When people design websites they think that pop-ups are good for grabbing the visitor's attention, but that is only the case when you are not trying to sell them something. If you want to design a successful site where you keep your visitors there, avoid using pop-ups. Apply the advice from this article to show you how you can get around using pop-ups in your web design.

Don't neglect cascading style sheets. Using a style sheet makes it easy to give all pages of your site the same look and feel. It also reduces the file size of your pages, as the CSS file can be accessed once on the server and then from the user's local cache thereafter.

Make sure your text and background has the proper contrast. There's evidence showing that white text on a black background is easiest for most people to read, but other colors are fine so long as they're readable. Also keep in mind that people with visual impairments may not be able to read your site if the contrast is poor. Check to see if your site complies with various contrast standards using the tool at http://snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html .

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 a 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.

Web design is a subject that you always want to stay informed on. With this in mind, if you have any friends that are also into web design then you will want to keep in contact with them. You can exchange any new information you learn so that you're both on top of your game when it comes to web design.

Try to make sure that any music or pictures that you're linking to is hosted on your own web server. Do not hotlink to any other website images. This can be construed as bandwidth theft and it could put you in violation of a copyright too. It's not worth the risk.

You should always put in the effort to make a customized error page for your site; this page should include a basic sitemap that links users to the major sections of your website. This ensures that if visitors follow a bad link or spell your URL wrong, they will be able to find what they are looking for.

Use a well known software program that is known for getting the job done to help create a professional looking website. Photoshop is a program that individuals new to web design can use to quickly create professional level pages. If you don't use such a program, it can be difficult and take a lot of time to learn how to design a high-quality site in a hurry.

Make sure everything is easy to locate on your website. Spend some serious thought on how everything on your site will be laid out. When content is randomly thrown on your site with little thought to the layout, you are making things harder for the people whose use of your site ensures your online success - your site visitors.

Stay with a layout that is basic and not all that confusing so that you don't confuse yourself. Do this so that you get the basics down first then try your best to upgrade to an intermediate site and from there progress to a site that is more advanced in the end.

You want to learn as much as you can about web design so you can be as competitive as possible and be better than everyone else. Use what you gained from this article, but be sure to always learn as much as you can about web design to reach the level of success you seek.


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