One of the most important and expensive things a new business must have is a website. If you are new to web design, hiring someone to do the work for you can be extremely expensive. Don’t cut corners! The following advice will help you build a site like the professionals do.
Don’t use OnExit popups on your website. This tactic is mainly used by internet marketers who are trying a last-ditch attempt to get a sale. Word about these kinds of popups get around, and they will kill your reputation as a marketer. Mozilla has even taken steps to suppress the text on these popups, citing security risks.
Always double check pages for broken links before publishing a page. Error pages can be very frustrating to visitors. You can also check the links yourself or use a program to look.
Always mark files that must be opened in an external program with an icon. Many sites host PDF files, and less commonly, DOC files, that must be opened in Foxit Reader and Microsoft Word/OpenOffice, respectively. These files should be marked with an icon representing the file type, and a link to download the appropriate viewer if the user does not have it.
Use a style sheet to stay consistent. There is almost nothing more disconcerting than being sent to a page that looks at nothing like the site you were just looking at, even if it is concerning the same subject. Style sheets help with saving your formatting, so each page looks similar to the rest.
There is a bit of experience needed to go from building a basic website to a more complex website design. You will have bumps in the road, of course. However, when you keep and practice what you read in this article, then you will eventually find success.
