I am blogging this evening to give my 2 cents on the topic of web design dos and don’ts or, as I call them, yes and no. Things that you should or should not do in order to get new visitors and keep those visitors coming back for more. This is based on my experiences on the web, if you have any thing else to add, feel free.
Don’t –
- Use light colored (ie – yellow or aqua) text on a white/light background. It’s very hard, if not impossible to read. You won’t win any design contests or clients with a website like that.
- Use anything other than white text on a black background. Anytime I look away from a computer screen after viewing a site that has a black background with anything other than white text, I end up seeing lines for at least 15 minutes. Not a good thing.
- Use the
tag. Most browsers don’t even recognize it and the ones that do, well, it annoys the heck out of visitors to see blinking text.
- Have your page full of large images. Load time is a big factor in how long a person stays on your site and whether or not they come back. If you have a lot of images to load and they are all large in KB/MB size, visitors on dial up connections will leave and most likely never come back.
Do –
- Use dark grey or black as your text color when using a white/light background color. It is easy to read and is more natural than light colors on a light/white background.
- Use white text on a black background. But not if you’re going to have a very long page. One or two paragraphs is fine, but if it’s going to be more than that, see about using a div layer with a white background and black or dark grey text for your information.
- Use something to make your links stand out. If you want them the same color as all other text, an underline is a great way to allow people to know there is something to click there. You may also make links bold or italic, but remember, if you use those attributes for emphasis as well, your visitors won’t realize where you emphasized something and where you actually linked something.
- Use thumbnails. If you’re using WordPress and you uploaded your image via WordPress then you’ll have a ready-made thumbnail to use. Otherwise, use a graphics program and make a smaller copy of your image and link to the larger files. Let your visitors choose whether or not to view the larger image.
Just a few tips for the budding designers and people who are creating their own web pages and sites for their own personal pleasure.
If you’re needing help with good color schemes, try COLOURlovers, a web forum that can help you find the inspiration you need, as well as some help if you want to know if the scheme you’re thinking of is too garish or hurtful to the eyes.
Also, know that just because you write valid code, your site does not have to be plain. You can have color, graphics, and other things that make your site look great, without sacrificing valid coding. Proof can be seen here and atGothic Peach. Both are my sites – this one and my other blog, and both have valid XHTML and CSS coding.
If you have never tried to validate your code at W3, don’t be afraid to do so. Yes, you’ll probably get errors when you do it, but they tell you what should be fixed to eliminate the errors. A lot of times, it will be something simple, like an improperly nested tag or a tag you forgot to close. It happens. Sometimes correcting one error will actually cause 2 or more errors to be corrected as well. So take the time to try validating your HTML, XHTML, or CSS coding. It is well worth it in the long run.
If you need a brush up on your HTML, need or want to learn HTML, XHTML, or CSS, W3 Schools is a great learning tool. They also offer certification in HTML, XML, ASP, and JavaScript, so if you’re looking to be a web designer, you have the option of getting certified in your field.
I hope you enjoyed these tips and will find something useful among them. My goal is to help provide my readers with some valuable information and not just fluff and crap.