| Subject: Web Site |
Author:
john
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Date Posted: 15:26:05 04/06/02 Sat
In reply to:
john
's message, "Web Site" on 12:38:10 04/06/02 Sat
a good short common sence list
Web Design Tips & Tutorial
Site Planning Tips
Create a Site Plan Before You Start Work on Your Site
In order to ensure that you plan your site correctly, the first thing you must do is decide what type of site you plan to create. Generally speaking web sites can be divided into two major groups, style-based web sites, and information-based web sites, both of which will be discussed in detail below.
Style-Based Web Sites
Style-Based Web Sites are sites where users go to see something new or interesting, have fun, or learn something they didn't know before.
Information-Based Web Sites
sites designed specifically to provide users with large quantities of information.
Although your site may not fit neatly into either of these two general categories, it is extremely important for you to think about what type of mixture of form and function your site requires and then plan accordingly.
Site Design Tips
Consistency:
The Key to Web Success
Logos
By placing logos in a common position on all your web pages, users will be able to easily determine that they are at your site
Use Common Images
This tactic is especially useful for title bars, which can be broken up into individual images. When a new page is loaded, the elements from the old page are loaded from the cache
Prioritize Site Content
Another useful tip which can help make your site design more effective is to prioritize all content and images. Once you have prioritized your site, make sure to place the most important sections near the top of your page, and make them larger in size.
Layout Tips
I. Keep It Simple
II. The Four GIF Rule
III. Nestled and Vertical Tables
Ideally, your pages should be comprised of stacks of tables, which make your pages appear to load faster, as the top tables load first, giving the user something to read while waiting for the rest of your content to load.
IV. The Advantages of White Space
This tactic will not only make your content easier to read, but will also make your site more attractive, and give it a balanced look and feel
Page Design Tips
I. Keep Important Sections Above the Fold
One of the keys to successful web page design is keeping all important text and images above the fold
II. Make Sure Text is Readable
III. Create Grid Layers
When designing your page, it is a good idea to create your page all at once, and save it as a single file. Although the file will end up being rather large, it will give you a good idea of the look and feel of the page. After you have your page laid out, create a new upper-most layer using a graphics program, and set it to low opacity. Next, draw blocks on that layer using a color to mark the edges of the images on the page. Using these blocks as a guide, you can then make changes to the images below. The layer of sblocks will help you keep your page consistent, and are extremely useful for dynamic pages.
IV. Avoid Wide Text Columns
When designing your web pages, it is a good idea to avoid wide, margin-to-margin text blocks, which take up a lot of space and can put off readers. Instead, lay out longer text stories in narrow vertical columns. Also try to avoid putting long vertical columns side by side, as it will make the reader scroll up and down the page.
V. Use Sub-categories
In order to avoid large text blocks, break up text into smaller sub-categories. This will assure that your pages are more aesthetically pleasing, and more reader-friendly. Sub-categories also allow readers to select certain portions of content that they are interested in, rather than making them sift through large text blocks.
Navigation Tips
I. Leave Users a Bread Trail
Although bread trails never seem to work in movies, they work quite well on the web. If you look at the top of this page you will see something like this:
Home > Web Design Tips & Tutorial > Navigation Tips
II.Multiple Navigation Paths
Internet users all approach web sites in a different manner, and therefore it is important to make sure that your site offers a variety of ways for users to get around. Although no approach is bound to be perfect for any given user, you should allow users to search for information in their own way by providing several paths to the same information. One way of achieving this objective is to place back and forward arrows on your pages. You can also place related links at the bottom or your pages to offer users another possible approach.
III. Icon/Text Links
When writing your text links, be sure to be concise and to the point. Let your users know exactly what they will get when they click on your links, and use catchy language when possible. Also, when using icons or GIFs as links, make sure to provide an alternate text link in case users are using a browser that does not support your graphics links. Keeping that in mind, graphics links should be used sparingly, as they each require an individual server request, and can cause the page to load slowly.
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