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Many people believe that designing a website is difficult, but that is only true if you do not take the time to learn how to build one. Like pretty much everything done on the web today, there are many software programs available which can make web design really simple. However, just as important as the design of your site, you want to make your website looks professional.
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Continue on for some great tips on how to make sure your site looks polished and professional.
Before you publish any web page, check it carefully for broken links. Nothing is more frustrating to a visitor than clicking on a link and being taken to an error page. You can check your links manually, or there are programs that will scan your site for you and report any broken links.
Cancel An Action
Allow users to cancel an action if they so choose. This could mean ordering products, opting into an email newsletter, or returning to the homepage from deep within your site. If visitors cannot cancel an action they are not interested in, such as providing their contact information, they will feel they do not have a choice and won’t buy anything.
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 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.
The Importance Of A Site Map
Another way to make your website professional, is to have a site map. These are useful to your clients and the search engines, as they give a detailed overview of your entire website. It can be a guide for viewers searching for a certain part of your site, and also allow you to keep track of its structure and layout.
Use a tracking service, rather than displaying your visitor counter for all to read. Many websites still display their counters, yet they do not serve any real purpose. There are many high-quality tracking services available, and some are even free. Use these instead of showing off how many people visit you.
Fonts Make Your Website Look Professional
When designing your website, you should avoid using too many different types of fonts. You must also consider how different fonts appear on the standard computer screen; smaller serif fonts (Times New Roman, for example) are somewhat hard to read. Most sites use Verdana, which is easily read in different colors and sizes.
Do not use images for your background. When you think about some of the biggest websites on the Internet, they do not have images as backgrounds. When you use image backgrounds, you represent yourself as someone who is not well-versed in web designing. Images as backgrounds also cause your site to load slower, which can lead to user frustration.
Make text easy to read by using colors that contrast or backgrounds that are easy to read text on. When your text is harder to read because the background or text color creates eye strain or portions of text that are unreadable, site visitors are less likely to stick around.
As stated in the above article, web design today is made simple with the many easy to use software programs that are on the market. If you can follow some simple instructions then you too can enter the world of web design. In conclusion, make sure you follow these helpful tips to make your website look professional.