Site Tips

I decided to remove my old 'site tips' article and to start from scratch. The kind of things I wrote on my old site tips article were very 'general': 1. Padding, 2. Line Height, 3. Layout. - Things everyone says. I decided instead to get a piece of paper and write a list of what keeps me on a site after I've only visited it for the first time...

First Impression: Layout

Layout. This doesn't just mean the header, it means the CSS, the front page info, the 'lay-out'.

• CSS:
  What most people suggest is finding two colours and sticking with them, however I have seen some very effective CSS's that use many different colours. If you plan on using a colour pallet, find it before you've made your header image, or else the colours just won't match. (A great site for these is Colour Lovers). If not, and you've made your header image, just simply use a colour picker ! I always find my colours using the colour picker, then I either darken them or lighten them. Try not to be boring with your CSS's. Add some effects to your H1's, add some effects with your links. You may think, "awww, I can't be bothered to do that", but it'll pay off in the end. And while we're at it, the things most people should know - line-height, readable fonts, PADDING.
  
  
• Effects:
  I seem to have an addiction to rollovers (phaha), when I make something; I think about how I could make it stand out more. I mentioned this briefly in the section before, add effects where you can (but not to much, I beg). This could mean just adding a cool star at the side of your H1's, or adding a heart while you hover over your affiliates. Little things like that.

Neatness

Try and keep your site organized and neat: put your texts into bullets where needed, use < br />'s in your blog so it's not one big blob, put some of your content next to each other so it doesn't just run endlessly down the page: just make it neat. Neat doesn't have to be boring, organizing your content neatly can also be original and interesting.

I love seeing how people lay out their content pages, or their about me pages, I love seeing the different styles and lay outs that people can come up with; that also look extremely neat. Neatness is attractive to the eye and will keep people coming back for inspiration.

Content

(If you have any). There are certain things I look towards when viewing content:

• Is it good, or is it just some crap that shows the designer can work hard on their layouts but doesn't care about their visitors?
• Is it easy to use? For example some people have very silly downloads. I used to do this on my old site: I would make an image of smilies and say: FREE TO DOWNLOAD! Expecting the user to cut them out one by one to use. (No wonder nobody used my stuff, phaha).
• Is it even THERE? Or does every page just say: 'under construction'.
  
  Work hard on your content, or else it's really just a waste of time making 'cos nobody wants to use something bad. There are hundreds of graphic sites out there, don't think that someone will use your graphics just 'cos it has your name on it - even if it isn't good. Spending time on stuff pays off, nothing amazing happens quickly. If you don't like something you've made, or don't like a tutorial you've written: remove it. I've put up things on my site before that would just 'irk' me, as in I couldn't look at it cos it would bother me, until I'd remove it.

Promotion

You cannot expect to have a hugely popular site if you do not promote it. There are many ways to promote:
Advertising, twitter, entering competitions.
What will get your visitors coming back though is following the above tips and creating regular HQ content. If you update/blog often, people will come to your site more often to see what's new. I've seen some of the most popular sites go down the drain from them not updating or blogging.

AND Lastlyyyy...

Socialize

Make some friends online, get a twitter, get some affiliates. Web design is not fun if you're doing it all alone.

Good luck. ^_^