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Web 2.0 - What is it?

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EDT

The term “web 2.0” is not the one, you will commonly meet while browsing the Internet. Being widely known among webmasters and IT experts, it is commonly perceived as the next stage of website design, though the term itself is, actually, more about the strategy of the Internet development and evolution than about some particular technology twists or programming languages.

Web 2.0 was introduced to the web design community in 2004. It is said that this term represents a new version of World Wide Web, though it, actually, does not introduce any new technological specifications. In fact, web 2.0 focuses on the concept, showing how the Internet will be used in future. It explains how users will interact with websites, and, consequently, shows directions for website designers, working on modern websites.

The key difference of web 2.0 Internet resources from the older static websites, is its dynamic content, which is regularly updated and changed based on user’s preferences or signals. Internet is no longer about viewing static pages, it is about participating in the life of web resources. User-generated content (feedbacks, comments, etc) is one of the most vivid features of web 2.0. Video-sharing websites, wiki, RSS feeds, p2p and social networks are all the examples of web sites, built on the web 2.0 principles.

Today we see other examples of web 2.0 integration and evolution: cloud computing and software as services platforms (for example, Google Docs and Applications), provided to users through internet browser, are just few examples to mention.

Speaking about the tools and techniques of website design under 2.0 concept, it is necessary to mention that while HTML remains to be the main instrument for pages layout design, a variety of programming languages are utilized to make possible the interaction between a web site and its visitors. Java and XML are widely used now in website design.

Though the definition of web 2.0 term remains somewhere blurry and undefined with enough criticism around it, it is necessary to admit that whatever we call it the Internet has already moved to another stage of its development, and it looks like in the nearest future we are going to face even more drastic changes in the way we use Internet.

Something to Avoid in Website Design

Mon, 03 May 2010 00:00:00 EDT

It is an old wisdom, saying that clever man learns from his own mistakes, while wise man learns from the mistakes of other people. If you are practicing website design, you will have a lot of chances to learn from your own mistakes. However, this way does not look very rational, since it will always be associated with significant amount of wasted time and even money. In this regard learning from others’ mistakes looks more promising, and thus we will try to outline some of the common mistakes web designers do while building their websites.

Overuse of dynamic non-HTML web pages

Though these days HTML pages become more and more rare in the Internet, these are still considered to be the friendliest to the most popular search engines, such as Google and Yahoo. Of course, the temptation to build a website with eye-catching pop-up menus and Flash banners is very significant, but try to find a golden middle between functionality and search engine compatibility. Google and Yahoo crawlers can read HTML very good, but they are not always successful with following php, java, or other script languages. Besides, HTML pages are permanent, while php pages are usually created dynamically when a user clicks on certain page elements, for example, chooses some product from a list. Web search engines cannot click the button on your page, they can only follow the links, so if there is no a direct link to some page, it will never be found and indexed by search engines.

Deleting or changing the location of web pages

After a few months or years of website life webmaster may face the situation when he is no longer satisfied with the layout of the pages, functionality, etc; and a natural desire appears to delete the existing pages and instead create something absolutely new, using all the gained experience and available means, like web content management solutions. However, it is important to remember that the existing pages have already gained some ranking in search engines results, so deleting them will erase all the results earned throughout the life period of the website. So, the general recommendation is to build new pages but avoid deleting the old pages. Let them exist on the web server and generate some traffic to your new website version. Just do not forget to place some links from old pages to the new ones.

Use of framed structure

Frames as the particular elements of the HTML were pretty popular some time ago to build websites. However, the drawback associated with the use of framed layout overweighed the benefits, and now it is almost a taboo to use frames in website design.

Use of poor quality CMS

The number of CMS or content management systems is growing daily. Being simple to use, these systems offer many benefits to web masters. However, it is important to make a choice of a CMS based on thorough research and evaluation. Experiments with CMSs may end in building search engines hostile website and loosing previously earned positions in search results.

Use of Flash and images without text

Flash and graphics could become valuable enhancements for any website. However, it is necessary to use it properly. The point is that graphics does not provide a “readable” content for search engines. It means crawlers cannot understand what is shown on a picture or on a Flash banner until you literally tell them about it. This can be done either with the <alt> tag for images or with special HTML versions for the sites, where Flash is primarily used.

Relative URL addresses

It is recommended to use full URL addresses instead of relative links. For example, http://www.mywebsite.com/library/about.html is better than “/library/about.html”.

Contributing Factors of Effective Website Design

Mon, 03 May 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Website design is definitely a combination of creativity, skills, and technology. In order to make it effective, a webmaster should now consider multiple aspects to ensure the built website will be successful in all respects. Ancient people believed that the world stays on three elephants and a turtle. Similarly, we can say that the modern website design is based on the following basic principles:

Browser compatibility (a successful website works seamlessly in all the major browsers, available today, such as IE, Netscape, Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari);
Multiple screen resolutions support (webmaster should keep in mind that visitors may use computer monitors with different resolutions and adopt their websites accordingly);
Quick site loading (the quicker site is loaded into the browser – the lower are the chances that visitors will not lose their patience and leave your site);
Use of professional fonts (Arial and Times New Roman may look old-fashioned, but the use of such fonts is one of the gold standards of website design);
No broken links (such things as broken links not only irritate visitors but also prevent search engines from rating your website high);
Valuable content (this is a backbone of any website design, which attracts the visitors and helps Google and Yahoo define a place for your website in their search results).

Underlinking and Overlinking in Web Page Design

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

It is not necessary to prove the importance of relevant backlinks for the overall success of an internet marketing campaign. However, the concept “the more – the better” does not fit in here; besides, no one can tell you how many backlinks a particular web page needs to be popular and thus efficient. So, webmasters always need to balance between underlinking and overlinking when creating their own web pages or seeking for the sources of reciprocal links.

Underlinking and overlinking are basically opposite definitions, dealing with a number of hyperlinks on a single page. Overlinking can be explained as the situation, when a web page has too many hyperlinks on it, and underlinking refers to a situation, when a web page does not contain sufficient amount of links to easily and properly understand its content and interact with the web site.

Overlinking is closely related to a simple spam and it neither makes any good in terms of internet marketing nor improves the perception of the particular web page by a real visitors. Basically, choosing among backlinks sources, one should prefer the pages with fewer amounts of hyperlinks on it.

Underlinking in its turn results in the appearance of the so called dead-end pages (web pages with no links at all). Finally, evaluating backlinks sources, webmasters should also avoid placing their links on the pages, where “rel=nofollow” tag is used. This tag tells search engines not to consider the hyperlinks on the particular page, which means such backlinks will not do any good for your site in terms of ranking, relevance, popularity, etc.

Principles of a Great Logo Design

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you may like to consider the use of a logo. Great logo design lies in the art of coming up with an image that is so simple, unique and memorable that it gets etched into the brain of everyone who sees it. Logo design is not something that should be rushed when developing a website because it is common for website designers to use the company’s logo as a starting point. Shapes and colors used in a logo will have a direct impact on how the website designer constructs a website. Logos are often referred to as the centrepiece of a company’s brand image. Logos provide potential customers with first impressions and can convey enough information to sway opinions.

Logos must be designed with every form of media in mind. Firstly, when creating a logo try and imagine what it will look like on a t-shirt, website, business card, letterhead, etc. Secondly, imagine the logo appearing on different surfaces and backgrounds (light and dark). Thirdly, try changing the colors and view the logo in both greyscale and black/white. Finally, try playing with the logo by increasing and reducing its size dramatically. Logos that are too vertical or horizontal will become highly distorted when enlarged or reduced in size, so choose dimensions wisely.

From a design point-of-view, it is recommended that logos only ever incorporate 1-3 colors. Over 75 per cent of top corporate companies only use one or two colors in their logos, so it’s a good idea to follow suit. Logos that feature too many colors often result in the colors clashing, making it difficult for the user to see and identify with. Each individual colour says something about the company, so to keep the message as clear as possible it is a good idea to read up on color psychology and pick colors based on how you want your company to be perceived. Simply choosing colors at random based on personal choices is what leads to poor logo design.

Font choice is the number one most common aspect of logo design that is overlooked. Some companies will go so far as to create their own font-type, just to create a logo that they think looks cool. Looking good means nothing if the user cannot read the logo, understand what it means and then identify with it. A high majority of top logos use common font-types like Arial, Verdana and even Times New Roman.

A great logo will stand the test of time, so it’s recommended that your logo design doesn’t just simply conform to current hot design trends. A great example of a well-designed logo is the famous ‘Nike Swoosh Logo’, who’s tick symbol device works well on any form of media and is universally recognised.

E-Commerce Strategy

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

As part of your website design, you may need to consider the incorporation of an e-commerce strategy. You can improve your e-commerce website strategy by synchronising your website with your MYOB accounting software package. Once integration is complete, everything from shopping cart orders to changes in customer details will be updated to the MYOB database instantly. For example, whenever a customer logs on to change their address, it will automatically update the customer’s file inside MYOB.

By linking MYOB with your website you are more able to effectively and efficiently maintain your product, pricing and stock levels, instantly. For example, if a product suddenly becomes unavailable for a period of time you can simply change this value in MYOB and it will remove that product from the website, making it immediately unavailable for purchase. This is only one example of how MYOB website integration can help your business improve your overall e-commerce strategy.

Although integrating both components sounds like a straight forward task, it is actually quite complex and requires a great degree of planning and development. Specialist web development agencies will conduct a proper analysis to determine exactly what website areas to integrate and what fields in MYOB are updated. If you require a reliable, robust and tailored solution that is unique to your business it will mean some initial investment from your company. This investment may sound like a lot at first, but when you compare it to the cost of regularly manually re-entering data, maintaining stock levels and updating customer information, it’s clear that the only way to truly reach an optimal e-commerce strategy is to integrate your business website with MYOB.

Design for Delivery

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When creating a website for your business one of the key decisions you will need to make will concern your budget. You will not only have to decide on the overall budget for your website project, but also the breakdown of your budget pertaining to things such as design, technology and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

Low Cost Design for Optimised Delivery

Your website budget will depend on how much of your business profitability is related to your website. For example, if your website is purely for marketing purposes, then a brochure style website is all that you will require. A brochure style website would contain information about your business, what you offer, contact details etc. This means that you can keep your website budget at a minimal cost and not spend too much on extensive graphics and complex web designs. However if your website requires e-commerce facilities then be prepared to spend a great deal more. You should however ensure you invest a considerable part of your website budget on SEO.

Investing in SEO Design

SEO is the key to attracting your target audience to your website. If your website is an e-commerce site, SEO is especially essential for you to reach your targeted customer base and generate sales. SEO techniques are constantly being updated and thus ensuring your website is search engine friendly will be an ongoing process. Investing a lot of time, effort and finances into creating a beautiful website which no one knows exists seems like quite a pointless exercise from a marketing point of view. It is therefore much more profitable for an e-commerce website to invest in a considerable amount of SEO.

Cost of Website Design versus Cost of SEO Design

How to divide your website budget between the overall design of the website and SEO will be one of the key debates you will face when creating a website. Do you place more emphasis on design or more emphasis on the SEO of your website? On one hand SEO will help attract a greater volume of clients to your website and thus should be seen as requiring a greater portion of your website’s budget. However, unless your website is well set out with a good web design you are unlikely to keep your clients interested long enough to make a sale or profit from their visit. Thus a balance needs to be struck depending on the nature of your business. Only you will know what will best appeal to your client base and the part your website plays in your overall marketing scheme. Weight out your options, research your competitors and make an informed decision.

Common Web Design Flaws

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The following are a few commonly made flaws when creating web designs for businesses.

1. Using Flash Web Designs

Even though Flash web designs may suit the purpose for certain websites, it is definitely not appropriate for a majority of business web designs. Flash web designs not only make downloading the website slow and tedious, but it also prevents visitors from gaining the information they are seeking quickly. Businesses therefore run the risk of having clients seek alternate websites.

2. Web Designs with Small Fonts

Nothing is more annoying than a website which requires you to squint at the web designs because the font is too small. While small fonts enable businesses to effectively fit in more information on a web page, it is not practical if the customer has difficulty finding the information they are looking for. Always keep your target audience in mind and create a web design which caters to their needs and comforts.

3. Web Designs filled with Animations and Images

Have you ever opened a website and then waited ages until all its animations and images downloaded? This is a very common web design flaw. While animations and images can add value to a web design, too many can distract your client from main purpose of the website. Use graphics in your web designs, but do not go overboard.

Advantages of a Good Logo Design

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The design of your logo can play a large part in your website design. So what are some of the advantages of a good logo design?

A good logo design helps establish a unique identity to your business or product.
A good logo design will help differentiate your product from similar products in the market.
A professional logo design shows customers and clients your organisations professional approach to business.
A well thought out logo design will help attract a new Customer base.

Characteristics of a Top Quality Logo Design

A top quality logo design should be simple, clear and most of all eye catching. Remember the purpose of your logo is to promote your business or product, so you want it to stand out and for people to notice it. A good logo also plays a significant role in visual communication when advertising your product or business.

What is Flash?

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are considering the design of your website you may like to incorporate the use of Flash. Flash, or Adobe Flash, refers to a program which creates multimedia content such as games and movies and enables web pages to come to life with a lot of color and creativity. Web pages created using Flash technology are often far more interactive and colorful than simple html web page designs. However, while Flash does offer a great deal to the creative process of a website, it is not without its disadvantages.

The Disadvantages of Incorporating Flash Designs

Websites with Flash designs may experience incompatibility with certain web browsers.
Flash designs often require the user to have the latest version of Flash plug-ins to be compatible.
Search engines are often unable to process and rank a website which predominantly uses Flash designs. Thus a text only or html web page design may need to be produced to calculate SEO.
Flash designs often take longer to load than simple html web pages.
Flash designs are widely used in web advertisements, and thus some browsers may contain tools to block Flash content from appearing.
Not all web browsers may have a flash player installed and so it may limit the number of clients who can actually view your web page design.
Websites created using only Flash designs often contain very small fonts thus making them very hard to read.

Maintain a balance with Flash Designs

It is not uncommon for some web designers to get carried away with Flash designs. Remember a web design that is too busy with web pages full of graphics, animated banners and other Flash elements can be off putting to some clients, especially if your web page takes forever to download all of these unnecessary elements. The key is to understand your key demographic and cater to what would best attract and maintain their attention. Strike an appropriate balance between Flash animation and informative web content.

Web Design and HTML 5

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

It is quite likely that if you have been reading about website design you may have come across references to HMTL 5.

HTML 5 - What to Expect

HTML, which is an abbreviation for Hyper Text Mark up Language, is the major language used for creation of the web. Over the years HTML has been developed and redeveloped with the aim of creating an optimal version. Work on HTML 5 which is the fifth revision to HTML began almost three years ago and is still a work in progress.

