For
the moment forget the good web pages - before you look for such
pages first take a look at a bad
web page - (although in this case it is so bad it is really
quite good).
Once you have seen this
bad page you should begin to understand that there are a few
simple rules which will improve your web pages:
- First
consider the ease with which your page can be read
- Don't type in capital
letters - you lose the shape of the word making it harder
to read. On the world wide web capital letters are considered
SHOUTING!
- Don't type all
your pages in an italic font style - reserve italics
for emphasizing a word phrase or quotation.
- Avoid - it gets very irritating and can distract
the reader. If you must use it get only one area to blink.
Remember too that Internet Explorer won't display it.
- Using more than
two or three font styles on a page looks untidy. Remember
too the only font styles you are reasonably certain that
your reader will have will be the standard variable
width, serif font such as Times New Roman, the sans serif
variable with font such as Arial and the fixed width font
such as Courier
- Avoid the use of
underlining for titles and emphasis. It's better
to use the bold effect and to make headings bigger.
Reserve underlining for links.
- Avoid the use of
vivid backgrounds - they make text difficult to read.
If you must use one then place the text in a table and
use a plain background in it. That can look very effective.
- Use a contrasting
font and background color -
Which
do you think is easier to read? |
Which
do you think is easier to read? |
- Add plenty of what
printer's call 'white space' - blank areas between sections
- Next
consider what happens if the page is printed out.
Most browsers will not print the background by default but
will print the text as the same color as it is on the page
- so yellow text on a black page would be printed in yellow
against a white background (assuming you use white paper in
your printer) If you expect someone will print out your page
then either use a dark font colour against a light background
or provide a link to a printable
page. And of course, place the link at
the page top.
- Wherever
it is appropriate use a graphic
- they add interest to a page. But, take into
account the loading time of graphics. If it takes more than
20 seconds to load a graphic at 28.8 K/second then try changing
the graphic to make it quicker to load. Most graphics can
be optimised using a program such as Paint Shop Pro. If
you have to use a lot of graphics on a page then use a smaller
'thumbnail' version as a link to the full size version.
- By
all means add sound to a page
but if the sound is embedded and auto starts then turn the
volume down in the embed command - your viewer can always
turn it up. If there's a lot of text on the page, it's polite
to put a control so your viewer can turn sound off . Here's
an example of the code used -
<EMBED SRC="icansee.mid" WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="55" AUTOSTART="true"
LOOP="true" CONTROLS="smallconsole" VOLUME="50">
- Remember
to test your web page using different browsers
to make sure everything works properly. In the PC world
that means at the very minimum testing using Netscape and
Internet Explorer - the two main contenders. Maybe one day
they will be fully compatible with each other and use 'standard'
HTML, JavaScript and Java?
- Remember
to include in your pages some code for other browsers
that can't use frames or Java (something to the effect of
- 'You need to upgrade')
- Finally,
if all this is beyond you
- Look
for a web page design service. JayDax
offers one :)
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