How to Design a Successful Website

It's Easy to Design an Unsuccessful Website - Discover How to Design One that Gets Results

As a web designer I sometimes get clients who know exactly what they want. Unfortunately, often what they want will not result in the success they desire.

Despite offering my best advice on what works and what doesn't, I often find myself designing unsuccessful websites.

A successful website is one that people want to visit, spend time on and return to. Achieving this is straightforward if you follow the rules.

What Kind of Web Site Do You Need?

Think about where you want to go before you start the journey - set your goals first.

Which methods are best suited to meet your goals and how will you measure success?
Consider the choices available

Web Design Tutorials Available

HTML

Enough to get the novice going as well as provide a reference for the more advanced.
HTML Tutorial

HTML Tips

HTML Generator

CSS

How did designers manage before the introduction of CSS?
CSS Tutorial

CSS Tips

JavaScript

Add interactivity to your web pages.
JavaScript Tutorial

JavaScript Tips

PHP

If you're serious about web design then you'll need PHP.
PHP Tutorial

PHP Tips

MySQL

Add serious functionality with the web's favourite database solution.
MySQL Tutorial

Usability

The most important thing to know after HTML. Even the slickest site in the world will be unsuccessful if it's not usable.
Usability Tutorial

Glossary

If there's anyone out there who knows all those annoying Internet buzz words let me know and I'll expand this glossary.
Glossary of Internet Terms

About Web Design Workmate

This site is my effort to provide information on those aspects of web design that combine to create a successful website.

Dave Clark

I began designing websites professionally in 2000 soon after I had completed an Open University BSc Degree and Diploma in computing.

I started, like most, with HTML and CSS, moving on to JavaScript, Flash then PHP and MySQL - along the way picking up what I could about usability and graphic design.

Like many, I learned web design, not only from books, but also from sites like this and for this I'm grateful - so I decided to create this site and pass on what I've learned.

I hope web designers will find the tutorials useful - both professional and non-professional.

My Own Web Site

My own website is www.smallbizonline.co.uk which is based in West Lothian, Scotland, and provides web design for businesses and individuals. Our services include custom web site design (static HTML web sites or database driven web sites), web hosting, content management, shopping carts, Flash design and domain names.

Basics Creating a Document Head and Body Elements Formatting Text Creating Lists Embedding Images URLs Explained Linking to Documents Creating Tables Forms Form Basics Input and Textarea Select Lists Frames Framesets The Frame Element Nested Framesets Targetting Frames Inline Frames		Tips and Tricks Meta Tags Transition Effects HTML Generators Create a Document Create a List Create a Table

Basics Implementing CSS CSS Syntax Pseudo Classes/Elements CSS Classes CSS Properties Font Properties Color and Background Text Properties Border Properties Margins and Padding Size and Position		Tips and Tricks Menu Buttons Special Effects

Basics Running a Script Variables Expressions and Operators Objects.Properties.Methods The Date Object Strings Regular Expressions Defining RegExp Patterns Branches and Conditions Loops Arrays Array Basics Array Methods Sorting Arrays User-Defined Functions Cookies Windows Frames		Tips and Tricks Image Replacement Using Includes Form Validation Debugging

Basics Creating a Script Running a Script Variables Expressions and Operators Strings Strings Basics Strings and Substrings Replacing Substrings Regular Expressions Branches and Conditions Loops Arrays Array Basics Array Functions Sorting Arrays User-Defined Functions Include and Require Uploading Files File Functions Session Variables		Tips and Tricks Page Templates Form Reply Scripts Form Validation JavaScript to PHP