There are many proposed new features which will be included in HTML 5. The following are two examples.

HTML 5 will contain new block level elements

The new block level elements featured in HTML 5 can be broken in to section, header, footer, nav and article. This will able the mark up of documents with greater structure in comparison to the current non-semantic div elements. All these will help move HTML5 towards becoming a scientific document mark up language.

HTML 5 will include various presentation elements

The decision to include various presentation elements to HTML 5 has been quite controversial. However HTML 5 will see the inclusion of elements such as i and b. The inclusion of such elements into HTML 5 is to prevent authors from abusing elements such as strong and em to obtain presentational effects.

Creative Web Design

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When approaching creative web design, it is important to choose a web designer who understands that there is more to being creative then just coming up with new ideas. Creative web design is all about finding the perfect balance between three ways of thinking. All ways of thinking can be both learned and enhanced.

The first way of thinking is called analytical. Having analytical ability involves approaching web design from a critical standpoint. The web designer must think convergently and constantly be evaluating their thoughts and ideas. Having a new idea means nothing if the web designer cannot determine if the idea is good or bad. Coming up with good creative web design is all about culling ideas down to a select few.

The second way of thinking is called synthetic. Having synthetic ability involves divergent thinking and refers to the generation of new ideas. The web designer must think spontaneously and instantaneously make connections between differing ideas. If a group of web designers all have great ideas, a synthetic thinker will be able to take the best parts of each and combine them in a unique way. This is the key to great creative web design.

The third way of thinking is called practical. Having practical ability involves turning a good idea into a reality; it also refers to making other people believe in the idea. The web designer must follow through and communicate the idea to everyone involved. It’s really about making people realise the potential for fantastic creative web design.

Typography for Website Design

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

A very important aspect of any website design is the choice of typography. There is more to typography than simply choosing a suitable font for a web page or deciding on the correct text size for a document. Typography for the web has made massive in roads with web browsers which can now support images. Web designers are now free to be as creative as they please with their web typography and can really focus on creating web designs which truly attract the viewer’s attention.

What is Typography?

Typography is the concept of creating a reader friendly web page which will also attract the attention of its viewers. There are four fundamentals parts to achieving good typography. These are contrast, size, hierarchy and space. Let’s examine each of these areas more closely.

The Value of Contrast with Typography

While certain colors may blend and look really good in some circumstances, they are not always great when it comes to web typography. You need to make sure the chosen typography for your website contrasts significantly with the background color of your site. After all the whole idea of adding text to a website is to ensure viewers actually read it.

Size Matters when it comes to Typography

It can be really off putting to viewers when the typography of a web page is too small. You want to make reading your text as easy as possible, so ensure you don’t opt for text which is lower than 10px. Remember, when it comes to typography, the bigger the text the better.

Hierarchy and Typography

A good way to differentiate between the key elements of website text is by introducing a hierarchy system to your typography. Make the most important aspects of your site stand out.

A Clean Space helps Typography

To ensure typography is clearly presented to its viewers, web designers should avoid cluttering up the web page and instead try to maintain space so that the web page is clear and easy to read.

Tips for Overcoming Your Creative Block

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An extremely important aspect of any website design is the content contained on each web page. Here are a few tips if you are having trouble coming up with quality content.

Focus on the main words

A good way to get the creative juices flowing is to focus on the keywords of the original brief. By writing down the keywords on a blank sheet of paper, web design and copywriting professionals can then remain focussed on the most important words without getting distracted but the bulk of the brief. The copywriting or web design professional should then write down as many associations as possible. This will help the web design or copywriting professional with the brainstorming process.

Accumulate inspirational Web Designs and Copywriting Excerpts

While browsing the internet or magazines collect any inspirational web designs and copywriting pieces which catch your interest. File these away for future use, such as for days which you are experiencing a creative block.

Focus on the Target Audience

If you are experiencing difficulty creating a web design or copywriting piece from the original brief, then focus on the target audience instead. Browse magazines or online search engines to gain ideas of what type of web designs or copywriting content is suitable for your target audience and then embark on creating a masterpiece of your own.

Take a Break from Web Designing or Copywriting

If all else fails, one of the simplest way to get your mind back on track is to take a break. Go for a short walk, or simply fix yourself a cup of coffee and then try again. Create a timeline for yourself for the creation of your web design or copywriting piece and adhere to these deadlines. Discipline is crucial for web design professionals as is for copywriting professionals.

Provide Compelling Content

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An important part of website design is making sure you provide a compelling reason for your visitors to return. You need to make sure each page in your website has something valuable to offer.

Even though this may not necessarily relate to design, it is actually more important than design. Fundamentally a web page exists to provide something that is useful or interesting to visitors. If your page does not have that, then you must fix that problem before you worry about how to present it. If you throw mud at a canvas, then even if it is in a gold frame, it's still just a canvas of mud. What are you offering to your visitors? Why is it worth their time to visit your website? You need to focus on that before you move on to how it should look.

If your plan is to make money from advertising, then go for a ratio of not less than 75% editorial to 25% advertising. Some sites are almost nothing but advertisements. No one would turn on the TV if it were just commercials, and no programs, or buy a magazine if it were just ads, and no articles. By the same token, a website also has to have more than ads if it is to be successful.

Avoid Sleazy Elements

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One aspect of website design you may like to consider is avoiding the use of sleazy elements. Try and avoid distracting your visitors with blinking or scrolling text, animated GIFs, or auto-loading sound.

Animation and sounds are distracting. How can anyone concentrate on reading what is on your website when there are things flying around the page? It is like trying to read a newspaper when someone's poking you in the shoulder repeatedly. In addition, visitors who have slow internet connections may resent that you wasted their time by forcing them to load animations and sound files against their will. Conventional wisdom is that people will be drawn to an animated advertisement, but it is actually the opposite: Readers who are assaulted by blinking ads are more likely to leave the site immediately without clicking on anything, and are far less likely to bookmark the site, return to it, link to it, and recommend it. That is why research shows that animated banner ads may be no more effective than static ads.

Another problem with scrolling text is that the reader cannot read it at their own pace. They are forced to read it at whatever speed you deliver it. They might have preferred to read those two sentences quickly and then move on, but because it is scrolling they have to sit there and wait for the text to slowly appear.

This leads to an important point: always keep your visitors' interests in mind. Aim to please them, not yourself. Scrolling text does nothing to serve the visitor. If it is on a site it is probably because the site owner thought, "Let me show how cool I am."

Do Not Annoy Your Visitors with Pop-Up Windows

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, it is probably a good idea to try and avoid the use of pop-up windows. Nobody likes pop-ups. The main reason a site would have pop-ups is because the site owner is thinking of their own interests rather than the readers. When most people are browsing they hate pop-ups, but suddenly when people switch hats and become site owners, they lose their ability to see through the users' eyes. So try and remember to put yourself in their shoes. Which of these reactions to pop-ups is a visitor is more likely to have?

(a) "A popup window, oh goody! I love sites with pop-ups! I will make certain to bookmark this site and visit often. I will also certainly click the ad or links in the popup because I love them so much."

(b) "@#&$! Whoever made this website obviously has no respect for me as a visitor. When I leave here I will never come back."

Do Not Use Image Backgrounds

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are considering the design of your website, it is worth paying attention to the use of images for your background. In many instances, image backgrounds scream "amateur" because it is mostly amateurish sites that use them. Can you think of a single professional, respected site that uses image backgrounds? Not Google, Yahoo, eBay, Amazon, the New York Times, Webmaster World, or any others.

One reason that backgrounds scream "low quality" is because sites that use them are often user-hostile in many other ways as well. For example, you may find that a site with an image background is also slow to download, has internal links that pop up into brand-new windows, links that are the exact same color as the surrounding text, cheap animated GIFs, blatant keyword stuffing and numerous embarrassing misspellings.

Alas, just as people were starting to understand that background images are cheap and garish, along came MySpace to re-popularize a bad idea. It is not surprising that MySpace is a poster child for bad design in other ways, with obtrusive advertising, force-loading music, distracting animations, and super-slow-loading pages.

Another problem with image backgrounds is that they take longer to load. You definitely do not want to have a whopping 144k image background. Having said that, image backgrounds are okay if you know what you are doing. They can work if you make sure the contrast is very high, or you do not put any text over them.

Make Content Easy to Find - Part 1

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are considering your website design, it is very important that you make sure that your content is very easy to find.

Put some thought into organization

Think about what content you have and how it should be organized. This is equally as important as what your pages look like, so spend some time on it. You do your readers a disservice if they cannot easily find what they are looking for if everything is thrown up on your site in a disorganized fashion.

Minimize clicking

Place as few clicks as possible between your visitor and your information. This is very important. The more you force your visitors to click around your site the more likely they will leave it. Even if they do not leave they might get annoyed, or not view as much of your content, either of which is bad for you.

It is a good idea to avoid the use of a splash page for your home page. A splash page is a page with no meaningful information on it, that simply "welcomes" visitors to the site, along with an "Enter Site" link. After someone takes the effort to visit your site, take them to your site straight away.

A related idea is to put meaningful amounts of information on each page. If a page does not have at least 400 words, you probably should combine that page with another short page.

Along with minimizing clicking, it is also a good idea to minimize scrolling, also.

Limit page length to 2 screenfuls, or 6-7 screenfuls for articles

Whilst you should put plenty of information on each page to minimize clicking, do not go too far in the other direction by putting too much on a page. You should normally limit a page to no more than two screenfuls of information. Very long articles, more than about 6-7 screenfuls, should usually be chunked into separate pages.

Make Content Easy to Find - Part 2

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are considering your website design, it is very important that you make sure that your content is very easy to find.

Include a way to get back to the home page, on every page

When users get lost they like to start over from square one. Make it easy for them to do so. If you are including a clickable logo on the top of every page, make sure to also include text that says something like "Home", because some users do not realize that logos take you back to the home page.

Also remember that users might not be able to hit the "Back" button to go back to your home page, because they might have entered the middle of your site after clicking a link to it from a search engine or from some other site.

Include a menu on every page

Whilst you should provide a way for users to get back to your home page quickly, you should not compel them to go home before they can go somewhere else. Include a menu on the left or the top of each page.

Do not place navigation links only at the bottom of pages, because then users will have to scroll down to the bottom to get to them (unless your pages are very short). Users clearly dislike links at the bottom of long pages. On long pages, you'll want navigation elements on both the bottom and the top or left, so that users who have read a lengthy page don't have to scroll back up to get to the menus.

Do not use frames

You may be tempted to use frames because it makes it easy to have the same header or menus appear throughout the site. Usability studies do show that users find sites with frames "Easy to Comprehend", "Easy to Navigate", and "Easy to Find Info". But there are two serious downsides to frames. First, the address bar does not change as you go from page to page. That makes it impossible for anyone to bookmark or link to a specific page in your site, or to share that page with a friend by emailing them the link. Second, when a page within your site other than the frameset shows up in a search engine, a visitor clicking over to that page will see just that subpage without the surrounding frame.

Do Not Slow Your Website Down

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, it is important to carefully consider how long the site will take to load.

Compress image files

Nothing is more annoying to visitors than waiting for a 200k graphic to load when it should be only 20k instead. Graphics software can compress files so they take up less room on your disk, and therefore take less time to load into your readers’ browsers. The simplest method is to obtain some graphics software and shrink those file sizes.

Also, do not slow your site down with auto playing sound files, either.

Do not let flashy multimedia ruin your site

Flashy graphics and multimedia controls may look nice, but they are bad when they make it hard for visitors to get the information they want from your site. Nobody wants to be annoyed by having to use a cumbersome Java scroller to see all the text in a field, much less wait for various other features to load.

Website Readability - Text Width

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Your website design considerations should look carefully at the readability of your website.

No line of text should be more than about 600 pixels wide

The reason that newspapers and magazines are printed in columns is to make the lines short, so after you read one line, it is easy to find the start of next one.

One approach to making line length manageable is to put the text in a fixed-width table in the center of the page. Another approach is to place sidebars to the left and right of the content. A potential problem with that layout is that the content will be too wide for visitors with large screens, since the content is dynamic and expands when the window is larger. A way around that is to make the content a fixed width, but that poses another problem as pages should be designed to work on screens as small as 800x600, which means no more than 770 pixels wide to account for scrollbars and such. The two sidebars on the page in question take up about 175 pixels each, or 350 pixels total. That leaves 770-350 = 420 pixels for the content, which is really thin and ugly on the larger 1024x768 monitors, which are the most common. So if you want two 175-pixel sidebars, you can either:

(a) make the content 420 pixels wide, which will look ordinary on 800x600 screens,

(b) or you can make the content fluid, which will look okay on both 800x600 and 1024x768 screens, but worse on even larger screens.

Option (b) is probably the better solution because that gives the best result for the majority of web visitors.

Website Readability - Page Width

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you consider your website design, you should pay careful attention to the width of your page.

Do not make your page too wide

Most users have 1024x768 monitors, so pages should be completely visible at 1000 pixels wide without horizontal scrolling. As of 2009, about 10% of users have a screen that is 800x600 pixels or less, so many designers make their pages work at sizes as small as 770 pixels wide. The trade-off is that if you design for 770 pixels, you are wasting the space available to the other 90% of your visitors.

You could use a "fluid" design that is wide as the user's window, whatever that may be, but it is hard to make fluid designs that look good at any resolution. What size to format your pages for is a tough decision full of trade-offs, however, if your page does not work at 1000 pixels, it is too wide.

Website Readability - Colors

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you consider your website design, you should pay careful attention to the colors you use on the pages.

Use contrasting colors or simple backgrounds to make text easy to read

It is hard to read light text on a light background, or dark text on a dark background. There are also some color combinations that just do not work.

Also, it is hard to read text on background images that have a wide mixture of light and dark. Any background images should be simple and mostly dark or mostly light. You can improve readability of text on a background image by increasing the text size and/or making it bold.

You should avoid putting text on an image or textured background. Unless you really know what you are doing, such text is usually difficult or annoying to read, if not impossible.

Website Readability - Line Spacing

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The spacing of lines can be an important consideration for your website design.

Increase the line spacing to improve readability

Putting some space after each line gives it some breathing room and makes it a lot easier to read. If you do not specify the leading, you do not get any and you get the default of cramped lines. Increasing the line spacing can add some attractive space between the lines and makes the text appear less daunting. However, if the line spacing is not enough, it can be much less attractive and harder to read.

Add spacing by using CSS commands. To set the leading for a table cell, use something like:

<td style="font:11px/160% Verdana">

For a long block of text put all the text between div's:

<div style="font:11px/160%>(long block of text)</div>

That's enough to get started, but to really master CSS you'll want to learn how to create CSS rules.

