The Internet is a precious resource that all people should make great use of. Using the information that you can find online in order to better yourself in certain fields is a productive way to spend your free time. In fact, the accessibility that the Internet gives to people can be used to learn new things every single day, things that could later turn into actual careers. Web design schools and universities became popular quite late, considering that it started as a small niche that not many people were interested in. Moreover, web design tends to expand at the same time technology does.

The most difficult part of learning online is to find resources that are reliable. The Internet hosts pages that are not trustworthy and that can provide you with fake data. Narrow your resources to a few quality ones and avoid overabundance. The question is – can you really learn something exclusively online, without leaving your house? The answer is yes, and the example selected is web design. Here’s how you can master web design with the help of online resources.

You can quickly understand the do’s and don’ts

A person who followed a web design school or university should know all the theory and start applying it at their jobs. Once they start working, they will begin gaining experience based on their own mistakes and successes. This can take a while, considering that graduates are going to create their own way of dealing with the tasks they need to complete. Gaining the necessary experience will teach them what to do and what to avoid.

The major benefit of learning web design online is that you can gather the experience of many web designers in one single place, and select from there the do’s and don’ts that are relevant for your own work, all in the shortest time possible. In some cases, web designers might never stumble upon the tips and tricks they can find by simply searching for information online. Here are some of the do’s and don’ts that web designers should know, summarized in just a few words:

DO’S

• Simplicity always works out, so keep your web designs clean. Too much content or too many CTAs will make visitors rapidly leave the website.
• Create visible, responsive contact forms at the bottom of the page, so that visitors can easily contact the website’s owner.
• Include a navigation bar into your design. This way, users will find what they are looking for by just using a few keywords.
• Use SEO tools to see whether the keywords on the website are appropriate or not. Search engines will recognize the website better.

DON’TS

• Avoid over-complicating details that should remain simple, such as the contact form or the navigation bar.
• Stay away from fonts that are difficult to read or elements that could distract users from finding what they want.
• Don’t underestimate the power of SEO – pay attention to on-page elements that influence the user experience on the website.
• Don’t use too much content (of any type) on one single page, or it will determine the visitors to leave the website within 10 seconds.

You can stay up to date with the latest trends

Books can get outdated when time goes by, and universities that are based on curriculums that are no longer relevant for today’s requirements and trends won't prepare web designers the proper way. On the other hand, the Internet is the perfect source to stay up to date with the latest changes in terms of web design. In 2018, the most important trends in web design included:

• Better lazy-loading

When a website includes a lot of visual content, it tends to load slower. Well, lazy-loading refers to bettering the time in which images load on a website. The user experience is the most important when it comes to web design because it determines whether the user will remain on the page or not in just a few seconds. A page that's loading very slowly will be immediately left, which will send the bounce rate to the roof.

• Using flat designs

Before 2017, web design was focused on animation, 3D illustration, and complex design. Later, design started to shift towards flatness. All big companies started rebranding campaigns to change the way their logos look, transforming them in simple, minimalistic ones. One good example would be Microsoft. Brands such as Google, YouTube, and Apple also adopted a more minimalistic look in time. Flat design continues to be a strong trend in the world of graphic and web design.

• Adopting mobile

Mobile users doubled in number lately and smartphones started to replace personal computers. Around 30% of the total number of mobile users are mobile-only users, which means they never get to see the desktop version of a website. This is the reason why web designers should focus on the adoption of mobile needs.

• Using video content

Videos are the easiest and fastest method to transmit information. Users want to find what they are looking for rapidly and without effort and video content is the perfect way to do that. It's the best way to engage the audience and make people remain on the website. Videos are more effective than static images. Keep in mind that you will have to maintain the website fast in terms of loading time.

The possibilities are unlimited

Studying a topic online is not limited to web design only. By finding good online tuition platforms, you can study disciplines of your own choice, without being limited by schedule, location or other factors that you would encounter in physical schools or universities, all from the comfort of your own home. The Internet is full of quality information that can be used by people to expand their knowledge and abilities, without any costs other than time, attention and motivation. Absorbing information can turn