A Little Bit About Web Design
Many people love the idea of having a web site, but get scared when they hear the phrase “web design”. After all, don’t you need to be an artist with years of computer programming skill to make a great web page? Thankfully, making a good site is not as hard as it sound once you know the basics.
The first step to creating a good web page is to decide what you want on it. People will be visiting your site for what is written there, not how pretty it looks you know. Go ahead and make a list of the main sections you want people to visit. “Home”, “About me” and “links” are usually good starts.
Once you know what is going to be on your site, it is time to organize it. Clump similar things together to create your main pages. For example, talking about your favorite book and your favorite band could both go under your “About me” page. Less is more as long as each main page is well-defined as people do not like having to wade through a lot of links to find what they want to know.
Once all the information has been chosen and organized, you can get your layout made. The three things that are the most important when designing your site’s layout are compatibility, visibility, and ease of use. That are what makes a good site great.
Visibility means that your site is easy to read and pleasant to the eyes. Picking two contrasting complimentary colors for your web site’s theme is a good idea. The greater the difference in shades between the colors, the easier it will be to read. Generally light text on a dark background or dark text on a light background is the best. Do not use patterned backgrounds as they make it heard to read.
People like it when a web page is easy to navigate so ease of use is important. All the important pain pages should be listed on a nice, clear menu that is featured in the same place on every single page. If you have any subpages linked off your main pages, a site map link added to the footer of each page is also a good idea.
Last but not least is compatibility. How well does your website function across multiple browsers? Will something not work in Firefox or cause a slower computer to crash? Generally flash is very bad for compatibility, so avoid using it to make your web site. Using proper W3C compliant code will greatly help your compatibility, so do not be shy to keep yourself updated.
As you can see, web design is not as scary as it sounds. With a little planning and care taken towards visibility, ease of use, and compatibility your web site will be just fine. Do not be afraid to try to go out there and make your site yourself, there is plenty of help out there if you get “stuck”. Have fun with your web page, the world is waiting to hear from you!