Website Readability - Use of Capitals

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you consider your website design, you should pay careful attention to your use of capitals.

Do not type more than a few words in ALL CAPS

Words that are in ALL CAPS draw attention to themselves because they seem different from the small letters around them. But if you type everything in all caps, then you completely lose the effect, since everything looks the same, so none of it looks important. If you want to draw readers' attention to something, make the headline stand out by using bold, bright color, maybe a little larger, but keep the text that follows it normal.

Website Readability - Use of Exclamation Points

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at the design of your website, you may like to consider how you use exclamation points.

Never use more than one exclamation point!

Typing several exclamation points does not make your text seem any more important than just one. In fact, rather than conveying urgency, what multiple exclamation marks really scream is "Amateurish!" The writer is desperate to get the reader to believe something. But think about it, do exclamation marks really impress you when you read them? Are you more likely to believe something because it has an exclamation mark at the end? It is probably the opposite. You are used to desperate marketers trying to sell you something with their exclamation marks, so when you see lots of them you sense that desperation and tend to discount what they are trying to convince you of. So when you switch hats and you are the one giving the message, do not let your desperation show by using lots of exclamation marks.

The Use of Links - Part 1

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An important aspect of your website design is how you use links. Below are a few ideas you may like consider.

Do not underline words if they are not links

On the web, something that is underlined is supposed to be a link. If you underline without cause, readers will be annoyed when they try to click those underlined words only to discover that they're not really links. If you want to emphasize something, use italics, boldface, or another color instead.

Make links blue or underlined, or both

Users expect links in body copy to be blue and underlined because that is the way they appear on 99% of other websites. If you use a different color then at least the underline is a clue that a link is a link. Similarly, if you remove the underline but keep the link blue, then the color is the clue that a link is a link. So it is best to use both blue and underlined, but using at least one or the other is acceptable.

Links in menus do not have to be blue or underlined, as long as they are clearly menu items. The blue/underlined tip is for links that are in the main content of the page.

Explain what you are linking to

When you are able to provide more information about what a link points to, do so. For example, if your site has a Links page, include a short description of each site you link to, say 1-5 sentences. That way visitors have an idea of what is on those sites, which will help them make their decision on whether to visit those sites, and help them find what they are looking for, while avoiding what they're not looking for.

Nothing is less useful than a lot of links to other sites when those links consist of nothing more than the names of those sites. Without any description of what you are linking to, readers are forced to visit each and every site to get an idea of what's there. Imagine 100 of your visitors all repeating that same laborious surfing, needlessly. You could have told them what is on those sites because you (presumably) visited those sites yourself, so you know what is on them.

The Use of Links - Part 2

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An important aspect of your website design is how you use links. Below are a few ideas you may like consider.

Do not open internal links in a new window

It is not a good idea to pop up a brand new window when a visitor clicks a link within your site because that only annoys users when they suddenly have lots of windows open on their screen. Opening new windows for external links to other sites is fine, but links within a site should always open in the same window. Visitors can still get around your site just fine when links open in the same window because you have included a good navigation menu at the top or the left of the page. Opening new windows means that after five clicks within your site, your visitor's screen is cluttered with six different windows.

Use descriptive link text

The text of a link should describe what is being linked to. You should never, ever use words like "link" or "here" or "click here" as the link text. Readers prefer to scan web pages rather than read every word, and you make that impossible if you use generic, non-descriptive words as the link text.

Be Accessible

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are considering your website design, it is important to remember that you must remain accessible to your visitors.

Place your contact information, or a link to it, on the top and/or bottom of every page

Do not waste your visitors' time by making them search around your site for how to contact you. Make your contact information simple to access. Place your contact information, or a link to it, on the top of every page.

If you are not printing your phone and/or email anywhere because you do not have the resources to handle inquiries, then do your readers the courtesy of letting them know that, so they do not spend lots of time searching in vain for contact information that does not exist.

Unfortunately you cannot link up your email address with a simple mailto: link, unless you want lots of spam. That is because spambots are good at stealing such addresses from web pages. You will need to hide your email address from spambots.

Make Certain Your Website Works

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Even after you have a successful website design, your work does not end. You need to ensure that the website actually works and that it keeps working over time.

Test your links

Make sure your website works. Load your site in a browser from the Internet (not from your hard disk), make sure all the images appear correctly and click on all the links. This may seem obvious, but many people do not try their website before they publish it. If you are using a link checker that is built in to your web editor and your site is framed, then you cannot depend on the link checker, because it cannot check for framing problems, for example pages load into wrong frames, clicking a link results in frames within a frame, etc. You will need to check these manually yourself.

Remove dead external links periodically

If you link to any external sites, some of those links will almost certainly stop working at some point as the sites move or become extinct. Do not waste your visitors' time by forcing them to follow broken links. Check your links at least once every few months. You can use software to automatically check your links to external sites to see if any of them have gone dead.

Include a "Last Modified" date on the top or bottom of your pages

If your website contains information that could become outdated, then do your visitors the courtesy of letting them know when the information they are reading was written. That way, visitors do not have to worry about whether the information was written last week or five years ago.

If your content by its very nature cannot become outdated, for example poetry, stories, art, website design tips, then a date is not absolutely essential. However, readers may still appreciate knowing when a page was written anyway.

Stopping Spam

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Your website design should look closely at how you handle your email address. If you place an email address on a web page without taking special precautions, spammers will steal it. They use automated programs called spambots which search websites looking for email addresses to add to their lists. It is not that they might lift the address, they will lift the address. Usually, it will not take long. If you are putting email addresses on the web, you must take precautions to prevent this, particularly if you are posting someone's address other than your own.

If you think, "That's okay, I have a spam filter," then you are in for a nasty surprise. Your filter will sometimes send real messages to your spam folder by mistake, and you will not see them. If you think you can just check your spam folder occasionally, can you really do that when you get hundreds or thousands of spam messages a day? And if you think it is alright because you are not currently getting that much spam....if your email address is on a web page, then someday you will.

Spam filters are not a solution, you have to prevent spam in the first place. And the first step is removing any plain address from the web right away.

There are a number of ways to hide your email address from spammers. Unfortunately each of them has a downside. Then again, spam is worse than the downside, so we accept the downside because it is better than surrendering our addresses to spammers.

In a perfect world, you could have all of the following on your web pages:

Address is visible to users
Address is copyable
Address is clickable
Javascript is not required to display the address
Users do not have to hassle answering a challenge-response email

When you do something to keep spambots from stealing addresses from your web pages you will give up at least one of those features. It is the price of thwarting spambots, but it s a necessary price.

None of these things will prevent spam that you are already receiving. Once an address has been stolen by spammers there is no way to get them to "un-steal" it. Like so many things in life, if you wait until something becomes a problem, then often there's no easy solution.

What is Hotlinking?

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you may come across the term hotlinking. Hotlinking, inline linking, remote linking and many other terms are used to describe a way taking images, or other files and embedding it directly into a website. In other words, it is the unauthorized use of someone else's bandwidth. Hotlinked files are files not stored on your own server. For example, a hotlinked image code would look something like this:

Why is hotlinking wrong?

If the person who owns the media file you are embedding into your own website gives permission to hotlink, then nothing is wrong. However, this is not normally the case.

If you do not have permission, remote linking to any media and/or program file is theft. Even if it is a clipart archive offering free images, a music server giving away free tunes or a website with freeware. Unless the original website specifically states otherwise, hotlinking is stealing.

You may say "I didn't steal anything, the file is right where the owner left it!" However, each time a file is called from our servers we have what is called a data transfer request, or another way of saying it, we have bandwidth used.

Bandwidth is a bit like gas for a car. Every time you drive (or a file is loaded), a bit of fuel (or bandwidth) is used up. Now imagine if each night one of your neighbors siphoned out a tiny bit for their own car, then other neighbors thought "I'll just take a couple drops as well", by morning your fuel tank is empty. Your neighbors each thought taking just a tiny bit would be unnoticeable, but added all up it left nothing for you.

Serving up images is not only usually our biggest consumer of bandwidth, when others remotely link to them, i.e. embed them in their websites from our servers without our permission, we have to pay as bandwidth is not free. Most websites have a limited amount of data transfer and the website owners either have to pay extra money each month to pay the fees, or face shutting down.

Formatting Tips to Speed Up Your Website - Part 1

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the most important aspects of your website design is how fast your site loads. Here are a few tips to help speed up your website. Whilst more and more people are getting access to high speed internet, there are some left on dial up. Be kind to those visitors and do a few, simple things to speed up your webpages. Not only will these tips give you a faster load time, most will also help keep your bandwidth fees low as well.

Use CSS for Faster Pages

Even if you decide to use tables, CSS can greatly improve your web sites load time. With your styles in an external .css file, the browser can cache all the formatting and stylizing for your pages instead of having to read each and every single tag all over again. Also, it cuts down on long drawn out tags and replaces them with smaller class styles instead.

Use External Scripts

Are you using the same script on multiple pages? Switch to an external script such as loading javascript files from one source instead of adding all that code to each of your pages like this:

That way the browser already has it in it's cache and won't have to read it each time another page loads. This one saves a ton of load time, specially for larger scripts!

Remove Anything You Really Do Not Need

Whilst this may sound obvious sometimes the hardest thing about creating a website is not using every fancy trick that you know. Images, flash and sometimes even sound files are very impressive, but do you really need to showcase all your talents on one page?

Embedded sound files are something many people just find annoying anyway. You may be surprised how many are surfing at work. The last thing anyone wants is a loud music or sounds announcing to their boss that they are surfing. Also many people have their own music playing and hearing a song over top of what they are listening to is less than pleasant. As for Java applets, try to ditch them or if you want those effects, JavaScript unusually loads faster and can do just as much or more. Stand back and take a critical look at your website, you may see a few special effects that can be let go of for the sake of faster load time.

Formatting Tips to Speed Up Your Website - Part 2

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the most important aspects of your website design is how fast your site loads. Here are a few tips to help speed up your website.

Avoid Nested Tables

Many website designers are not big fans of using tables for layout. However, if tables seem necessary (or the easier way to do it), try to avoid nesting. This is because when you place a table inside another table, it takes a lot longer for the browser to work out the spacing since it has to wait to read the entire html and then work out the layout. If at all possible, try using CSS to create the columns on your page.

Avoid Full Page Tables for Faster Rendering

If you use tables, try avoiding the whole page being one big table. The browser will not show anything until it has read the whole table. For a faster loading webpage, either try multiple tables (not nested) or having content above the main table to make your content in the first table show up faster. That way your visitors will have something to read while the rest of your page loads. It may not really make you page faster, but it will feel like it to your visitors.

Split Up Long Pages - Multiple Short Pages Load Faster

By splitting up long pages into multiple pages you not only make the content show up faster but many people that see a very long scroll bar give up. Remember, people's attention spans are often short as so much information is available at our fingertips. Try breaking your content up into more readable lengths.

Formatting Tips to Speed Up Your Website - Part 3

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the most important aspects of your website design is how fast your site loads. Here are a few tips to help speed up your website.

Remove Excess "Whitespace"

Whitespace is the spaces between your coding, removing the unneeded tabs and spaces can help a lot. Doing this will take a lot of extra bytes off the total size of your page and will speed up load time quite a bit. However, be careful using automatic squishers, as they can squish too much and make it difficult to edit later on.

Keep Your Code Clean

If you do use a wysiwyg editor, most times the will add useless code to your pages. For example, many will leave empty tags (ie. <font> </font>). Removing any of those excess tags will not only speed up your load time, but make you pages validate a lot cleaner.

Do Not Go Overboard On Images

Whilst images can greatly enhance the look of a site they can really slow it down if there are too many. Try to decide if all your images are really needed. There are quite a few nice effects can be done with css, so sometimes images are not required.

Formatting Tips to Speed Up Your Website - Part 4

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the most important aspects of your website design is how fast your site loads. Here are a few tips to help speed up your website.

Height and Width Tags

When the page loads and the image size is already defined (i.e. you have used the height and width tags), the browser knows where everything will be before the images are loaded. Otherwise the page has to wait and load the images before the text. The same goes for tables, so try to use width tags when possible on those as well for a faster loading page.

Reduce Image File Size

There are many totally free, online image optimizers so you do not even have to install anything and it is very easy. Online Image Optimizer will greatly reduce the file size of your gif, jpg, or pngs and neither you or your visitors will be able to see the difference other than a page that loads a lot faster. They also keep the transparency and animations in gifs. For another JPEG reduction, try JPEG Wizard, also free, this one will only work with pictures in your hard drive not ones from the net. You can also choose some simple effects to be done (flip, mirror and rotate).

GIF vs JPG vs PNG

Some web designers are now opting for optimized pngs. They have lossless compression, unlike jpgs and can be used without worry (gifs have the potential to have copyright issues) and load fast. However, if you still want to use gifs and jpgs, and you do not need sharp resolution, choose GIFs over JPEGs, as GIFs generally load quicker. JPGs are generally best for photos, GIFs for anything else.

How to Create a Custom 404 Page

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you may like to consider creating your very own custom 4040 page. Does this look familiar?

"Not Found

The requested URL was not found on this server.

Apache/1.3.31 Server at www.example.com Port 80"

We have all seen that too many times while looking around the Web. And if you are like most people you just hit the back button and try another website. Why not make a custom 404 page that is friendly for your website visitors and gives them a way back to more familiar, or at least not lost, territory.

These tips won't work for windows servers, but are perfect for Unix hosts.

Step 1 - Create the .htaccess

To begin open up your .htaccess file if you already have one, if not open notepad or your favorite text editor (No, a WYSIWYG editor won't work here) and add this line:

ErrorDocument 404 /404.php

You can name your error file whatever you would like and use whatever extension you are most comfortable with.

Step 2 - Create the Custom 404 page

Create a file called 404.php (or whatever you wrote in your .htaccess), add whatever you want your visitors to see when they hit a missing page. A sitemap or search is nice, along with letting them know the file they requested is not available.

Step 3 - Upload

Make sure your FTP program is set to upload as ASCII, upload the 404.php, then the .htaccess.

Step 4 - Check it

Make sure your browser cache is clear and type in a file you know does not exist on your server. You should be seeing your new, and much more welcoming 404 page.

Step 5 - Double Check it

This is important, make sure your custom 404 is actually sending a 404 header! The best way is using the Firefox extension called Live Http Headers. It shows you the entire conversation between your browser and the website. Again, type in a file you know does not exist on your page, it should say 404 Not Found, not 200 OK. If you have images on your 404 page, those will show code 200 which is exactly what you want because they are there, so scroll to the top of the header testers output and read carefully. The page itself should send a 404. If it is showing a code 200, remove the .htaccess and try again. The last thing you want is for the search engines to see a 200 response code for a page that does not really exist.

