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The essentials of web design & web development

Posted 20/June/2010 by neubreed

Nevertheless, you don't have to be a specialist with years of computer programming ability to make an effective website? Fortunately, making a first-class website is not as tricky as it may sound, once you know the basics.

Before you start working on the pretty part of the website, you'll want to work on your website's content. After all, people are going to want to visit your site for more than just pretty 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 usually good pages to get you started.

Once you know what you want to have or need on your website, it is time to start organising! Persons like it when it's easy 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 related things go together, it usually 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.

When all the information has been selected and organised, you can then get your layout made. The 3 points that are the most significant when designing your site's layout is compatibility, visibility, and ease of use. That is what makes a good website great.

Visibility indicates that your page is simple to read. Choose at least two contrasting complimentary colours for your pages. It is significant to make sure the colours are very unique in shades to make it easy to read. Typically light text on a dark background or dark text on a light background works the best. Also keep away from using background images as it makes reading hard.

Ease of use means that it is simple for people visiting your page to find what they want. All the main pages you created 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 idea.

The most essentials of the 3 concerns is compatibility. If they cannot load your website, they won't be able to use 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 number of browsers to make sure the code works well. Using W3C compliant code will normally help the issue out heaps.

When you get down to the basics, web design and web development is not very difficult. Just bear in mind the 3 keys of compatibility, visibility, and ease of use and organise your website well and you will be doing fine. Don't be afraid to create your own web page yourself. Give it a go and you might just be very pleased and delighted with the end result.