Beginners Web Design

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Beginners Web Design Class Online: Top 5 Design Features to Avoid

Designing a website for the first time can be a real challenge. You want it to look great but at the same time be easy to use for your audience. Many beginners who take their first web design class online make the mistake of becoming over zealous when designing their pages. With any design project, it's easy to get carried away with how the site "looks" and ignore some of the most important aspects of design. So if you're at the starting line of a beginners web design course, consider these top five design features to avoid.

1. Too Many Bells and Whistles

Every site needs a little animation (moving graphics) from time to time to keep things interesting. But don't go overboard. Moving or flashing images can actually distract visitors while reading your sales presentations. If you must use animated images, place them strategically so they complement the page instead of taking away from its purpose. Most classes will teach the old standard - keep it simple!

2. Scrolling Text

Another common error in beginners web design is content that moves. Scrolling text scrolls continually on a web page, often either too slow or too fast. Avoid using this type of text if possible... your visitors might become frustrated quickly if the text scrolls at a speed they dislike! One exception is if you have a small "news updates" section somewhere on your page, with which scrolling text seems to fit very nicely.

3. Pop-Ups

Another no-no taught in beginners web design courses is the use of too many pop-ups. These are screens that pop up along with your main screen. You can use hover forms as an alternative if you wish to sign up subscribers for an e-zine, contest or some other e-mail list. If you must use pop-up ads, use them sparingly... and only once per visitor.

4. Images as a Web Design Background

Background images have been popular for beginners web design training since the onslaught on the WWW. But unfortunately, these look amateur in today's world of small business design. Why? They often don't blend well with the flow of the page, and may cause slow loading time. Background images are almost never used in professional design... many freelance designers are using PHP and CSS applications to create a similar look and feel without the awkwardness of backgrounds. A rule of thumb for HTML color codes? A white backgrkound with black text, just like you read in grammer school.

5. Content Areas Too Wide

Consider how you react to very wide reading areas on the web. You probably dread reading all the material because it seems to be too much to read. Your visitors will react similarly if your content areas are too wide. Custom design your online pages by adding margins on the left and right (as you see on this web page) so that reading is easy.

*Solution: Narrow your text areas to about 400 pixels wide or less. You can easily do this by placing your text in tables. Also, shorten the paragraphs to a few sentences each. Internet users are almost always in a hurry and usually will read by scanning over a page. Make every word count so that your users will not feel overwhelmed with your written presentation. Keep it short and to the point!

There are certainly other beginners web design mistakes you can make that will turn off visitors. These are some of the main features to avoid as you're just starting out. If you're getting ready to take a beginners web design course or tutorial, keep these in mind as you design your first site.

Getting Started in Designing Sites

If you want to really get started and learn the right way; I'd like for you to get more info about beginners web design lessons . The beginning website design course will cover the steps above and you'll be amazed at what else you'll learn.

CLICK HERE to Learn Beginner Web Design Online >>