How to Design a Website Easily - No Experience Required
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A Beginner's Guide to Web Design
Looking to take a course on design? Go here!
Don't forget! Before you start your website, you need a domain name and web host. Click here for details.
1. WordPress is a very popular choice today. It's flexible, constantly improving and doesn't require any design experience to use.
You just pick a theme design that you like, add your text and you're ready to go live!
When I created this site back in 2002, I had to do it manually through software. Now more people are gravitating to WordPress.
Below you can find out how to gain access to my free WordPress training video for beginners.
2. Use a clean design. Forget the multi-colored websites with flashing buttons, banners and loud backgrounds. Simple is in.
If you're using WordPress to build your website, consider using a Genesis theme - one of the most popular WordPress frameworks with crisp, clean designs.
They also use HTML5 with a lot of their themes. Don't let the techy speak fool you. That just means they use the latest code that helps your pages load faster and easier for the search engines to read.
3. Use simple navigations. Don't overwhelm your visitors with 20 choices on your menu. Highlight the most important pages and use sub menus to keep your navigation clean.
4. Larger fonts and white space rules. To make your pages easier to read, it's important to use larger fonts (at least 14px and lots of white space).
5. Build a responsive site. This ensures your site displays optimally in all browsers. For example, I use the Daily Dish theme on my blog and it automatically loads optimally on phones, tablets, etc.
More and more people are surfing the Web on their mobile devices so having a responsive site, or a design that works with all resolutions, is ideal.
Click here to learn more about mobile web design.
6. Save Your Money
Unless you need a very customized design, there's no need to spend thousands of dollars on web design.
I cringe when I hear people say they spent thousands of dollars for a basic WordPress website. Yikes!
The only thing you really should pay for is your domain name, hosting (WordPress comes free with paid hosting) and perhaps a premium WordPress theme like Genesis.
And if you don't want to buy a theme, you can use one of the many free WordPress themes that come with the platform.
7. One or two columns is best. More and more people are dropping the multiple columns and going with a simpler one or two-column design. Read why 3 columns may be a thing of the past.
Need Help Starting Your Site?
In order to start a website you need a domain name (yoursite.com) and a web host.
If you decide register your domain name or host your site at WebsitePalace.com then you will gain instant access to a 27 minute introductory video about WordPress that covers...
- Installing a theme design
- Adding a contact form
- Installing social media sharing icons
- Adding advertisements
- Adding an email subscription form
- Creating a custom menu/navigation for your site
- And much more!
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Need a very basic template to get going? Download these HTML templates that are free for your business or personal use.
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