How to Link to a Specific Spot on a Page

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are designing your website, you may have a requirement to link to a specific spot on a page. Or maybe you want to add a link back to the top so they can get back to your navigation menu or any other area within the page? Targeting within a page is very easy.

The XHTML Compliant Way to Link Within a Page

XHTML compliant means that it will help your pages validate as XHTML Strict, the old way will not pass. This method is just as easy as the older link jump and when you continue getting better at designing you will probably be glad you did it this way in the first place as there is no messy editing later.

1) Name the Target

Choose the exact spot you want to send your link to, choose and element near it, such as a div, header tag, paragraph, it does not matter as long as it's in the right spot. Add id="something", you can call them anything you like as long as the names are the same in the link and the target ID and preferably no spaces (spaces change to %20 in the address bar and look a tad messy).

An example would look like this:

The content of your div here.

</div>

2) Link To Your Anchor Target

To link to your anchor simply use:

or if it's on another page:

How to Link to a Specific Spot on a Page - Another Approach

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are designing your website, you may have a requirement to link to a specific spot on a page and there is another way other than the XHTML compliant way to link within a page approach.

The Old Way

This way of jumping to a spot within a page is not as good an idea for a few reasons. The "name" attribute has been depreciated for XHTML, and using tags you already have on your page like <h1>, <p> or any other places you can add id's will leave you less clutter on your page. (i.e, you can use them for css styles, javascript and a lot more.)

With that said, just in case for some reason you want to try the other way, here it is. As with the linking method, you can call it anything you'd like, try not to use spaces though as they look rather messy in an address bar.

1) Naming the Target

Choose a spot on the page you want to link to and make an anchor by making a link mostly as usual but instead of "href" add "name" inside it.

Here's an example:

<a name="whatever-you-want-to-call-it">something here so you don't have an empty tag</a>

2) Linking to your new jump spot

This step is the same as for the previous method:

See, either way you choose to link within the page it's fast, easy and can be very helpful to your visitors.

Site Navigation Design Tips

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Navigation of links on your site are extremely important for your website design as they play a big role in determining how long your visitor stays and explores your site. Ask yourself this; what do visitors do as soon as they open your site? They would probably read the content of the present page and then look around to find any other page that interests them.

Give importance to Layout and Navigation

A clean layout and neat navigation and using a lot of white space for your site enhances its looks. Try to keep the focus on your content. It is very important that all your pages or a group of pages have one basic design and only the content varies. This way even if your site is a little distracting due to necessary effects, your design is noted once and then the visitor focused on the content automatically.

Here are a few important tips:

Prepare your site navigation before designing to prevent cluttering up the site with forgotten links.

A clean-cut and uniform navigation system is essential.

If you have too many links then you should use drop-down menus or flyouts for your main topics.

Maintain a site map or section contents/home pages to help people find what they are looking for with ease.

The navigation should be flexible enough to accommodate any amount of additional links in case you probably will be adding pages periodically. For this using drop-down menus or section home pages is essential.

Keep your main links together as much as possible so that visitors can absorb them at one shot and know what your site conveys about your company. Check out how all our major links appear in our top navigation bar and all related section links are listed in the right hand side menu.

There is no harm is showcasing important links (even repeated links) that you think might interest the visitor. Small boxes describing the link should look good.

If you like a graphic intensive site and find there is not much space for accommodating all your links, you can have a separate home (splash) page and all other pages as content pages. Thus your home page can have visual appeal and your inner content pages can have elaborate navigation structures while focusing on the content.

Use your navigation space efficiently. Use short, clear and precise words in your links so that your visitors know what the corresponding page will contain.

Tips for a Fast Loading Website

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

A very important website design consideration is how fast your website loads. It is very important to have a fast loading web site so that visitors are not made to wait for a long time and to accommodate users on slow internet connections. Search engine algorithms also do take into consideration your load time.

The following are some tips for making your website load faster.

1. Optimize your HTML code

Make sure that your site does not have any unwanted tags or broken links and that it is optimized for load time. Errors on your web pages can slow down your website. Make certain your website is error free.

2. Maximize content area

This not only reduces load time, it enhances the readability of your site.

3. Minimize use of graphics, Flash and scripts

These are the major contributors to the size of your web page, so try minimizing them. Try using background colors and fills instead of heavy images.

4. Optimize all heavy files

As much as possible optimize heavy graphics, Flash files and scripts. In editors like fireworks and flash you can see the various options in the preview panel to reduce the sizes. See how popular web sites like google and yahoo have pages that are very small in size and thus load in seconds.

5. Stick to simple designs

Most fast loading sites have very simple designs. Complicated designs will slow down your pages.

6. Spread out your content neatly

In case you find yourself having very long pages of content, break them down into separate logical sections and thus bring down the sizes of the individual pages.

7. Use Text Links instead of graphic buttons

Basically try to make use of text links as much as possible as they are easier to maintain. Use CSS Styles for text links to make them as attractive as buttons.

8. Use Server Side Include (SSI) files

SSI files once called from the web server reside in its cache so on subsequent requests they load faster. Use them where ever possible.

9. Use Div tags instead of Tables

Go in for a pure CSS tableless design right from the beginning. Using Div tags instead of tables for your design is what you need to do for better load time and total control over your layout. It also ensures that it is scalable for whenever you want to make design changes in the future.

Effective Table Design: In case you must use tables use them wisely and sparingly. Design using nested tables instead of using cell merges and splits. Use separate tables where ever possible. Not designing for 100% height is better as if you use just one outer table, the web page is displayed only after the table is loaded fully. If many outer tables are present (you can have different tables for the header, content, footer, etc.) the page displays the content of each table as soon as its elements are loaded.

10. Check your W3C standard validity and Load time regularly

To maintain an excellent website you must give thought to how to improve your website on an almost daily basis. Maintain an error free website and tweek it regularly. Do remember to check your Load time and W3C code and CSS validity regularly.

Designing Web Sites for All Screen Resolutions

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

It is important to design your website for all screen resolutions.

1. Web site design scalability

As technology advances and the configuration of monitors keep increasing it is impossible to test your site in all screen sizes. Designing stretch layouts that fit any screen resolution ensures that you know all your visitors see a visually appealing and professional site.

2. To fit available browser space for easy reading

Try out a fixed width site in all resolutions (especially higher than 1024x768) and see how empty and unprofessional it looks. If it is necessary for you to keep a fixed width then there are a number of suggestions on how to do it more professionally.

3. To keep your viewers on your site

A site that is easy-to-use always encourages visitors to stay and read your content. For site with long pages of content this is critical as the amount of scrolling required is reduced. Suppose your site doesn't look good for a particular resolution it is very probable that the visitor will close the browser window feeling that the web page is not for their viewing.

Design Basics

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are two ways to design your website - Table design and Table-less design (using div tags).

For a beginner, using tables is the best solution as there isn't much that can go wrong with the use of tables. For advanced users and design professionals designing using CSS styles and div tags is a must for optimal results of load time and to follow W3C standards.

For stretch layouts you need to provide the width of the table(s) or div(s) in percentage.

To fit the whole screen for any resolution, the outer most table(s) or div(s) are given 100% width. If the design can be made to have just one outer table then it can be given a height of 100% to expand and fill the browser space vertically.

To make only the content area to expand do the following. After the outer most table or div is given the width in percentage all inside cells or div tags should be given fixed widths in pixels except the content cell or div.

If you like the fixed width concept or are forced to have a fixed width, you can give a contrasting background color and/or a shadow effect/border to the table to make it stand out. These effects can also be used along with the stretch layout concept by giving the table or div width as 90 or 95 percent.

Some of the templates don't fit the screen vertically due to design limitations and netscape compatibility issues. Instead of using 100% as the height, here the extra space can be cleverly hidden by using a background color or fill.

Web Design Tips

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Listed below are some useful and important tips for a professional and high quality website design:

Neat and Easy Navigation

Navigation of links on your site plays a big role in determining how long your visitor stays and explores your site. Ask yourself this, what do visitors do as soon as they open your site? They would probably read the content of the present page and then look around to find any other page that interests them.

Clean Layout Design

A clean layout that uses a lot of white space enhances a site's looks. Try to keep the focus on your content. Use fonts that will be available on all computers to prevent your site looking messed up.

Program using pure CSS

The world is moving away from table based websites to pure CSS websites because it offers accessibility, reusability and considerably reduces file size apart from giving greater control over the look of your website. The single most important skill you can learn today to become a quality web designer is CSS programming.

Optimum Load Time

Make sure your load time is low. For this you must:

Minimize Graphics, Flash and scripts as they hugely increase your file size.
Optimize your HTML & script code to make sure that your site doesn't have any unwanted tags or unused scripts.
Use Server Side Include (SSI) files where ever possible as when SSI files are once called from the web server reside in its cache so on subsequent requests they load faster.

Design for all Screen Resolutions

A site that is easy-to-use always encourages visitors to stay and read your content. For site with long pages of content this is very crucial as the amount of scrolling required is reduced. Suppose your site doesn't look good for a particular resolution it is very probable that the visitor will close the browser window feeling that the web page is not for their viewing. Designing stretch layouts that fit any screen resolution ensures that you know all your visitors see a visually appealing and professional site.

Ensure Web site scalability

Make sure your code and design is scalable. As technology advances and configuration of computers & their monitors keep increasing and varying it is impossible to test your site in all screen sizes and platforms.

Cross Browser Compatible

Make sure you check your site for Internet Explorer 5+, Mozilla Firefox 1+, Opera 7+, Safari 3+ and Netscape Navigator 6+ as they constitute 95% of the worlds browsers.

Tips for Optimal Website Design

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

A website can be as creative as the individual that creates it. However, it is always best to keep your target audience in mind and not to overwhelm viewers with over the top website designs. Here are few tips to help you with your website design.

Less is More

A common mistake in website design is the belief that every inch of a website needs to be filled with either information or graphics. A good website design often encompasses a clean outline with lots of blank space. Simply list the heading of your page and then the information relevant to the page in an orderly manner which is convenient for the viewer. A few choice graphics or images which add value to the content and are relevant are fine, but make sure you don’t crowd your website designs with unnecessary imagery.

Be Subtle with Advertisement Placing

Placing advertisements on your website can be lucrative. However, make sure you do not lose focus of your website design by overwhelming viewers with lots of them. Make sure you are subtle with your inclusion of ads with your website design. Having an advertisement or two as a side bar or footer is often fine.

Background Colour and Website Designs

It is often best to keep the background of your website design white. If you feel the need for some colour then opt for a subtle shade. Always ensure the text portion and images do not clash or blend too well with your background. After all you want the text information on your website to stand out and be readable.

Avoid too many Flashy Graphics and Animations

Too many flashy graphics and animations can distract the viewer from the content of your website. Plus the more animations and images you have on your website design the longer the website will take to load. Always give viewers the option of choosing to view animations or other forms of multi media. And make sure the important aspects of your website content are not displayed through animations.

Maintain Webpage Design Consistency across the Website

Ensure your webpage designs are consistent across your entire website. It is always best to maintain the same fonts, colour schemes, and navigations bar positions as displayed on your homepage. This will help with viewer comfort when browsing your website.

JPEG versus GIF

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

JPEG and GIF are currently the most commonly used graphic file formats when creating a web design. The graphic file format which will best suit your design depends greatly on the style and design of your website. The following explores and explains the differences between JPEG and GIF files, enabling you to decide which is best for your web design.

JPEG images and Web Design

Joint Photographic Experts Group or JPEG as it is more commonly known was named after the original committee which created the standard and is currently one of the most popular graphic file formats used for web design. JPEG files are ideal for web designs which wish to incorporate a lot of real world scenes such as photographs because it supports 16 million colours. The JPEG file compresses natural images which are either full colour or grey scale creating a considerably smaller image file. Additionally it is able to store 24-bit per pixel as opposed to 8-bit per pixel data. The JPEG format is not generally suited for web designs which rely on non realistic images such as cartoons or line drawings. Furthermore, if your web design requires black and white images or motion compression the JPEG is definitely not the way to go.

GIF images and Web Design

GIF files or Graphics Interchange Format Files support 256 colours and are excellent for web designs which incorporate images with large areas of flat colour. Furthermore GIF is ideally suited for black and white images, line drawings, illustrations, clip arts and small text of a few pixels. GIF files are extremely useful for web designs because it supports transparency. A transparent image allows the background of the web page to be displayed enabling the image to appear borderless. This is extremely useful for web designs in which the background of the web page and the background of the image differ.

JPEG versus GIF - The Summary

To summarize, just remember that when deciding on the type of graphic file format for your web design, if the images you are using consist of natural real world scenes and have lots of colours then use a JPEG file. However if your images have solid colours with no gradations, then GIF files are the best choice for your web design.

Fixed Width Web Designs versus Fluid Web Designs

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are many challenges which web designers must address when developing new web sites. With the number of monitor sizes and screen resolutions now available in the market, one of the greatest challenges a designer faces is to create a design which is visible, eye-catching, and easily comprehensible by as many people as possible. However one of the more technical problems which web designers face is whether the design should be a fixed width design or a fluid width design.

Fixed Width Web Designs

A fixed width web design is when the width of your website is preset to a certain pixel width. This design approach will be more constant across an assortment of browsers, monitor sizes and screen resolutions, making it easier to ensure that appropriate line lengths and usable navigation schemes are maintained. The most common web resolution is currently 800px wide. However resolutions are very quickly moving towards making their standard resolution 1024px wide, this allows the user to display a great deal of content. Fixed width web designs are best used when the layout of your web design include large images but is not advisable for augmented amounts of text on the web page.

Fluid Web Designs

Websites with a Fluid Width web page design automatically enlarge to fit the width of the web browser in use. This means that the web page will essentially increase certain areas such as background image or colour to ensure that the web page will fill the width of the screen. Fluid Width Web Designs are often used for websites with side columns, websites with an increased amount of content on the page, and on websites where the exact alignment of the page is not essential.

Fixed Width or Fluid Width – You Decide

Whether it is Fixed Width web designs or Fluid width web designs which your ultimately decide on, it is essential that web designers keep in mind that a website’s ultimate goal is to meet the user’s requirements. Therefore it is critical when embarking on a web design for your website that your take in to consideration the needs and limitations of your target audience and keep this in mind when you make your choice.

Create Websites People Can Navigate

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

More and more people are now using the web as a source for information rather than as a medium of entertainment. The web is now the place we turn to when we need to gather information on virtually anything, be it gardening tips, financial advice or even to shop for groceries. With the vast array of products and services offered on the web it is essential to display your product or service in a manner which will appear irresistible to the consumer. Web design plays a major role in this. An easy to use web site with original content will definitely help organisations attract clients to their site.

