra information.  Most teachers will direct you to this website when you’re stuck on an assignment.

The best way to get experience is by creating a mock website to test out different design ideas. While you can view the site on Dreamweaver, it’ll look a little bit differently once it’s done and live on an actual website.

Becoming a web designer could be an amazing career option for you. It’s important to make sure beforehand that this is a career you’re looking to get into.

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Becoming A Web Design Teacher

February 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The popularity of the Internet is quickly rising and won’t be falling anytime soon. Because the Internet is huge and companies are turning to web designers to create websites for their company, jobs in web design and development is booming.

With the demand of web design booming, more colleges are looking to bring on more web design teachers. This could be a great opportunity for web designers looking to make some extra money. What schools are looking for is a web design teacher that can teach the students the most up-to-date and useful information that they can use to learn the trade.

Figure out which area of web design you want to teach. There are multiple areas that you can choose from since web design has so many aspects that just one person can’t teach them all. Pick your strongest areas and go in teaching those.

Think about your main audience, which are your students. You will have a stronger ability to be a great teacher if you know whom you will be teaching. Each classroom will vary in age from 18 all the way to 50. Those who are 18 know a lot about technology, more so than those who are much older. You need to know the type of students you’re teaching so you can plan your curriculum accordingly.

Choose how you will deliver your information. Many teachers forget that these students don’t know much about web design and they teach and speak to them as if they know the industry inside and out. Most people won’t know these programs or HTML, so you need to teach at a slower pace and use terminology they will understand. If not, the students will quickly become frustrating, which could become frustrating for you as a teacher.

Create your outline. Keep a realistic goal on what you want your students to learn by the end of the semester, but remember the outline can be adjusted accordingly if students aren’t quite catching on as quickly. Also remember to include some materials they could use as a resource just in case.

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