subject: The Essentials Of Web Design & Web Development [print this page] The Essentials Of Web Design & Web Development
Numerous individuals find irresistible the idea of having a website, but get nervous when they hear the expression "web design or web development". In any case, you do not need to be an expert with years of computer programming skill to make a great website? Thankfully, creating a high-quality website is not as difficult as it may sound, once you know the fundamentals.
Before you start working on the attractive part of the website, you'll want to work on your website's content. After all, people are going to want to visit your website for more than just attractive pictures! Get a sheet of paper or notebook and make a list of the main sections that you assume others will want to visit. "About me", "home", and "links" are generally good pages to get you underway.
Once you know what you want to have or need on your website, it is time to start organizing! People like it when it's simple to tell what is where but do not like a flood of links to click, the {more simple|simpler your site is the better. If several similar things go together, it typically is OK to put them on the same page. For example, "About me" could also tell your hobbies and favourite music instead of having separate pages for your music, your hobbies and you as an example.
Once all the information has been selected and organized, you can then get your layout prepared. The 3 points that are the most important when designing your site's layout is compatibility, visibility, and ease of use. That is what makes a good website great.
Visibility means that your page is simple to read. Choose at least two contrasting complimentary colours for your pages. It is important to make sure the colours are very unique in shades to make it easy to read. Usually light text on a dark background or dark text on a light background works the best. Also avoid using background images as it makes reading difficult.
Ease of use means that it is painless for individuals visiting your page to find what they require. All the main pages you came up with earlier should be clearly linked on an easy to read menu that will be in the same place on every one of your pages. If you have any sub pages, a site map linked in the footer of your web page is also a great plan.
The most important of the 3 concerns is compatibility. If they cannot load your web page, they won't be able to enjoy it! Do not use things like flash or silverlight as they don't work on all browsers or all operating systems and can crash slower computers. Also, check your website across a few browsers to make sure the code works well. Using W3C compliant code will generally help the problem out a lot.
Once you get down to the fundamentals, web design and web development is not very hard. Just remember the 3 keys of compatibility, visibility, and ease of use and organize your website well and you will be doing well. Don't be afraid to create your own web page yourself. Give it a try and you might just be very happy and delighted with the results.