Following the initial attraction to your website however, it is imperative then to ensure that clients remain at your site in order to obtain the services or products which they were seeking. One of the keys to keeping your clients interested is to ensure that the information they are seeking is easily accessible through a simple navigation process. You will find that the harder it is to navigate through a website, the more likely that the consumer will turn to one of the other million or so web sites available on the web.

Here are some simple tips to ensure your website is designed so people can easily navigate through it.

1. Use simple concise labels to navigate through your website

Titles of links used to navigate through your site should be simple and concise so that visitors will immediately understand where the link will lead them to. It is suggested that you use only the most important links on the primary navigational page to avoid clutter. It is also advisable to have links change colour once they have been clicked for added clarity to the visitor.

2. Use simple, obvious icons to navigate through your website

Although it may seem appealing to you to try and fancy up the icons on your website, it may in fact confuse visitors exploring your website rather than enthral them. The more obvious the icon or link the better. After all, visitors use the web to seek out information so that they can save time. If your website appears too complex you could very well lose your customer to a more client friendly site.

3. Never rely only on pictures to navigate through you website

Even though a certain image or picture may seem obvious to you as a tool to navigate through your website, do not assume that it will be as obvious to someone visiting your site for the first time. It is always best to combine images with text, especially to make it easier to navigate through your webpage.

4. Help visitors navigate your website by leaving a trail

Help visitors to easily navigate their way through your website by providing them with a convenient trail of the journey they’ve embarked on. This is especially essential with larger websites where if adequate guidance is not provided visitors can simply get lost and give up on their quest for information. For example if you have a holiday website about Asia, with each country then being broken down into further steps with lists of attractions etc. A good website would show the visitor a trail such as:

Home > Thailand > Bangkok > Attractions

5. Provide shortcuts for quick navigation through your website

Take the example of the travel site mentioned above. If for example a visitor wanted to explore attractions in Bangkok, it is best to provide a tool bar or search box so that the visitor could access the information they require straight away rather than going through all the steps mentioned above. Remember, visitors surfing the web for products and services expect the information they want to be available quickly and easily and will not spend hours browsing though your website.

6. Test the navigation of your website

The best test of how effectively visitors can navigate through your website is to have inexperienced users try and navigate through your website. This will give you a clearer idea as to which features are effective and which are just downright confusing.

How can Flash help Improve my Website?

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

As part of your website design, you may be considering the use of Flash. Below are some thoughts on the use of Flash to improve your website.

• Flash can be used to build a creative user interface.

• Flash gives you the power to make a variety of projects interactive.

• Flash can be used to replace bitmaps.

• Flash can be used to create animated .gif files.

• Flash can also be used to print complex documents from a web browser.

1. Creating Animations with Flash for your Web Design

Animation, whether it be simple or complex can add a lot of character to even the simplest web design. A web design containing a simple Flash animation will provide viewers with several minutes of interactive entertainment without having to waste too much time downloading it. Since streaming is possible with Flash animations, viewers are able to enjoy the animation almost instantly, while the rest of the content loads in the background. Flash animations are also useful for instructional materials and for student learning materials.

2. Flash and User Interfaces

Tools are available within Flash to build creative user interfaces. Your Flash web design can incorporate audio and visual cues for when the mouse moves over or clicks on certain icons. Menus can be made more creative with Flash to include drop down sub menus or animated descriptive texts. Flash web designs are much more user friendly than standard HTML web designs as once the Flash content has loaded onto the viewers machine it can be instantly recalled.

3. Greater Options for Interactive Functions with Flash

If your web design requires user interaction, then Flash is the way to go. Flash can be utilized to create interactive instructional material, tests or even games. Flash also permits database integration as well as multi player online gaming as it can read and write to text files or databases on a web server.

4. Flash can be used to replace bitmaps

Flash can be used to replace bitmaps as Flash files tend to use less file space. Thus images can be scaled down on your web design using Flash with the option for viewers to zoom in on the image if required.

5. Flash can Create Animated .gif Files

Flash animations have the ability to be exported as .gif files. You can easily utilize the drawing tools available on Flash to create short animations which can be converted to animated gif files which can be then placed on your web design for viewers who do not have Flash plug-ins.

Using Animation in Website Design - Part 1

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

A major mistake for web designers is overusing animation. Animation distracts web users and makes it difficult for them to focus on static content. When designing a website animation must be used strategically and in small doses, so it does not deter the user from viewing the rest of the site.

Animation is commonly used for navigation, education, promotion or advertising. Great web designers often use animation in one or two of these areas, but never all four. Using animation all over the website will only confuse the user and make it difficult for them to both navigate around the site and consume the content. Some websites fail by having excellent content that isn’t seen because the web users are too distracted by animated banner advertisements and/or backgrounds.

Creating content in the form of animation can be a good idea because it helps educate the user visually. However, if the animated content is surrounded by animated banner advertisements, then the web user will be forced to make a decision as to whether they consume your content or view the banner advertisement. If the banner advertisement acts as a deterrent, there is a high possibility the user will leave the website without consuming any content or purchasing any products.

Web designers should avoid forcing users to make these decisions, but rather make the website viewing experience as easy as possible. Web users should instantly know where to click upon arriving at a website. Every single animation used on the website makes it harder for the user to determine where to click, thus wasting their time. The goal of any website should be to get the web user to the content or to the point where they can purchase products, as quickly as possible.

When web designers go overboard and load up their websites with too much animation, it often leads to a statement on the home page that tells the user ‘This site is best viewed at 1280x1024 with 16.7 million colours’. If the user doesn’t currently have those settings, it forces them to make a decision, either leave the website or manually change their settings. It’s almost guaranteed that no web user will manually change their settings just to view your website and asking them to do so does nothing but limit accessibility to your website.

Using Animation in Website Design - Part 2

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Animation can play an important role in your website design, however, animation leads to longer download times. Animated GIFs, Flash, Dynamic HTML, Video, etc all have large file sizes that will take time to download. A common mistake for web designers is to load up their home page with as much animation as possible, in the hopes of making a statement as soon as the web user arrives. If the home page takes too long to load, it’s highly possible the web user will either leave the site immediately, never to return, or the web user will venture deeper into the website and bookmark another page, so that they never have to return to the home page again.

There are many animation-related pitfalls that budding website designers come across. Many will design their web pages using large animations with monstrous file sizes, only to reduce the height and width when it comes time to code the page. This may visually reduce the size of the image that is presented to the web user, but it does nothing to reduce the actual file size and in some cases it distorts the animation. Distorted animations that take a long time to load will most certainly act as a deterrent to any web user. Proper software like Macromedia Fireworks should be used to reduce both the size and quality accordingly.

If you have created large animations with massive file sizes that cannot be reduced in any way and you really want the web user to see them, then it’s a good idea to link the web user to the animation and provide them with a warning that the page may take a long time to load. If the web user is properly educated before making such a decision and they still proceed, the web user will patiently wait for the page to load and consume the animation completely.

Finally, a lot of web designers use animation simply because they can. Web designers often see animation on other sites and either copy the code or try to replicate it, in some instances they might even try to go one step further by adding even more animation. Animation should not be used for the sake of it, but rather because it serves some direct purpose. Every single piece of animation used in web design should be based on the overall website strategy. Avoid irrelevant animations like scrolling text, clocks and anything that seems ‘cool’ at the time.

Website Design Rules - Part 1

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, there are a number of guidelines, or rules, which may come in handy.

1. Splash Pages: Unnecessary Distractions

Many web designers feel the need to create stylish splash pages that do nothing but create a barrier which stops web users in their tracks and forces them to make the unnecessary decision of whether to push forward to the home page or to leave your website forever. These “website introductions” are typically short Flash-based movies that merely showcase the web designer’s flash design skill set, yet offer the web user nothing but a distraction. Flash animations are so common these days that it’s almost impossible to actually impress a web user with a splash page. The goal of any website design should be to either deliver the web user what they want or to get the web user to perform an action; a splash page only slows down this process and should be avoided at all costs.

2. Banner Advertisements: Less Is More

When it comes to the strategic placement of banner advertising, the old proverb “less is more” needs to be applied to web design. A single successful banner advertisement is more profitable and valuable then a whole bunch of banner advertisements that get minimal click-through. The harder it is to secure a single banner advertisement space, the more appealing it becomes to advertisers. If your single banner advertisement space is booked for months, it can become in-demand and like real-estate, can become very profitable in the long term. Instead of filling up empty space with banner advertisements, it’s best to try and fill space with useful content. Another tip is to surround your banner advertisements with as much useful content as possible; this will also make the space more appealing to potential advertisers.

3. Navigation: Is The Key

The fastest car in the world is useless if no-one can work out how to drive it. The same goes for websites. Website owners can choose to invest thousands in web design, logo design, flash design, splash pages, funky animations and a whole host of other aesthetic goodies to make the site look fantastic, but if web users cannot navigate around the site to consume the content or purchase products, then the whole website fails to achieve its goals. In web design when it comes to designing effective navigation it’s best to keep it as simple as possible. Once again, web designers will often go overboard and design navigation menus that include flash animations, multi-tiered dropdowns and a whole host of other unnecessary additions that only work to distract the user, instead of helping them navigate around the website. Navigation is the key that unlocks good website design.

Website Design Rules - Part 2

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, there are a number of guidelines, or rules, which may come in handy.

4. Errors: Act Like A Red Light

When you are driving along a road and are stopped by a red light, people tend to respond negatively. The same principle can be applied to web design. When a user is navigating around your website and they are stopped by an error, regardless of how significant the error is, they will also respond negatively. Errors will often lead to web users becoming frustrated, with some likely to leave the website immediately. In worst-case scenarios, some simple errors have led to web users leaving a website, vowing never to return again, and even going so far as to tell their friends about the overall negative experience. Ongoing website testing and maintenance cannot be overlooked.

5. Coding: No Copy & Paste

Amateur web designers will often copy and paste code from various websites and compile their website like its Frankenstein. When an error occurs, the web designer doesn’t know how to fix it because they didn’t write the code. Web designers must then sit down and waste time working out what each piece of code does, before discovering the error and then rectifying it. During this time it’s the web users who suffer, as they sit through error after error. Although writing the code from scratch causes longer initial development stages and may cost more in the short term, it will save you a lot of time in the long run if any errors do happen to occur. As mentioned above, errors need to be avoided, whatever the cost. Before seeking professionals to do your website design or flash design, always run double-checks to see how much of the code they are actually writing. If the web design agency is copying code from within their own web design / flash design team, then there is nothing to worry about because someone in the agency will know what to do if a problem arises or they typically have an FAQ that can be easily referenced. The only time you should worry is if the code is copied from an external website.

6. Consistency: Critical To Success

Regardless of size, every website should remain consistent to ensure the web user knows exactly where they are and where to look at all times. This applies to everything from simple navigation bars to the location of help menus. The goal should be to make the web user familiar with all aspects of your website, from the colours used in the design to the overall layout. Some web designers, who are often pressured by management to create a variety of web designs, feel the need to experiment with different colour schemes and website layouts within a single website, but this does nothing but confuse the web user by causing disorientation. Only break consistency when the website is receiving a complete overhaul.

Website Design Rules - Part 3

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, there are a number of guidelines, or rules, which may come in handy.

7. Follow The F-Pattern

People do not read websites, they scan them. Web users will arrive at a website and quickly scan the site in pattern that is almost identical to the letter F. A good web designer will design the site around this behaviour and place focus on the user’s initial left-to-right horizontal movement. The user’s second horizontal movement is often shorter than the first, followed by a third and final downward movement. If your website hasn’t captured the user’s attention in the F-pattern’s three key movements, it’s likely the user will click away to something more interesting.

8. Beware of Frames

The user of frame in web design is out-dated. Frames are hard to bookmark, make navigation difficult and make it impossible for search engines to accurately index each page and properly spider a framed website. Frames often confuse the user by not closing properly; this makes navigation a nightmare and reflects poorly on the entire website. Not all browsers support frames, so if you want maximum accessibility and usability, it’s safer to just avoid the use of frames altogether.

9. Typography Is Overlooked

Text is the basis for any website, yet it is often overlooked by web designers who are too busy focusing on over design elements like the colour scheme, background, flash animations, etc. Font choices can make or break a website. Some fonts can make your website look retro, while others will make it look childish. The correct font size must be picked and it must match the overall design. A while ago it was considered cool to have small text with low-contrast, but now it’s been proven that text is there to be read, not to be looked at quickly. Choose the right font size so your headings stand out appropriately. Suitable spacing between lines and away from objects, such as images and navigation menus, should also be considered. Remember the F pattern and keep your text lines short and succinct. Users do not read websites like books, so avoid long lines and paragraphs.

10. Use of White Space

White space should be used strategically to create an environment that ‘just feels right’ to the user. White space or “negative space” is basically the space between elements in a website. The space between major web design elements is referred to as “macro white space”, where as “micro white space refers to the space between smaller elements, like list items. Using white space allows users to easily transition from one piece of content to another. Great web designers are experts in the use of white space and know the difference between “passive white space” and “negative white space”.

Understanding Goals of Website Users

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, it is important to try and understand the goals of the people who will be using your site. Once you have got a statement of purpose you are halfway to being ready to design. The next step is to understand who will be looking at the page and why.

The best designed websites are receptive to the needs of the users. They are designed to anticipate what real people are trying to accomplish, and then to help them do it with the minimum fuss.

Every website is a means to an end. We are all looking to get something out of it, to achieve certain personal goals, or states of being. Common daily goals for you may include:

to be relaxed and focused, knowing there is nothing urgent you must do
to remain calm and composed whilst you work
to know that you can comfortably support your family
to be entertained and informed

Note that none of these goals mention 'using software', but they all happen to involve interacting with software in order to achieve them:

in order to relax, you need to make sure you have dealt with any urgent issues.
to remain calm and composed while you work, you may listen to music.
to earn money to support my family, you may design and build web sites, as quickly and easily as possible.
to entertain and inform yourself, you may find out what is happening of interest, mostly using my web.

Using any tool is simply a means to an end. Understanding the ends that your visitors are wanting to reach gives you insight into what will help them have a more satisfying, successful experience and subsequently achieve the site's goals for you.

Why Will People Use Your Website?

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you consider your website design, you must pay careful attention to why people will use your website. Without actually meeting a representative number of your real website visitors, you cannot know their real goals. As this is usually very unlikely, you will need another approach.

First, write down the different major groups of users, those who may use your site in different ways. For example, you might have returning customers, prospective customers, employees and suppliers.

