Promoting your business online means great design is key. You don't have to have a degree in website design to make a site that is effective, you just have to have the knowledge of what works and what doesn't. Continue reading to learn more about web design.

If you're designing a website, make sure the code you write has a valid HTML+CSS. Although most browsers can make sense of code that isn't valid, it could be rendered correctly or incorrectly. Valid code will render the same way most of the time in modern browsers. You can check the validity of your HTML code with an HTML validator.

You must create a website that is easily navigable to attract and keep traffic. Links should be easy to find and prominently displayed. Having a menu bar on your site can also make navigation easier. Make sure you have links back to your main pages accessible on every single page of your website; that way, visitors are able to always get around.

Test your website in the most popular browsers and platforms to make sure that it displays correctly. Sometimes scripts that work in one browser may not produce the same results in another browser. So you may need take extra measures, like adding a function for browser detection, in order to ensure that your website will display properly under most conditions.

To help your visitors be able to easily read your site, you should design it using contrasting colors. If you use colors that contrast, it makes the text stand out. If you have black text with a black background you will not be able to see the information, but if you have black text with a white background it becomes simple to read.

The best web sites communicate a lot of information in a small amount of words. If you are long-winded, people will easily get bored and find another site that is more concise. Make sure any content is relevant and easy to understand - newspapers use an eighth grade reading level, which is the most common literacy level.

White is perhaps the best option for background color. White puts the focus on the content, making it easier to read. If you are trying to to exude a professional tone, a white background lends a trustworthy feeling to your site. Giving your site a background featuring vibrant colors or complex patterns, though, can give an unprofessional impression and reduce the clarity of your site. Simple backgrounds are usually a better choice.

To help you design a good site, you need to make it so it is simple to navigate. Navigation encompasses everything and is the backbone of your site. So construct a site that flows easily from one area to another, otherwise your site will be very confusing and people will not visit it.

Even if you know how to design sites for the web you still have much to learn. Everyone today is using mobile devices so this means that there is a higher demand for making sites mobile compatible. Start learning how to build mobile sites so that you're knowledgable of how to build various types of websites.

Always utilize media and content that is both relative to your site's goal, but also interesting to the potential consumers who will be viewing your site. A site that has relative info, but that is not interesting, won't captivate its audience. A website that uses fun, but non-relative information, will captivate the wrong audience. Both methods equal profits that you are losing.

If user or customer agreements are found on our website, speak plainly in them, avoiding legal jargon as much as possible. You want your customers to feel like they know what is going on and being said. Legal jargon will confuse your customers, and it will make them uneasy about your site.

Make sure you have different designs from other designs of those in your particular niche. It's easy to see what others are doing by visiting their site. It is obvious that if your website looks like the others, it will not separate you from those you are competing with. You will end up being the generic version of whatever niche you are in.

The ideas and information you have picked up from this article can help you make great websites. When you realize that a little knowledge can take you a long way, your abilities will surprise you. Apply what you've just learned, and you can't go wrong.