A good web designer will create a site so simple that it's elegant. An appealing and user-friendly site will stand out from the competition. Knowing what it takes to create a great website is the only way to achieve that goal. Read on to learn some tips which will help you take your website to the next level.

You need to check your website's performance across a wide array of different web browsers. Every browser will interpret the site slightly differently. Some of the slight differences can cause navigation to be difficult for the user. A little bit of research will help you decide which browsers are used most often, at that time. Perform browser tests on your website, and include the mobile web browsers that are most popular.

Easy navigation is critical to keeping visitors on your site. Make all links prominent and easily located. Menus will make it a lot easier to navigate around your site. To help visitors find their way back, be sure to have a visible link to the main page on all your pages.

Be careful with the color combinations you use when designing your website. You need to ensure that the text on your site is easily readable against your chosen background. There is data that shows that people have an easier time reading dark text on a light background. The opposite is still readable, but not optimal. When in doubt about the effectiveness of your color choices, solicit the opinions of friends.

Make sure that all the files on your website are small in size. You need these small file sizes regardless of the overall design of your site. There is a direct correlation between file sizes and page load times. A website that loads more quickly is always a top priority in web design. You must also be aware that everyone doesn't have a high speed connection to the Internet. Perform tests on your website to make sure that it loads fast, even when a dial-up connection is used.

Don't use Flash on your site. Flash can look, well, flashy, but Flash can also be very slow, especially on older computers. Also, keep in mind that there are mobile phones and tablet PC's which are not flash enabled, and if your visitor goes to your site it will not be a fun experience.

Each web page that is designed should be validated. Some editors, especially ones that don't require you to directly input code, add extraneous code to your webpages that may slow your site down or cause it to work incorrectly. If you use a WYSIWYG editor, go the extra mile and validate your site code through a service. The W3C's web site has an HTML validation widget that will validate your pages at no cost.

When making multiple pages in any subcategory of your site, use the copy/paste feature! It isn't necessary to create all original HTML code for each page of your website. Simply copy the basic code and adjust it for each instance in which it is used. Be sure to save a copy of each adjustment. You can work off the master copy endlessly.

Don't hire any family members to assist with setting up your site. Even if they are experienced in web design, firing them or telling them you are unhappy with their product will become much more difficult.

Learn many server-side languages if you want to diversify your web design portfolio. Learning Java, PHP, MySQL, and other platform skills will only help you in the future. Whether you are designing a new site, or simply helping a friend launch his or her own, a wide variety of experience will help you.

These tips should make it easier for you to create a website that speaks to your target market with an appealing, easy-to-use format. Doing this will improve your success online, which can also result in an increase in your financial success.