Note down the typical goals of each group. The goals should be broad enough to be typical of all visitors across the group. Try to cover the full range of different needs and usage patterns, for example:

Prospective customer, whose goal is to understand how our products compare to our competitor's.
End-user, whose goal is to find timely help using our product.
Young home buyer, whose goal is to find attractive properties to look round, with the ultimate goal of finding an apartment that suits their lifestyle.

For each type of user, follow the simple steps in the next topic to develop a persona who will represent each user group in your design process.

A persona is an imaginary real person who helps give your design process focus. They are handy archetypes, based on everything you can find out about the real types of people who will use your site. To help make them believable, you will furnish them with their own realistic likes and dislikes, their own personal agendas, and most importantly their own personal goals.

Creating Personas

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you consider your website design, you must pay careful attention to why people will use your website. As part of those considerations you will need to create personas who will represent each group in your design process.

You should base your personas' characteristics as much as possible on facts you know about your target market or actual user base. The best way to do this is to carry out prior research to interview a number of actual or typical site users.

Personas are more effective when they represent the likely preferences, goals, and contexts that your real users will have. Preferably, you should speak to people who fit the target audience right now, who are in the right position or have the right experience.

Picture what your persona looks like. Are they male or female? Are they working, studying, or out of work? How old are they? Give them a name, because a persona is a (pretend) real person. Maybe even find a photo to represent them.

Think about their cultural background. What's their language? What time of day is it when they access your site?

What skills do they have? IT skills and familiarity with using computers? What about other technical skills, maybe industry-related?

Are they likely to be challenged by any impairments, such as difficulty with sight or reading? Do they have any special needs, such as accessibility issues?

Next, note down what they are trying to achieve in general. What goal, or goals, do they wish to reach? For example, if they are a consumer using the web at home, what are their goals for them and their family? If they are a work user, what are their professional goals?

What specific goals will drive them to use your website? There may be more than one, if they are likely to use your site at different times for different things.

What are their personal priorities? What kind of things will they appreciate? What kind of things would insult, annoy or upset them? What kind of things might make the difference between a tolerable experience and a pleasant experience? What about a delightful experience? What do they expect as a minimum? What do they hope for? How do they like to feel? What kind of things help them to feel that way?

What is their potential value to the site? Could they be a key customer or referrer?

Do they have prior experience of the brand, the market sector, the proposition, other similar web sites, previous versions, product range?

Will they get shown, or trained in, how to use the site?

What's their likely frequency of use, one-off, irregular, regular?

Where on the web have they come from and why?

What do they want to go away with?

Using Personas in Website Design

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Personas are an extremely powerful website design tool, which help you to visualise an end-product that you can be confident will suit your users' needs by helping them achieve their goals, and help you test your success.

Why detailed personas work for website design

Developing your personas with names, desires, attitudes, prejudices and goals stops them becoming 'the elastic user'. The elastic user manifests different priorities at different times.

Designers, developers, and businesspeople often use phrases starting "The user might…" or "Users might…" in order to add functionality to a product. The problem is, because this fictional "User" might be a geek power-user at one moment, or an elderly first-time visitor with poor eyesight the next, the end result can be a muddle of features that does not suit anyone's real needs.

Designing for personas is a great discipline because it forces you to focus your design process on something realistic, instead of infinite possibilities. It also helps you to go beyond a website design that is only functionally complete, and visualise the qualitative factors that will really make a difference to success.

Another positive aspect of using personas is that they give you a way to appreciate your end-users and care about their experience, which can lead to key insights that improve the experience for everyone.

Primary Personas

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

If you have several personas, it is not easy to develop a website design for all of them and maintain a consistent product. A solution is to identify which persona or personas you have to design for, and then to design for them alone.

The trick is to identify 'primary' personas. These are "personas whose needs must be met, but whose needs cannot be met through an interface designed for any other persona."

Primary personas provide you with test cases that you can be sure deliver the desired results for the complete breadth and depth of use contexts. In simpler projects, they can give you a "lowest common denominator" whose needs you need to meet, but deliver a lot more besides: a way to model positively your site as it will be used in the real world, and to test design decisions with confidence.

To discover your primary persona(s):

Go through each one and ask "Do I have to enable this person to succeed? If this person cannot always use my site successfully, is it a failure?"
If the answer is "Yes", hang on to the persona for now. If not, discard them.
Then start comparing your personas in pairs. Consider their typical contexts of use, and imagine that there is a solution that works for each persona in their own context. You don't have to visualise how the solution works just yet.
Ask, "Will a solution designed for the Persona A also let Persona B achieve her goals?" And vice versa. "Will a solution designed just for B also work for A?"
If you find one persona's solution that doesn't work for a different persona, but they will work the other way round, you can discard the persona with the less widely-useful solution. They are clearly not a primary persona.
If you find that neither solution is applicable to the other, keep both personas, because they might both be primary.
Keep comparing different pairs until you can truthfully say, "My solution must work for all these, but none of them can succeed with an interface designed for anyone else."

You will usually end up with one primary persona for each major user group, such as one representing consumers and one for administrators. You'll create different parts of the site for different primary personas. Some will use the same pages.

If you end up with just one primary persona, that is great. By designing your website for this person alone, you can be confident that it will work for all kinds of other visitors. As you have tested your persona against lots of other realistic personas, you know that his or her particular needs represent a highly reliable test case.

Designing with Scenarios

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

In goal oriented website design you play through a full set of usage scenarios for each persona. A scenario is a complete journey from first point of contact with your system, right through to a goal being achieved.

You will use scenarios to test your site structure, to make sure it provides an experience flow includes all the basic elements your personas need to reach their goals.

Like personas, scenarios also work best when they are based on facts you know about your real users, rather than imaginative guesswork. Can you find out through research interviews what are their priorities when they interact with the site? If you cannot speak to anyone who fits your actual target market, or someone who has been in that position before, you may have to rely on to creative imagination.

Building on the basic structure, you will iterate through your scenarios several times, refining each time to create a richer and more realistic final design. For each persona, describe a few scenarios of use that will be typical of the way real people might use your site.

Develop a few realistic, typical scenarios for each persona, following the steps below, and record notes on each one:

Carefully consider the typical environment your persona is in. Where are they when they are interacting with your website. Are they at work? At home? In an airport?
What other factors impact the persona's context of use? What speed of internet connection do they have? How much time do they have? What distractions are there?
What specific goal is driving the persona to interact with the web site on this occasion? What event triggered this scenario?
Picture the scene. What considerations will be foremost in the persona's mind? What clues are they looking for in particular?

Stop Designing

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Website design takes as long as you give it. The time it takes to design a website can vary enormously. The main reason for this is that design is a very much subjective practice:

everyone has an opinion
something can always be improved
there is an infinite number of possible solutions, how do you know the right one?
the more you look at it, your perspective changes

Whilst many people really enjoy diving into a design project, sometimes it can be extremely hard to stop designing.

In many cases, those endless projects will be where there has not been a clear understanding of what the designer has been doing. In other words, when they do not know what the website goal is.

You can only achieve what you aim for, if you do not know what your goal is in very clear terms, how do you know when you have accomplished it?

What is a Goal?

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are designing a website, it is extremely important to know what your goal is. A goal is a state, not an activity. You create your own vision, so when you focus on activity, like 'designing a nice website', that is what you will get, lots of activity.

When you focus on your end point, that is where you will get. When you focus on the path, that is where you'll stay.

A goal should be described in the present tense, such as, "This site is complete. It communicates a compelling message of capability and expertise."

When designing a website you may find that you have spent half a day designing and only rearranged a page design and then rearranged it back again. This is called "fiddling" and it is not good.

Some designers describe that the times they have enjoyed their work the most have happened when they have managed to keep a certain professional distance from the design.

The difference comes when they remember the purpose and have a picture in their mind's eye of "what success will look like", that is, the goal. That is why it is a great idea to get clear on what it is you are working towards, and to keep clear.

Think Then Do

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The single most difficult and important skill for a web designer is remembering what you are doing. It is very easy to get bogged down on the surface level of design, pushing boxes and buttons this way and that around the page until it appears to have perfect visual balance. This is a complete waste of time.

Before looking at how to design on screen, you should first consider how to think like a successful designer. To be most successful, you have got to know what you are trying to achieve, and take the most direct path to achieve it.

The seven steps of think-then-do are:

1. Recognise your GOAL, write it down, and keep it handy

2. Refer back to it regularly

3. If, at any point, you cannot see the wood for the trees, it is time to leave it alone

4. Take a break, forget all about it, rest your mind, come back, read your statement of purpose touchstone again, get the mental picture back, then look at the design as it is

5. Tell yourself out loud what's right about it and what's wrong about it

6. Tell yourself what you're going to do, or even better, write it down

7. Then, sit down and do it.

How to Evaluate Your Work

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The act of website designing places you too close to be able to analyse your output with objective clarity. Developing this skill is the most important differencing factor for any successful designer or creative worker.

The most effective way to evaluate a web design is to get someone else to do it. Failing that, these steps will help:

Do it from fresh, take regular breaks from a job, and come back to it with fresh eyes
Ask: "What did I miss? What's hard to look at? What draws my eye?"
Trust your first reactions. Write down action points without being tempted to dive in and fix anything.
Then, do exactly what you have written down, as quickly as possible, without re-thinking.
Repeat (from fresh). In the meantime, maybe work on something else, say another page or section of the site.

How to Successfully Design Websites

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Success is not just restricted to professional web designers. Anyone can simply learn the necessary skills required to design web sites.

Successful design does not always rely on attractive visuals, although that can help. Success is primarily a result of good thinking. This approach should result in a site in which everything, including structure, brand, page layout, graphic design, and error handling, is intentionally geared to success.

The most important tool for designing a website is that every element that goes into your website must have a purpose. Every single feature must either

Help your visitors achieve their goals, or
Support the site's goals without obstructing the visitor's goals

Efficient Web Design

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

In website design, there are always opportunities to do something a bit nicer, a bit cuter, a bit flashier, a bit more impressive, a bit more robust, a bit quicker to download, or a bit more compliant.

In many cases, these things can take you into "being clever" territory, where that little bit of extra work takes just as long as it took to build the basic site to begin with. The material point is that you almost always will not get 90% more benefit, for your client or yourself, by going the extra mile.

Being clever usually introduces complexity, which in turn increases risk. The more tricky and complex your visual design, the harder it will be to produce, the more files will be created, the longer it will take to download, and the most costly it will be to maintain. Working smart means honestly justifying any additional complexity before you go ahead and start working on it.

Sometimes it will be worth it. If it is really important to you that your site should validate to a certain HTML standard, or if you have committed to keep the homepage size under 70KB, or if you promised the client that some client-side script will work in a certain way, then maybe you have to do it.

It is probably good practice to think carefully before you act, and consider whether the benefit is worth the cost. For example:

Are there any prizes for getting a page size down by 10% if it takes you a whole day's work, and the page is fit-for-purpose at the slightly heavier weight?
Do you really have to re-code your scripts to be object-oriented, extensible or reusable if they are only destined for this particular application?
What do you really get out of churning out 5 example designs to show your client, when the first one you did was great?

Home Page Mistakes - Number 1

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, try and avoid the following mistake.

Not saying What You Do

Quite often the most obvious mistake is a home page that does not start off by describing exactly what the site is for. This usually means simply saying what you do.

The first content anyone sees on your home page is the most critically valuable, for usability as well as SEO. It is not worth bothering to welcome anyone to your website, that goes without saying.

The essential factor here is what is sometimes referred to as “getability”, which means, “How easily someone visiting a site/page for the first time can understand what the deal is, and if they're in the right place”.

Whenever we visit a new web page, we are looking for something. That may be information, to get something done, or just to have fun. Whatever it is, we always have these meta questions in our minds: “Am I in the right place? Am I likely to get what I want this way?”

On a highly getable web page, the most relevant information that answers those meta questions is made obvious, clear, and strong. That means using the most simple design techniques:

Position: the information should be high up the page, so it is seen first, and understand that it is important.
Size: the most important, meaningful, and helpful clues are made bigger and more visible than less important items
Contrasting Tone and Color: use strong contrast and/or strong color to highlight items that visitors need to know first.

Some home pages do not mention what the site is about at all. So what are you meant to do when you land on one of these pages? You do not want to have to guess what is going on. Your only driving motive is to figure out “Am I in the right place to get what I'm looking for?”

So the website's first job is to answer that question, whether positively or negatively.

Do not be tempted to try and retain people on your website who are actually looking for something else. They are not going to stick around very long, and by not putting your wares on show first-up, the overall success rate will decrease because you'll risk losing the people who have turned up to get what you're offering.

It is really simple to say what you do, you just say:

What your company/service is,
What you do,
For whom

…in as many words as it takes and no more.

So a good introduction may be, “Robbies Roofing is a small, family roofing company that has served homeowners in the Oodnadatta region since 1975.”

Home Page Mistakes - Number 2

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, try and avoid the following mistake.

The Dead Pit

The dead pit is what you build for your visitors when you create spaces on your site that have nothing in them.

The classic old-school dead pit is the “Under Construction” or “Coming Soon” placeholder. Whenever you see one of these, you think “This site isn't finished, so I'm unlikely to get what I want here!” OK, so it only took a few years for web designers and owners to realise this was dumb and pointless, but the dead pit still has not gone away.

Home Page Mistakes - Number 3

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, try and avoid the following mistake.

3. Where are the Benefits?

Following on from saying what you do, you need to focus next on “why I should care”.

Remember, when someone visits your site, they are trying to find out if they are going to get what they want there. So a home page should focus on what the visitor is interested in, not what you are interested in.

Of course, all websites have their own goals, but the best way to achieve those is by helping its visitors achieve theirs, because the better you do that, the more people will come back to your site, link to your site, and recommend your site to others.

The most successful websites find win-win solutions, keeping people on the site by giving them what they want long enough for the site to get what it wants.

When you are developing the content for a website, try to get out of the client's head and into the client's client's head. Goal-oriented design offers some great techniques and tools that help with this process, but you can achieve the right result by remembering at all times what the visitor is trying to do.

Home Page Mistakes - Number 4

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, try and avoid the following mistake.

4. Incredible Graphics

We have all been to websites that rely on a big splash of stock photography or graphics to try and communicate a certain first impression, but quite often the effect does not quite happen. This can be referred to as “incredible graphics”.

You should try and use the right content medium for conveying your messages. Text has its own strengths, able to convey information very quickly and accurately. Imagery, too, can communicate a rich combination of “soft” info, or a high-level of complex info in the form of a graph, chart, or diagram.

However, when you are crafting a brand experience, the selection of imagery has to be believable.

