Take a look at a high-level professional site, then compare that to a personal site on a free host, and you’ll quickly see that not all websites are created equal. You will find that there are major differences in the appearance and useability of these very different sites. Read on to find techniques which will make your site stand out in a crowd, even compared to these juggernauts!

Watch for new ideas on forums dedicated to website design if you want a head start, or simply to learn more. Google to find the best resources and start your research.

It is very important that you double-check your website for broken links before you publish the pages. There is not much that is more frustrating for visitors than to click a link and get an error page. You can either check links manually, or use a program that will scan the website for you to report links that are broken.

Let visitors cancel actions if they want to. This could mean ordering products, opting in to an email newsletter, or returning to the homepage from deep within your site. If you don’t let visitors back out of an incomplete action, it can be perceived as forcing them to do something, which will probably make them go elsewhere.

Make your content compelling. While how your design looks is important, visitors will not return if there is no content worth reading. Visitors are more like to return to a website that offers useful, pertinent information.

White is a great choice for a background color. It’s simplistic, yet has a lot of potential at adding flare and color elsewhere. If you use a white background, your content can end up being simpler to read — and build trust in your site. However, intricate background images are often difficult to pull off; more often than not they appear sloppy and distracting. Simple is almost always the best option for background.

It would be nice, but it takes a big budget to create a website as profitable as Twitter or Facebook. The odds aren’t in your favor. If you have the right skill set in web design, you can develop websites that work just as easily as the major ones and yours will look better. Use this article to start designing!