So you’ve chosen to build your own website. You don’t have to be a fantastic web designer to have a great looking website. If you are using site-builder software that comes with your hosting package you will probably have the choice of many free template designs that come with it. Don’t feel you are stuck with the default design that is already set up. Read the tutorials to find out how to change the template, and try out a few to find one that suits your kind of website. There will be options to change colours to match your corporate image, and there may also be options to change fonts and font sizes. Experiment with the templates until you find something that looks good. Look around at other websites that have a similar product or business as yours and see what you like about them and what you don’t.
If you have chosen to build your website using wordpress, there are many free templates or themes as wordpress calls them to enhance your website’s look. The default twentyeleven theme that comes with wordpress is also a very good design, so if you don’t have the time to look for anything else it is a good one to stick to. You can still customise it yourself with other colours and images.
You can also search through the wordpress admin interface for themes, or a quick search in google for ‘wordpress themes’ will come up with hundreds. There are directory sites for wordpress themes such as themeforest which also offer premium themes that you can pay for. Look at the previews of the themes, go for something modern and stylish that suits the kind of business image you want to reflect. Try out a few that you like and decide which one you’d like to work with the most. Once you are happy with the chosen theme, uninstall any themes you are not using (except for the default ones).
Most modern website designs are clean and simple with plenty of space around the images, navigation and content. Clutter on the page is not good for your visitor. It will confuse them if their eye is drawn to too many things at once. Don’t try to cram all your content into one page, not all of it needs to be visible at once. Visitors are quite happy to scroll down if they are interested in what you are saying.
Remember to make the theme or template your own by customising it with your own colours and images. Templates are very useful when you are not a web designer yourself. They ensure that your website has a professional look, rather than a home-made feel. Take care how much of the template you change as you could do more harm than good. You want your website to give a good first impression of your business or product.
This is part twelve of a twenty four part series of tips provided by cannedSunlight Web Design Costa Blanca to celebrate the run up to Christmas. You can view the other tips here: Tips 1-10, Tip 11. Come back tomorrow for further tips and advice on how to get a great website that works for you or your business.