As an example, do not use a generic picture of a shiny glass skyscraper, if your business doesn't actually take place in that kind of location. The evidence on your home page, which helps build the “This is what we are, what we're about…” message, should be made up of consistent messages.

Home Page Mistakes - Number 5

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, try and avoid the following mistake.

5. Bad Production

Considering the technical considerations, bad production technique is one of the biggest factors that can influence your home page's success rate.

Of course, search engine optimisation must be one of the major considerations for any website, which should support and not compromise your brand and messaging.

So a home page should have a high content-to-markup ratio, have well-written title and meta-description tags, and feature the most relevant content high up in the source.

Use of inline styling, tables for layout, lack of separation of style and code from markup, and heavy non-semantic HTML can all be detrimental to the probability that a visitor will proceed further into the site.

A poorly-produced page will also:

be slower to load
translate less successfully to other media, like mobile devices
be less accessible to people with disabilities such as screen readers or magnifiers
be more costly to edit and re-design over time

Using Goals in Website Design

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, it is very important to be aware of how goals can play an significant part in your site’s success. All websites depend on visitor success. If visitors' goals are not fulfilled, they may give up, they may click back and go elsewhere, and they are certainly unlikely to recommend the website to other people.

Many sites depend directly on the consumer's success, for example ticket booking or shopping sites, where it is critical that visitors are able to complete transactions, and come back to the same site in future.

For other sites, success depends indirectly on the visitor's achieving their goals, such as through brand-promotion using competitions or games, market research via a chat site, or advertising on a lifestyle portal.

In all cases, if the publisher's goals aren't met, the commercial consequences can be serious. All these goals depend on people coming, using, staying around, bookmarking, coming back, recommending to others. As consumers of websites, we want to find great sites that help us achieve our personal goals, and we're very willing to use the best ones again and again.

Success depends on carrying a visitor all the way through to their goal being met. Getting them 99% of the way there will not mean you're 99% as successful.

Layout in Web Design

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The layout of your web pages can play a vital role in your overall website design. The way elements are positioned on screen conveys lots of meaning that we interpret subconsciously when decoding web pages.

The relative positions implies relationships on many different levels. The key is to make sure you represent visually the correct relationships.

Layout tools

You can employ tools such as contrast and spacing to help differentiate elements.

Other techniques are useful for visually associating similar elements. These techniques are often used in combination, when you group a collection of links, for example, you also differentiate the group from the elements around it.

Techniques for creating associations

Associating elements implies a relationship of similarity, e.g. A, B, C are a group of equivalent 'peer' elements. Groups can be built using any combination of the following mechanisms:

Grouping - building association through placing similar elements together
Containment - making one or more elements literally part of another element
Alignment - aligning elements along visible or invisible lines
Rhythm - builds relationships through repeating stylistic features

Grouping Elements for Clear Web Page Design

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An important aspect of website design is the grouping of elements on the web page. Grouping similar design elements on your web page helps the user quickly decode a web page layout. Proximity, Alignment, Containment, Rhythm and Styling are all tools that help indicate grouping.

The power of proximity in web page layout

The most basic way to associate various elements is to group them together. What the grouping achieves is to make similar things appear similar.

That way, the scanning eye can interpret a title (for example) and immediately associate that title with all the objects surrounding it. By making similar things similar, grouping makes different things appear different. Your visitor may think, "Why are the objects in that group instead of the other group..? They must be different."

2D design makes use of various grouping techniques, from paragraphs and margins to navigation bars and clustered form elements. Along with other design tools, grouping with proximity relies on contrasting forces, in this case whitespace. If all elements are closely-spaced, proximity is not as effective.

Containment in Web Design Layout

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, there are a number of layout techniques for creating associations. One of these techniques is commonly referred to as containment. Containment is the effect where one or more elements is shown as part of a group or category, through a visual mechanism.

There are two variants of the containment mechanism: strict encapsulation, where the element is totally contained within a box; and softer containment, where the box is suggested using the hierarchical cascade and white space.

Strict encapsulation

This is where you show that an element is part of, or a child of, or (one-way) related to, another element, by placing the child within the boundary of the parent. The parent might be identified simply by a label that is either inside the box and towards the origin, or sitting on the edge of the box.

Soft hierarchical cascade

This is the softer alternative to the more literal encapsulation. It does not depend on the 'higher' element actually encompassing the 'lesser' element, but the containment is suggested through visual superiority. The 'superior' element should be laid out near the 'lesser' or child elements, and toward the origin, either to the left, or above, or both.

Using Alignment in Web Page Layout and Design

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, there are a number of layout techniques for creating associations. One of these techniques is alignment. Alignment is another method of creating associations between visual elements, which help users easily recognize the relationships of objects on a page.

Alignment works by visually associating various elements. When you see a number of aligned elements, you instinctively believe that those elements are peers of each other, or share some other common property.

This is a particularly useful tool for rapidly letting a user know what they are looking at by immediately spotting relationships between various elements.

How alignment works in graphic design

Alignment works on any screen elements: paragraphs of text, images, buttons, pictures, links, even combinations of all of them.

Although aligned elements are often grouped spatially, they do not have to be. Alignment works across the entire screen, even when the axis is broken by another element. But, arranging elements in a line or grid is stronger as it also benefits from grouping.

Top-edge and left-edge alignment are stronger than right- or bottom-edge alignment, because of the natural flow of the cascade. Groups that are aligned by their left or top edges appear to be more important than they would be if right- or bottom-aligned.

Alignment axes that start near the origin (top-left of the screen) are superior to those that sit further right or further down. This is a helpful way of indicating a visual hierarchy, particularly when you have too many elements to arrange into a neat cascade.

Alignment on web pages using grids

Grids are a very useful tool for page design, and especially for form design. When you find a design that seems to work because it uses strong and complimentary alignment axes, you can take the grid made by those axes and re-use them on other pages. Re-using layouts based on common (invisible) grids can strengthen a website's consistency.

Rhythm and Repetition in Web Page Layout

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, there are a number of layout techniques for creating associations. One of these techniques is commonly referred to as rhythm or repetition. Apart from alignment and grouping, elements can be linked using rhythm, or a regular or irregular repetition of common stylistic features.

Rhythm is the most understated and abstract of the 'associating' methods. It helps to associate elements by repeating a common stylistic feature or arrangement. This even works when elements are not grouped or aligned, but often works in combination with these methods.

Rhythm is a very common approach in graphic design. It can work any time a style is repeated. Well-known examples include bulleted lists and headings.

Use of 3D Effects in Website Design

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

A good website design will consider the use of 3D effects. 3D graphics can provide web page designs a range of 3D illusions, which are strong methods for managing attention. Using 3D graphics in website design can also significantly increase page file size, and can reduce usability if overused, so should be used deliberately and with careful consideration.

There are a number of good uses for 3D effects, including:

1. Suggesting "Clickable" or "Interactive"

2. Differentiating objects from surroundings

3. Adding richness

3D effects to suggest "Clickable" or "Interactive"

In the real world, things that look like they can be pushed tend to be three-dimensional, such as buttons on a radio. The designers of early graphical user interfaces for computers used this to create a really concise GUI shortcut to say "clickable". The button effect is one of the strongest design conventions in interactive design.

In a similar way to buttons being clickable, we are familiar with the concept of instrument "panels" in the physical world. Often, groups of controls are put together on a raised or lowered panel. Also, screens nearly always have a bevelled edge.

Graphical user interface (GUI) designers have taken advantage of this convention when building digital controls. Input fields, drop-downs, multiple-select controls and radio groups have traditionally used bevelled or grooved effects to distinguish them from plain 'page'.

Using 3D effects to Differentiate objects from their surroundings

3D graphics create a sense of space between different elements. That makes it a very effective way of reinforcing differences. Shadowing, including drop-shadows, gradients, and highlighting, is the most useful principle.

Adding richness to web pages with 3D effects

3D effects can suggest a rich, multi-layered, realistic, believable environment. The golden rule is to use 3D effect with care. Nothing works if it is applied to everything.

Use 3D Graphics Consistently

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

If your website design uses 3D graphics, it is important to use them consistently. Light source is often critical and two things to remember about all 3D/shading effects is that they are both light effects and illusions.

For the illusion to work, the user needs to believe that what they are seeing could be real. To create a physical illusion, you need a plausible facsimile of reality, and consistency in treatment. For example, if you had an element appearing to be both behind and in front of another element, the illusion effect could be broken.

One of the most common mistakes in 3D effects is to use different lighting sources on different elements. It is alright to have more than one light source, and a lot of design does that today, because it produces lighter and softer effects. But, the overall light environment has to be just believable enough.

Branding for Websites - Part 1

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An important consideration for your website design is the concept of branding. A brand is the rich combination of personality and promise that your website projects to its visitors. If it is performed well, your brand image can inform your consumers' thinking about your market position, value, quality, price, service level, heritage, size and anything else that matters.

Your visitor’s experience of your website translates into the user's expectations and opinions of your entire company, product or service. As the web is a low-trust environment, your online presence should be up-front, open and transparent.

It is a great idea to build a neat, concise online personality and apply it consistently.

Web page personality

If your business has a particular tone-of-voice or style for print publishing, on the telephone, or in person, you should try and translate that to your web presence.

This is not just a case of doing the same online as you do in other forms of communication because the web is a special kind of environment. You need to keep in mind that people are less trusting and more impatient when they are looking around the internet.

Your entire message should be punchy and concise. Do not try to sweet-talk, or try to intrigue, you do not have time. Decide on your website's personality, and stick to it.

Web page tone of voice

The active voice of your website is important: present what "you can do" or "what you can get", e.g. "Register for our newsletter" / "Log in" / "More about Service A".

Does your website have a heart?

Soul, heart, guts, whatever term you prefer, if your brand is going to cut it, you need a big amount of heart. That implies reality, ownership, and self-belief.

For a brand to work, it has to have credibility. The simplest way to be credible is to believe it yourself. Because it is so easy to create on the web, a lot of people devalue their own brands even as they build them, not realizing this simple secret. Many website fail because they do not have the courage of their own convictions.

Branding for Websites - Part 2

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An important consideration for your website design is the concept of branding.

Your brand should focus on the best bits

When you 'own' your own brand, your consumers see what you give out, and what you give out comes directly from what you believe. The simplest method of increasing impact is by selecting the right beliefs. This is not about being false, but concentrating on the best bits.

Talk about positives, and avoid negatives, i.e. say what you do, or can do, what you believe in, how you work, what you have done, what your experience is...

• If you don't have as much experience, mention any relevant experience you do have.

• If you are young, talk about your energy, enthusiasm and value-for-money.

• If you are a small business, emphasise your commitment, availability, and flexibility.

• If you have fewer skills than competitors, turn them into specialisms and focus.

Usability and branding for the web

Usability is critcal for communicating a positive brand impression. Do everything you can to make certain your visitors get what they came for, and have a smooth, positive, enjoyable experience. There is no point having a website that looks just like your print brochure, if it is useless.

Visual branding for the web

Be consistent with other media output, but do not necessarily apply every brand guideline slavishly, particularly with color. You cannot guarantee how a color will appear on your users' monitors, and not every printable colour can be displayed on-screen.

Carrying a brand over to the web is more than following through your corporate colors and fonts. It is more important to translate your offline experience into a positive and compatible online experience.

Logo Designs for Websites

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the most distinguishable features of your website design is your web page logo. Logos are graphical shorthand that can represent a business or product, and communicate particular characteristics.

In order for a logo to be visually effective, it must exhibit certain related fundamental design characteristics, such as:

Shape
Presence
Weight
Contrast

Shape

A distinctive logo has an easily recognizable shape, so that it is still recognizable from its outline. Your brain loves to use shape to identify things because it can do it very quickly.

What provides a logo with distinctiveness? The outline should be simple, but not too simple, and clear. Also, meaningful elements should be clearly differentiated, with the use of white space where neeed.

Presence

Your logo has good presence if it fills much of the available space with shapes that carry meaning (e.g. words, recognisable symbols). This makes it bolder and clearer, and therefore more recognizable. The more space you fill with elements that do not either help recognition or add meaning, the less presence your logo will have.

Weight

Good weight means that a logo does not rely on fine features in order to be recognizable. If a logo is bold, it can be successful in more environments. The best logos have a weight of presence are recognizable when viewed alongside other strong images.

The use of color is critical to getting a clear, bold logo. Too many colors, gradients, 3D effects and complex patterns can be damaging to your logo's weight.

It is a good idea to try to use as few different colors as possible. Remember, the more colors a logo has, the harder it is to reproduce in different formats. Also, try and avoid gratuitous 3D effects, your logo must work without them.

Contrast

Contrast aids shape-recognition by making the edges between elements clearer. Good logos have lots of contrast on the edges of meaningful visual elements.

The squint test is great for checking contrast. Also consider that users may be color blind. Another helpful test is to try desaturating your logo in a graphics application, and check whether it is still clear and recognizable.

Guide to Designing Websites - Overview

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are many steps involved with website design. The outline below is what may be considered as the main steps involved with a typical website design process. The steps focus on getting a clear understanding of what you are doing before you begin, and staying clear while you work quickly towards a good solution. The main steps are:

1. Know what you are doing

2. Know what the website needs to do

3. Know what the site's visitors want

4. Get a good picture of the personality and style of the website

5. Sketch out highly successful scenarios

6. Organise views into a site map

7. Sketch the essential features and look

8. Map your visitors' attention

9. Arrange the visual elements to work together

Guide to Designing Websites - Step 1

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are many steps involved with website design which you should be familiar with.

1. Know what you are doing

Being clear about what you are working to accomplish helps you realize it. Always be clear on your goal, the state you wish to reach, when you begin to design a site.

Do you want to impress other web designers?
Do you want to delight your client?
Do you want to make a good profit and pay your rent on time?

There is a kind of magic called "creative visualisation". When you can see an end-point in your mind's eye, you can much more easily see the steps you need to take to get there. Also, you'll even find that your subconscious actions help carry you forward also.

Guide to Designing Websites - Step 2

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are many steps involved with website design which you should be familiar with.

2. Know what the site needs to do

You may have a client who tells you what they want, for example "We want to break into the big time and sell more widgets."

You must be absolutely clear about what the goals of your website are. What does success look like? How will you know when you have got there?

Having this information clearly in your head helps you:

1. make the thousands of design decisions between now and a finished product

2. communicate with your client and maintain their confidence throughout the process

3. show that you have achieved what you set out to do

Guide to Designing Websites - Step 3

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are many steps involved with website design which you should be familiar with.

3. Know what your website visitors want

In the ideal world, you would like to show your designs to all your site's target users, and find out what works well for them. In practical terms this is not possible, so you need another approach.

