Terrific Web Design Tips For Folks Of All Experience Levels

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Terrific Web Design Tips For Folks Of All Experience Levels
There's more that goes into creating a website than you may be aware of. From the initial planning of the site to ensuring that even the smallest border around a block of text is aligned correctly, web design can seem daunting if you dive in unprepared. Allow these tips to help you become better prepared to face the challenge.

If you're designing a website, make sure the code you write has a valid HTML+CSS. Although most browsers can make sense of code that isn't valid, it could be rendered correctly or incorrectly. Valid code will render the same way most of the time in modern browsers. You can check the validity of your HTML code with an HTML validator.

It is always good to add a favicon to your website. The favicon is a 16x16 image file in the .Ico format. This image is the one you see next to the URL bar, next to the title of the page on an opened tab and is also visible on your bookmarks tab if you choose to bookmark a page. The favicon will help users quickly recognize your page in their browser without reading any text or directly viewing the page.

Don't neglect cascading style sheets. Using a style sheet makes it easy to give all pages of your site the same look and feel. It also reduces the file size of your pages, as the CSS file can be accessed once on the server and then from the user's local cache thereafter.

Be careful when introducing new colors into the design of your website. If the text fades into the background due to poor contrast, the text will be hard to read. In general, you want to use a dark font color and a lighter background. Soliciting feedback from a friend can help you determine how effective your color scheme is if you develop doubts about it.

Do not go overboard with graphics. Some images are necessary. However, too many are overwhelming. Never use graphics just to decorate, but only to improve. Having the right amount of graphics that don't clutter the design can improve the site's usability, too.

Use ALT tags whenever possible. These helpful tags describe an image to a viewer, assisting the visually impaired, as well as those who prefer to browse without images. As an added bonus, some search engines include these tags in their rankings, so you may get a boost by using them.

A good website will never require that a visitor provide the same information more than once. Ensure that personal data for each of your website's visitors is preserved. For instance, if someone fills out a form using personal information, he or she should have to enter that same information in again when he or she goes to fill out an additional form. This kind of "sticky" information saves your users time and effort, and they will likely appreciate the streamlining this kind of good design provides.

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.

When it comes to web design you don't want to be left in the dust, you want to be up to date so that you know how to program your site as well as what people want. So even though you understand how to build a website make sure that you always fill your brain with new knowledge.

The general idea here is to get the gist of web design, not to become a pro overnight. Once you start to learn about a few different tactics, you will understand the concepts behind web design and will be able to translate your knowledge into tangible design features. Check back with these tips if you've had any difficulties.