What Should Every Programmer Know About Web Development

There is a proliferation of websites – each clamoring for attention. The only assured way to keep your visitors lingering on your site is to have a effective design.Web design is so open-ended and there are numerous ways to build your website. The right thing to do is to have an imaginatively conceived structure about your site. The first and foremost rule is to keep the web design simple, clean and less ornate.A thorough knowledge of HTML is indispensible. Mere WYSIWYG editors are just not the proper tool for creating an effective Web design that will arrest and sustain a visitor’s interest.

There is an abundant choice of fonts but not all of them are Web safe. Try to use a font that every visitor is likely to have on his computer and a font that is not a strain to the eyes.For a web designer, there will be some excitement to get creative and deviate from conventions. Many overly creative designs may not be effective designs. Most users will be comfortable with a standard design. Remember bandwidth continues to be a concern for a Website, particularly those sites that expect to attract a lot of traffic. Please keep your site’s file size as low as possible so that it will load up rapidly on a broadband connection.

Using sound coding techniques will keep your site’s HTML small and more manageable. This will not only conserve bandwidth but will also help your site load faster.Distracting elements, like animated gifs or Flash animations, ads with excessive movement tend to distract a visitor and make him uncomfortable. Take care to avoid them.It is often said and worth reiterating – content is king! The content is the reason for your site, and that is what the users want to see and read. Make it as easy to access and convenient to read. Make sure your navigation is easy and the content is relevant and informative.

Keeping abreast of the news in Web development is of paramount importance to a Web designer. Web design technology is in a state of constant flux. To continue to build effective Web designs, you must possess updated knowledge of the emerging technology and trends.

The commandments for a competent web developer are:

• Identify the target audience
• Ensure standards-compliance
• Check for multiple browser support
• Pay special attention to content
• Provide user-friendly navigation
• Ensure use of libraries,
• Incorporate graphics judiciously
• Select background /text colors with striking contrast
• Use a browser safe palette
• Illustrate content with simple non-moving graphics
• Use file formats that are compressed (.jpg) photographs, and drawings in (.gif).