Web Design Quick Help

A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Frances Rhea

Web Design Overview

Good web design requires more than creativity. It requires knowledge of HTML tags and their use. All users should have access to your site instead of only specific browsers. Other things to consider are language and accessibility problems.

A good web design is downloads quickly, has alt descriptions for all image tags, color combinations that are easily read and can be enlarged if the user has problems such as poor vision, blind, or color blind. There should be no errors in scripting or tag usage.

Tips for Web Design

Normally, all tags are lower case. Also all tags should have an ending tag when required. Image tags whether logos, lines, bullets, or pictures need a descriptive text in case the visitor is unable to see or download images.

The design screen size should be adjustable in any browser. If you design for a particular size, then individuals with monitors set at different resolutions will not see your site correctly. This will turn visitors away from your site.

Web design with using one specific browser is another problem. Internet Explorer renders your web design differently than Opera, Netscape or Mozilla. If you do not have a variety of browsers installed on your computer to check the design, visit one of the many sites on the Internet that provides a service to show you the way others see your web design and/or provides information on the tags not compatible with other browsers.

If the browser shows plain HTML source then you have forgotten one or more of the most important tags. They are at the beginning and at the very end; with at the end of the header or information section; and at the end of the main portion of what you want other to be able to see. Get a good HTML checker to determine correct tag usage.

Specifying colors in your web design is easy. It is important to remember that color choices should go together but should contrast so that links and text are easy to read. The standards of blue for links, red for active links, and purple for visited links should be adhered to. This does not mean that you have to use the defaults in your design. There are many variations of blue, red and purple that can be used on your site. Changing the colors of these links can confuse visitors and turn them away because they don't understand the information you present.

Always check the download time of your completed web page design. If it takes more than 15 seconds to download on a 33K modem, it is taking too long. Either shrink the graphics with a good graphics editor, put less graphics on the page, or less textual information.

Web Design Conclusion

Not everyone is capable of good web design. It is a complicated process and can be difficult to learn. If you are daunted by the process, hire someone to do it for you.