If you’ve got a business but no website then you’re at a huge disadvantage compared to your competitors. If you look around the web you’ll probably find that every one of them has a web presence and they’re probably getting quite a bit of business through it. To be able to compete more effectively you really need your own website.
Very often business owners go to a web design agency to get their site built but this can prove quite expensive, or they get a site built by someone they know who’s dabbled in web design. This isn’t usually a good solution either because the sites are often poorly built. The key reason for using someone else to design a website is because individuals think that they lack the technical skills needed when in reality you don’t need to be particularly technically minded to build a good looking, working website.
When you’re browsing the internet you’ll come across some very high tech websites but the complexity is there to provide certain functionality that a particular business needs such as a quote system or booking facility. Many businesses don’t need this type of technology and a much simpler website would work better for them.
Very often the simplest websites work the best. Think about sites that you’ve visited and liked. Why did you visit? What did you need to find and did you manage to find it? Would you visit again?
These questions and the answers to them are crucial to why one website is successful and another isn’t. Very often web agencies don’t take into account the actual purpose of the website. They can get it looking really nice but can the visitor find the information that they need and quickly. Does it give the right impression of your company and the product or service that you’re supplying? Can they find the contact information easily?
No knows your customers better than you. You should know the questions that they’re likely to ask and the information that they’ll be looking for. This means that you are the ideal person to build your website because you know what information it needs to convey and what impression it needs to give your customers and potential customers.
You will need to learn how to build it, where and how to host it and how to register a domain name but there is a huge amount of information available on the internet to show you how to do all of this. Try to find a resource that covers everything so that you don’t have to jump about sites to find information and get building!
Tags: build web pages, create your own web site, learn web design
Do you want to create your own website? Learning web design means that you’ll have all the skills necessary to build your own website and promote your business or keep family and friends up to date with what’s going on.
There are three steps that you’ll need to take to get a website up and running.
Register a domain
You’ll need to get a domain name. This is what you’ll call your website. It might be best to wait until you’ve finished learning web design before you choose what you’re going to have as your domain name. I know that I often change my mind once I’ve started working on a site. Obviously there will be occasions when it’s obvious what you want the domain to be, i.e. a business/company name, a club or organisation or your name. If you’re trying to promote a product or service though, there may be many, many options that you can use.
You register a domain name for a period of time from one to ten years. You must renew the domain name at the end of this period to ensure your website continues to run. Most domain registrations renew automatically or let you know in plenty of time that the domain is coming up for renewal.
Find some hosting
You will need some online space to host your website once you’ve finished your web design course and have begun to build your own website.
Usually you can combine registering the domain name and getting hosting space at the same time. Many hosting companies provide domain registration as part of the package. Depending on the purpose of your website you might decide to use one of the many free hosting packages available. These usually include a lot of advertising on your web pages so wouldn’t be very suitable if you’re learning web design to build a company or business website.
Design and build your web pages
The best part of learning web design is when you get down to the real nitty gritty and start designing and building your own web pages. Some hosting companies offer site builders to help you do this but you will find that they are quite restrictive and don’t always look particularly good.
If you want a website that looks professional then it really is worth learning web design so that you can create your own website. That way you can having it looking just the way you want and you’re not restricted by the capabilities of a piece of software or to using library images that many others will be using too.
Tags: build own website, create my own web page, learning web design, make a website
Anyone thinking about building their own website should be encouraged not to jump straight in to thinking about what it’s going to look like. There’s much more to think about than just what colours you like, how many columns you have and where to put the picture of your pet dog! Learning web design correctly will make the design process much simpler and you’ll end up with a professional looking website that fulfils it’s purpose rather than one that visitors don’t like.
Learning web design properly will ensure that you consider all the aspects necessary for a good-looking website. Obviously design and layout are important but there are other key factors that you should take into account which can have an effect on whether your site succeeds or fails.
Important factors that should be covered when you’re learning web design should include the following 8 points. These can all have a major impact on whether your site looks great or just “home made”.
• Be clear – Visitors to your site should be able to see in a matter of seconds what the site is about so be clear about your message. If they can’t understand your site straight away they’ll just click on to the next site.
