If you want to have a successful online website, then solid web design is really essential. If can be a huge competitive advantage. Many people do not know how to develop a great looking website. You will learn some things that can help you with web design.
Use the proper graphic tools for web design. Do not use bitmap for your images as they take up too much space. GIFs can be quite good for simple text buttons, screenshots, etc and PNGs are great for images with 256 colors and up. For photographs, opt for JPEGs.
For multimedia presentations, take advantage of the new HTML5 standard. Although HTML5 isn't quite as robust for animation and games as Flash, it has the advantage of working stably on mobile phone browsers, including those contained in Apple hardware. HTML5 is also quite a bit leaner than Flash, so load times will improve, as well.
Don't try to fit too much onto one page when you're designing a website. If your page is too busy it will take a lot longer to load and can overwhelm visitors. When you're going to be putting up a lot of content, create pages for everything you can to reduce the clutter on your page.
Make sure your site passes the NoScript test. Firefox has a simple extension called NoScript that will perform the test. It will be normal for some content not to work, like the ordering system, but a blank page is a red flag.
As this article has shown, web design is a big key to online success. When webdesign is done correctly, it can make you and your business stand out online. Just be sure to make good choices. Make sure to use the advice shared here to make a website that will be effective for your needs and your visitors' needs.