14 Web Design Tips You Should Consider
Web design is an important aspect of website building because it helps to attract visitors. Here are some tips you should consider when you build a website:
1. Provide custom 404 Pages
A custom 404 page is created to help people find information even if they mistyped or misspelled your URL. This is way better than getting a “Page Not found” error message which is not helpful.
2. Redirect Non-www. to www.
Many internet users do not bother to use “www.” when they type a URL or link to your website. You should set up your website to make it automatically redirect any non-www version of your URL to (ex. http://site.com) to its www version (ex. http://www.site.com).
3. Size Graphics Properly
You should see to it that all graphics and images on your website are properly sized to enable web browsers to load them quickly.
4. Use Favicon
A favicon or Favorites Icon is a small graphic that is associated with a page or Web site. The favicon allows the Web developer to customize the site in the Web browser, both in the tab bar and in the bookmark list.
5. Include RSS Auto-Discovery
You should include an auto-discovery code in the header of your website if it offers an RSS feed for any of its contents. This will help browsers to automatically detect your RSS feed and alert your visitor that the content is available.
6. Protect Your Brand by Using Alternate Domains
Brand protection is one of the most important aspects of any business. This is also true for websites. You have to protect your domain from being used by others by registering multiple domain versions and extensions. You can have these alternate domains parked at your main website to prevent others from using them.
7. Ensure Consistent Navigation
Make your visitors comfortable by making navigation on the pages of your website easy for them. Put the navigation bar on the same place as your visitor moves through the pages on your website. This will make it easier for them to navigate.
8. Home Goes Home
Every page of your website should contain a header which includes the option to take the visitor back to the home page any time he wants.
9. Include Copyright Notice
You should include a copyright notice at the bottom of your website to remind users that the site is protected. You must keep your copyright current; otherwise, users will think that it is out-of-date.
10. Meaningful File Names
Use meaningful file names on any file, images or web pages. Using keywords in the file names can help search engines locate them easily. It can also help to improve your website’s rankings.
You should use hyphens instead of underscores when naming files and web pages because it would be easier for search engines to index the keywords when hyphens are utilized.
12. Alt Tags
Use Alt tags to describe images on your web pages. Although most search engines don’t use Alt tags for indexing, they can help your visitors understand what your image is all about.
13. Use Spell Check
Use your word processor’s spell-check feature to ensure that your content is free from typos and spelling mistakes. It is easy for readers to spot these errors and seeing them could create a negative impression on your content.
14. Test
Always make it a personal commitment to test your website every time a change is made. This is to ensure that your site is perfectly working as you intended it to.