• Use Cyberbites – Break the content up into short sentences and concise paragraphs. Web surfers tend to scan content rather than reading it. They pick out headings, sub-headings and bulleted lists so use these to break up your text and highlight important points.
• Avoid clutter – Cluttered sites encourage confusion for the visitor. Keep your site clean and well laid out. Use plenty of white space around important content so that it stands out and keep navigation consistent so that visitors know where it will be throughout the site.
• Avoid unnecessary fancy fonts or flashing/moving text. Always make sure that the fonts you use are clear and easy to read on a screen. What looks nice in print doesn’t always work well on screen so make sure you test your fonts. Keep your fonts consistent across the site as well to give a polished feel to the overall design. Flashing or moving text will distract the user and probably encourage them to click off your site, it’s really, really annoying!
• Avoid splash or introduction pages – Anyone learning web design will be told not to put extra steps in their visitors way. When people get to your website they want to find information, not fancy flash intros or music.
• Limit scrolling – Many websites include some vertical scrolling. That’s fine but try to keep the important stuff “above the fold”, i.e. on the visible part of the screen. Some surfers might not bother to scroll down unless something catches their eye and convinces them your site has what they’re looking for. Never, ever build a site that has horizontal scrolling. When you’re learning web design you should find out about screen resolutions and web site sizing.
• Don’t include auto-playing music – Think about it, does it add anything to your message? If it doesn’t then don’t use it. It may seem like a nice idea to you but it could well irritate your visitors.
• Use audio or video where appropriate – Video and audio can get your message across very, very quickly and gives the viewer an alternative means of getting the information. Video is a great way to grab and keep a visitors attention. Make sure these types of media don’t slow down your pages load time too much though.
Learning web design properly should ensure that you get in to good habits when designing and planning your website and that you consider all the above points as a matter of course. This should help make your website intuitive and easy for your visitors to use.
Tags: learning web design, web design training, web design tutorials
What reasons could you have for learning web design? More and more people these days are looking for the means to build their own web sites and their reasons vary enormously. What used to be the restricted domain of a few techie types is now available for Joe and Jane Public.
As people use the internet more frequently for their everyday needs, shopping, communicating and finding information etc. the belief that it’s all “really complicated” and “only for techies” is gradually falling away and individuals are realizing the potential of creating their own websites.
The success of any web page will depend on the users initial opinion of it. As web surfers become ever more web savvy they will become increasingly critical of poorly designed or very obviously template-built sites. Custom designed sites that are well built will encourage far more return visits and lower bounce rates.
If you’re one of the people who is beginning to recognize the potential of having your own website then learning web design the right way is an excellent idea.
The benefits of learning web design so that you can create your own webpage include:
• Freedom of design. You can have absolutely whatever you want as the design of your website. Learning web design properly will ensure that you can create really professional looking websites that look great.
• Expression of your individuality – Everything that you create will have a little bit of your personality in it. By learning web design and designing your own website you ensure that your personality is embedded within the “look and feel” of your website. Whether it’s a personal site or representing your business this will help get your message across.
• Copyright your uniqueness – Because the site will be individual, with a little of your personality within it you want to make sure that no-one copies your design. You can copyright your design to prevent other sites that look the same popping up.
• No communication barriers – You don’t have to try and explain your ideas to anyone else who will probably have their own ideas about what your site should or shouldn’t look like. Learning web design and making it yourself ensures that you, the developer, understands you, the designer. No having to explain intangibles to a techie!
• It’ll be bang up to date – Trends and fashions on the internet change incredibly rapidly and if you buy a premade template then you’re not only buying something that many others may have already bought and used but chances are, it’s out of date already. By learning web design you’ll make sure that your site is right on target with current trends and opinions.
• Best of all, you save money – You’ve probably already got a computer which means that you’ve already got the tools to build your own website. All you need now is the information for learning web design and you’re off. The alternative is to pay a designer or as I’ve mentioned above, buy a premade template. Either way, learning web design means that you keep the money firmly in your own pocket.
I’m sure if you’ve found the learning web design website then the benefits of creating your own website are probably already clear to you. Hopefully you’re starting to realize that learning web design isn’t going to be terribly difficult, in fact, find the right training and you’ll find it’s a lot easier than you thought.
Tags: Beginners Web Design, design your own website, easy web design, learning web design