How Can I Create Nice Graphic Images If I’m Not An Artist?

No Comments » Written on January 31st, 2011 by
Categories: Web Design
How Can I Create Nice Graphic Images If I’m Not An Artist?

For a moment, let’s imagine that you wish you could create an image with a sky, some clouds, a few butterflies, maybe some flowers, and throw in some swirly floral effects too while you’re at it. But of course, it’s possible that you can’t actually draw ANY of those things, so you assume there’s no way you can create it yourself. Let me share a little secret.

You Don’t Have To Know How To Draw

You don’t have to be able to draw to create great banner images, ad images, or site graphics. Lots and lots of people who are … Read the rest


What Kind Of Impression Will Your Site Make In 5 Seconds?

3 comments Written on January 28th, 2011 by
Categories: Web Design
What Kind Of Impression Will Your Site Make In 5 Seconds?

Various studies over the years have determined that visitors to your site form an impression within 3-8 seconds, during which time they decide to stay or leave. That’s a very short time to make a good impression, so it’s critical that you consider this when designing your site.

Take A 5 Second Test

To get an idea of how tough it is to comprehend what you’ll remember about a site in a few seconds, go take a random test that lets you look at a site for five-and-a-half seconds, and then asks you to list up to 5 things that … Read the rest


How To Easily Use Cool Fonts On Your Site

No Comments » Written on January 25th, 2011 by
Categories: Web Design
How To Easily Use Cool Fonts On Your Site

For years, webmasters have been limited to using only a handful of “web safe” fonts for their websites. This was due to the fact that if users didn’t have the font you used on their computer, they wouldn’t be able to see it on your site. And since most users only had the default fonts installed by Windows, that pretty much limited everyone to using only those fonts on their sites.

Luckily, those days are over. One of CSS3′s features is @font-face, and luckily, @font-face is supported by all the major browsers, even IE! So any font that can legally … Read the rest


What Base Default Font Size Should I Use For My Site?

1 Comment » Written on January 24th, 2011 by
Categories: Web Design
What Base Default Font Size Should I Use For My Site?

One of the first things you’ll do when designing a site is consider what font to use, and what the default font size will be. Someone new to this usually wants to know what size font is the standard used on websites. There is no right or wrong answer to this question, so I’ll simply give my own opinion and cut right to my answer. My recommendation for a base font size is 12px – 16px, with 14px probably being the best choice in most cases.

Browsers Have Their Own Default Font Size

Did you know that most browsers automatically … Read the rest