Some people, and you may be included in this group, think that every website is pretty much the same. If you feel that way, browse through Facebook and then look at a site that is hosted on Google. You'll quickly spot the difference and realize that web design matters a lot more than you initially thought. By reading these tips, you will feel more informed about how to go about designing your own site.

When you're thinking about how to design a website, you need to be sure to think about the navigation. You want your navigation to be easily accessible and easy to use. Put the navigation bar on every page in a noticeable place. Also, make sure that it flows well with the rest of your page and doesn't distract visitors.

Don't force users to install strange BHOs. Many tech-savvy users won't do it. Common offenders include unusual video players, image viewers, and platforms for interactive games. For most standard use cases, there is a trusted plugin, such as Windows Media Player or even Flash) that will do what you want without driving away users.

Use images wisely. Bitmap images do not tend to fare well for internet use, and some GIFs do not work well with lots of color. Image size is important as well, as larger images may make your viewers have to wait for them to download. Choose smaller images, and use them sparingly to make your site more manageable.

Wherever your logo appears on your site, you should accompany it with a complementary slogan or tagline. Ideally, this tagline should be catchy and informative, and should offer some basic summary of the purpose of your site or product offering. The combination of your logo and tagline should appear on every page to create a sense of cohesion.

When you design your site, you can make some independent CSS pages. This will allow web browsers to use conditional loading. These techniques can help you test and easily maintain them later. Every website occasionally needs maintenance, so you want to minimize the time you spend here.

A website counter is outdated and not attractive. It may be a neat tool in your mind, but it is unattractive and unfortunately shows visitors how many people actually have come to the page. If this number is low, they may lose interest quickly. Get rid of it and use other ways to see how many people have visited your site.

If you become lost at all during your web design process then you might want to look up videos online. You can find a lot of videos on places like youtube which give you step by step tutorials on what you should be doing during your web designing processes.

Chances are you are not designing the next Twitter or Facebook site. There is quite a bit of amazing competition out there already! Fortunately for you, the tools and knowledge exist that will empower you to create websites just as professionally attractive and functional as the ones that major corporations come up with. Use the information here and get started.