Web design tools

I have been designing websites since 1997, and since that time, there have literally been numerous web design tools introduced each year, many claiming to greatly simplify the process of designing a website. With the plethora of options now available for creating a site, consumers can easily become baffled with the many options to choose from.

In this article I will discuss how to find the right web design tools for your needs.

1. Define your specific needs
First, you need to define exactly what you want your site to accomplish, as this will dictate which web design tools you should consider. If iwhat you need is strictly an opinion or information site, a simple blog might suffice. On the other hand, if you have a database to access, or want to conduct transactions, you will most likely need to hire a professional. I recommend writing down the goals of your site to get a better handle on the scope of the project.

2. Determine your skill and commitment level
If you just want to create a personal website, selecting professional web design tools like Dreamweaver and Photoshop will be plain overkill. These programs are meant for professional web designers, and the casual hobbyist, unless extremely determined, will most likely be overwhelmed with these tools. A more reasonable solution will be to utilize web-based, template driven tools for creating sites. On the other hand, if you need a sophisticated site but cannot handle working with professional-grade software, it may make sense to hire a professional.

3. Set a reasonable budget, and don’t be a freebie hunter
I have tried out some free web design tools and they are for the most part not very useful. You will most likely need to spend some money on such things as books, tutorials, and basic software. If you try chasing free tools that may or may not exist, you will probably waste a lot of time and end up with web design tools that prove unsatisfactory.

After defining your needs, your commitment level, and budget, you may want to consider these "best of breed" web design tools:

The best tools for professionals: Dreamweaver and Adobe Photoshop.
These two programs have been the de factor standard for professionals since the very beginning. Although these web design tools can handle most tasks, professionals will still need a good HTML reference book or two as well.

The best web design tool for non-professionals: WebWizard
This is the best non-professional solution among many similar programs that allow you to build websites with nothing more than basic word processing skills. WebWizard allows you to select your site’s overall look from hundreds of pre-designed, professional templates. So while your site may not look completely unique, it will definitely look professional.

The best tool for creating a blog site: Wordpress
I know Blogger is quite popular, but Wordpress is a better tool in my opinion because it allows for more customization and is more extensible in terms of additional features. Also, one can use the Wordpress blogging platform to make sites that do not look like blog sites at all. In this sense, Wordpress can be used as a true web design tool instead of a simple blog tool.

Bad web design

If you have looked through some websites there are a few things which may not be liked. For instance the color of the website is Too Gaudy! Or may be the Site is too slow. Let’s see a list of features which really annoy the end user and possibly stop them from visiting your site in the future.

Should I give you examples, people will be annoyed. But if I do not give, then you will be annoyed. I am in a position where I cannot decide. I will leave the Examples for now, but will add them when I have decided on it.

A website could be a real annoyance if it takes ages to load up. A flash website specially will take a load of time to come up on the screen. Seeing the Loading page for more than 10-20 seconds is really annoyance. Get rid of the flash, not many people need to see your Funky animation. They need the data you have to provide, unless of course, if you are portraying your Animation skills. A 3D animation designer or a Graphic designer will be required to do this. But make it load as fast as you can and reduce the file size to the best.

The second most annoying thing is the color. Not everyone likes to see a multi colored website. That doesn’t mean that you will create a website in black and white. You surely don’t want your website visitors to be bored. You want them to be stuck to the website. Keep the design neat and make sure that you don’t use more than 3 colors on your website. Make the site lively with a very professional design, Neat colors and quickly loadable pictures and animation.

Error Free Web pages are the next annoying thing. Have you noticed error messages which say a “Variable X not initialized. Debug. Yes/No/ Cancel”? That’s really annoying. Make sure that your users don’t get to see these error messages. It affects the credibility of your website and its better off to have an error handler in place and get your website tested before it goes online. No errors on your website will make it better on search engines too.

Page not found. A link in place but the page cannot be found. This really annoys users. When a person is taking all the time to browse your website and he cannot find the information he requires but finds a Page not found error! It surely doesn’t look good to the eyes and surely not on the websites credibility. Check your website before you put them online and make sure there are no errors.

I have a few more to add up to the list but you will have to wait and see them in the next website design article. Till then, Take my word and Make sure that you have the guidelines followed.

Secrets of web design

Great website design is the result of careful thought and planning. It doesn't matter if you're a beginner creating your first website or if you are an experienced webmaster and it doesn't matter if you build your website using a simple program like notepad or a WYSIWYG HTML editor like Dreamweaver - what makes the difference is your plan. You decide what to include on your website and how to present it. If you spend time thinking about your website's design before you start building it you will create an excellent site that visitors will return to again and again.

Your website has to be quick to load, nice to look at, easy to use and navigate. People will remember if your website was full of useful information or if it was a jumbled maze full of pop-ups, pop-unders and flashing gifs that they could not make any sense out of. Keep this in mind as you create your website.

The Golden Rule of Website Design

So you might ask "How do I design my website?" The answer is to focus your website on solving a problem. People are on the internet to find answers - create your website to meet that need. Find a niche and provide high-quality, unique content people are looking for.

You can make your website a huge success by focusing on solving users' problems. Take Google for example - their website is an extremely simple, clean design that contains their logo and a box for you to enter what you are searching for - nothing on the webpage distracts the user from the solution they offer. When you visit google's website there is no question who they are and what they do. They are focused on quickly providing the visitor with relevant search results. That is why they have one of the most successful websites ever created.

All other elements of website design are secondary to filling the visitor's need. They will simply click away to the next website looking for a solution if you can't help them.

What is the problem that you have the solution for? For instance: Do you have the secret to making money on the internet? Can you teach someone how to housebreak a pet? Decide what solutions you can offer and then write them down. This is your mission statement. Keep this list handy and refer to it often as you design your website so you don't get sidetracked. Users' needs are not necessarily hard to fulfill but one website can not solve all users' problems, so don't try to. Focus on the solution you offer the user and concentrate on how to deliver it. Meeting expectations

Now that you've figured out what you can offer your users you have to focus on delivering that solution. People looking for answers want them now! Studies have shown that you only have a few seconds to get a visitor's attention and hold it before they click away - don't waste any time. Tell the user what you have to offer right away. Don't use intro pages that take too long to load. People want to get to your content and you should remove anything that gets between the user and the information. Guide them to their goal with as few "clicks" as possible. Plan to succeed

Many people get frustrated when they try to build a website simply because they don't do any planning. If you jump in and start writing HTML with no plan you may find yourself lost and so will your visitors. Before you start up your computer get out a pencil and some paper. Create a diagram that illustrates how your website will be layed out.

Build your website one page at a time focusing on one topic per page. As you add new content expand your website diagram adding new pages in a logical order. This will make it much easier for you to build your site and for visitors to find their way around. If you follow a plan you will avoid leading viewers to blank pages, dead links or having them run in circles trying to navigate your website.

Don't worry if you think your website is not perfect. No website is ever totally finished. You should always be fine-tuning and updating your content. Website construction is an ongoing process. Build - review - add new content - repeat.