One approach to understanding what your website visitors want is to develop personas and scenarios, based on a simple goal-directed. This involves understanding why a particular person is using your website and what they hope to achieve by using it.

Guide to Designing Websites - Step 4

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are many steps involved with website design which you should be familiar with.

4. Get a good picture of the personality and style of the web site

User personas provide a great insight into a visitor’s goals and behaviour. However, a website often has its own goals that may be in conflict with the goals of the users. The site also often has soft goals, to support or develop its brand.

Therefore, you need a method to balance all these various forces in the best way possible. You may like to consider the concept of site persona, which symbolizes the website's personality, drive and goals in the same way that user personas do for users. The site persona represents both the brand and the goals of the website, which you work into the mix through dialogue with user personas.

Think of your website's interactions as a series of conversations between user personas and the site persona. The users are trying to get what they want, and the site persona is trying to help them, whilst making sure it fulfils its own purpose.

Guide to Designing Websites - Step 5

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are many steps involved with website design which you should be familiar with.

5. Sketch out highly successful scenarios

When are sure about what your site wants to achieve, and what your visitors want to achieve, it is time to begin planning out the website structure.

Some designers do not begin with a site map because they find them too restrictive. Instead, they prefer to sketch out the experience, using pencil & paper, showing the most important components of the interaction between site and user.

Sometimes, these sketches are in the form of a scripted dialogue, where the user persona and site persona communicate as though in a conversation, which will eventually be translated into visual elements.

Typically, a sketch may contain the following:

Stars showing how a user arrives at the site - entry points
Circles showing actions, views or places - which may eventually become pages
Arrows showing how users may move around the site
Speech bubbles representing what a user persona thinks at key places

Guide to Designing Websites - Step 6

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are many steps involved with website design which you should be familiar with.

6. Organise views into a site map

The next step is to plan out what pages will be on your website, how they may be grouped, and how users will find their way around easily.

Effectively, your site map will combine all the views from your initial free sketches into a structure that is clear and economical. Your visitors must be able to move easily and freely from place to place, following their noses to their goals.

Guide to Designing Websites - Step 7

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are many steps involved with website design which you should be familiar with.

7. Sketch the essential features and look

It is now time to begin designing the page, however, you are still working on paper at this point. You will probably find that paper and pencil are much quicker tools than a computer, no matter what software package you use.

You may like to start by closing your eyes and trying to visualise what kind of layout and look will feel right, providing a good clean interface that portrays the right personality.

Then sketch that quickly onto paper, in a rough rectangle, and include the essential features:

Overall page structure and proportions
Level 1 navigation - your sections
Other global navigation, such as login/out, site map, help, footer navigation
Main areas of screen real-estate
Any key graphical elements

Guide to Designing Websites - Step 8

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are many steps involved with website design which you should be familiar with.

8. Map your visitors' attention

A very important component in your page layout sketch is obtaining a good idea of where your visitors will want to look.

When you build the page on the computer, your job is to balance the relative noticeability of all the visual elements on the page, so that visitors will be logically drawn to the things that are most important. Things that increase noticeability are:

Bigger things
Strong colours, but be careful to use them sparingly
High contrast, either shapes, lines or edges with significantly different tones
Movement, either actual animation or dynamic lines that give the impression of movement
Items with plenty of space around them as they are easier to identify and seem more important
Items placed at high-value positions on the page, for example towards the top-left and down the middle, depending upon your layout

There is a golden rule which comes into play here. Everything on your site must either:

Help your visitors achieve their goals, or
Support the site's goals without obstructing the visitor's goals

So you can use these devices to show visitors where to look, and where they do not need to look (unless they need to).

Website Goals

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

What is your goal?

A very important aspect of your website design is the setting of your goals. The best place to begin is by writing down what you think your current goal is. You should end up with something like:

"I have created a successful site that promotes our products well and creates over a hundred sales leads a month"
"I am confident in my web design expertise and about going for that job, and I feel relaxed hanging out with those other new media professionals"
"Because of my work on the site, my colleagues respect me as the authority in web design, and my boss wants to give me that promotion"

Note that these goals are expressed in the present tense. That is what you focus on, what it feels like and looks like to have created something.

Goals are States of Being, Not Doing

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

You need to pay close attention to the goals you set when you are developing your website design. You should be careful what you wish for. Try and avoid goals like, "My goal is to create…" or "My goal is to design…", because these represent doing processes, not being places.

If you make your goal a doing goal, that is what you'll receive - continuous effort. Concentrate on the end result and your mind will find its way directly through the doing.

Consider this analogy. Imagine you love riding your my mountain bike over rocky terrain. You have learnt to focus your eyes down the trail, and to look at the spaces between rocks, not at the rocks themselves. If you look at the rock, you ride into it. The moral is, you hit what you focus on.

It is great even if you only have a rough idea of where you wish to be. You are already ahead in the design game.

Are Your Website Goals Really Goals?

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

A very important aspect of your website design is the setting of your goals. It is quite likely that you will find that you have a number of different criteria that appear to be equally important. However, you should have only one consistent goal. You need to work out what elements really comprise success, and which are only nice to haves.

For each of your criteria, ask the question, "If I don't achieve this, will that mean failure?" If the answer is "yes", the factor in mind is a true goal, or aspect of your goal. Retain this goal.

After you are happy your goal is complete and accurate, write it down and keep it to hand. It will help you succeed and keep you focused on what you need to achieve.

Also, make sure you throw away your false goals so that you do not get distracted by them.

Visualize Your Success Point

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Being able to see your success point can play an important role in your website design. Visualization is a strong approach that helps you see the path you need to take to get somewhere. It really is just playing a picture in your mind's eye. The picture should be as realistic as possible, so note where you are, who you are with, what's going on around and most importantly what you say.

A great starting point is to say, "My goal is to know that my products are taking off in the market and that people really want to buy them."

However, visualizing success goes a step further towards helping you see what needs to occur to make your goal real. For example, success might be when you can say to someone, "In the last seven days we have received 10 orders online, and responded to 30 requests for information from our website." This means that 9 orders, or only 25 information requests don't signify success.

See the difference? Success means getting orders and requests for information from the website. That implies your website needs to be seen by people, provide them a convincing picture of your products, and make it easy for them to get in touch with you or order online. These are all real things that need to be in place. Visualizing the success point helps you also visualize other things that need to be true, and which have helped success come about, such as your site, your message, your feedback system and your online ordering system.

Be Realistic About Your Website Goals

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The setting of goals is very important in your website design considerations. You must be realistic about your aims. For example, "Getting more people to pick up the phone and speak to a salesperson" may be a realistic aim, whereas "Closing more sales via the web site" may be unrealistic. Websites are good places to sell books, software, insurance and tickets, but that are not so good for selling houses, cars or closing business deals.

Having a realistic goal in mind will increase your chance of success. Make a note of your success statement. Try and put numbers on it, such as visitors, profits or requests for information.

Then you need to test your statement. Would 10% less mean you haven't succeeded? Make it clear in your own mind that you really believe that, when you can say that statement truthfully, your project will be a success.

Being aware of your personal goal, and what it will look like when you have reached it, will help you make decisions that take you nearer that point, and know what to do next.

Your Websiteâ��s Goals

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The goals of your website play an extremely important role in your website design. If you already have a website, or you have a site project in mind, what needs does it accomplish? How many different needs are there? How strong are they?

To achieve this, you need to create a site that fits its environment. In particular, it should enable all the important goals to be met and in the right balance of priority. Any clutter or confusion will make that process less efficient, which may cause the site to fail to realise some of its goals.

The general purpose of website design is to make possible the communication of information. What is the important information that your site wants to collect or promote? Is it hard data or soft impressions? Are there any commercial motives behind the communication?

You will need to pay close attention to the sphere of design. If the website's goals are softer (e.g. brand building, entertainment, or a fashion portfolio), you will more than likely need a solution that is very strong on aesthetics and a little less focused on speed of use. However, if your goals are harder (e.g. selling products online, giving access to data, providing applications), you must concentrate more on functional imperatives, which means going a bit lighter on aesthetic richness.

Website Goals - Identify stakeholders

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The setting of goals is very important in your website design considerations and one of the key aspects of goal setting is identifying the important stakeholders.

A great way to begin obtaining a complete and clear picture of the full range of objectives a website needs to satisfy is to consider all the people or groups who have some significant interest in the project's success. These people or groups are known as stakeholders.

Stakeholders are real people, for example:

the client who is funding the venture and has a commercial interest in success
the sales person who follows up leads that come in from the website
the person in customer support whose job will be made easier

If you can speak to these people, get them to tell you what will signify success to them. Test each idea by asking, if this doesn't become true, will that represent overall failure?

Website Goals - Stakeholder Success Criteria

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The goals of your website play an extremely important role in your website design, and along with identifying key stakeholders, it is also important to consider success criteria.

Stakeholders' success criteria can be helpful in managing your client relationship, by helping you agree realistic and achievable goals in advance. With this in mind, make sure you capture the stakeholder's own words, so that you can refer back to them.

During the website design and development process, you may receive new requests from stakeholders, to include new features or link to other places. It may be tempting to try to make a website do more and more, as your focus changes over time. The designer may find themselves under pressure from conflicting sources. Success criteria can assist in keeping everyone clear on the true objectives.

At a future date, you can revisit the success criteria, and help your stakeholders realise how your project has succeeded, even if their aspirations have altered over time.

Website Goals - What Does Your Website Have To Do?

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The setting of goals is very important in your website design considerations and one of the key aspects of goal setting is identifying exactly what the website has to do. At this point, begin by writing down what needs to happen for your primary personas to reach their goals? Also, what must your site avoid to prevent failure?

Some examples include:

"The website must enable Joyce to find out what help Wallymedia can offer to help solve her website issues, as quickly as possible, and without patronising her."
"The client area must give John enough new information about the best of web design to keep him coming back regularly, and provide an environment where he finds it easy to express his views."
“The site should enable John, Janice and Frank to register quickly and easily."

Website Goals - Balancing Opposing Goals

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The goals of your website play an extremely important role in your website design. After you have identified your own goal for the project, the various stakeholders' objectives that the site should satisfy and the set of important goals that you must help your primary personas achieve, you might feel like you are facing an extremely difficult task.

How can you possibly balance all these opposing forces?

Your purpose may include results that are different from what your visitor wants. For example, you may want them to be aware of a new product, or you may want them to understand what differentiates your business from a competitor.

These personal or commercial imperatives can be part of your website's goals. However, what if you realize that your primary persona's goals are at odds with your goals? If you prioritize their goals completely, can your site still be a success? And if your users are not able to achieve their goals, why should they use your website?

Win-win solutions

Of course, the ideal situation is a win-win solution, where you achieve your goal at the same time as enabling your visitors to reach theirs.

Website Goals - Key Facts to Help You Find Win-Win Solutions

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The goals of your website play an extremely important role in your website design, however, sometimes there are opposing forces which need to be balanced. Of course, the ideal solution is a win-win, where you achieve your goal at the same time as enabling your visitors to reach theirs.

1. Your visitors are not your enemies

Do not assume that your website visitors are completely opposed to your goals. Consumers understand that websites sometimes need to make money, and do not expect everything good to come for free.

You have a limited amount of goodwill available. What will annoy your visitors is when your priorities get in the way of what they want.

2. The 'Scent' factor

Don't assume that you must design exclusively to get your visitors to their goal as quickly as possible, with no compromises along the way. Good win-win solutions find creative ways to get the publisher's needs met without getting in the visitors' way too much.

Studies have shown that, as long as visitors remain confident that they are on track to their goals, the experience will feel successful and smooth. This is sometimes referred to as giving visitors the 'scent' of the goal, and it allows additional scope for the site to meet its objectives.

3. Trade-off

We are willing to put up with some pain or confusion, if we perceive the reward to be worth it. We can rely on the trade-off effect to some degree, at least until someone finds a way to deliver the same benefit with less pain.

Website Goals - Examples of Online Win-Win Solutions

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Here are some examples of online win-win solutions.

Messages at "rest points" in transactional services

There are many websites which place large advertisements on the page where you download software, and also feature other downloads on home pages and section pages. In this way, visitors see advertisements at rest points, while waiting for something else to finish.

Inline advertising on content of value

Many websites put big advertisements inline within articles, which the reader has to read round, like a newspaper ad. This is acceptable because you think you can ignore the advertisement, but you might just sneak a look.

Subtle promotional tags

Hotmail promotes its service by simply adding a couple of lines to the bottom of each email message sent.

Entertainment

We have all see funny cartoons or advertisements, which promote a brand while providing amusement. These are often created specifically for the web, or for viral promotion via email.

Contests

Another familiar mechanism from offline media. Consumers may decide to part with a small amount of time or information in return for the chance to win something. These are often impulse decisions.

Giving to get

Lots of sites give away a limited amount of free content, or free service within an acceptable boundary. The intention is that, by letting visitors use the service free of charge, more people have the opportunity to realize how this particular offering helps them get where they want to be, and in order to do that more easily or more effectively, they may consider paying for the full service.

Timing the "call to action" is critical to this approach. You want to give your customers enough for free that they get a good idea of the value of your offering, and still feel they want more, at the point you offer a call to purchase or subscribe.

Newsletters

Newsletters provide a great example of giving to get. They can achieve a number of goals while delivering worthwhile information to people's inboxes.

The Benefits of Text in Web Design - Part 1

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

How you use text can have an extremely important role when you are looking at your website design. Even with the limitations of not being able to control font face and size, 'plain' text has properties that make it a very powerful tool. These properties include:

Clear and quick to understand
Downloads and renders faster
Simple to abstract to database or CMS

Clear and quick to understand

Text can be much clearer than images because it is 'literal', i.e. there is no interpretation required. The word "Search" on a button is totally unambiguous, whereas a magnifying icon, binoculars or arrow requires some form of interpretation.

However, this is not always the case. Sometimes an image or icon can be much more compact and efficient than the equivalent text and therefore faster to understand. On other occasions, the goal may be more 'fuzzy' meaning.

Downloads and renders faster

Reducing the overall size of files, and number of files, used to render a web page is advantageous for many reasons. Every character of text uses exactly one byte of data. Even with HTML or CSS markup, text in HTML form is much smaller than graphical text.

Simple to abstract to database or CMS

Text is pure data, which makes it simple to read electronically, analyse, abstract, store, transmit, search, replace, order, index, change and convert. Alternatively, text or signs in graphics are concrete and fixed. You cannot do much with graphics once they are created. The flexibility of text makes it easy to abstract to a database, from where it can be drawn and applied as required.

These properties allow web designers to:

Build content management systems (CMS), that separate a website's content from its logic and formatting.
Build multi-lingual sites and applications, that use different text depending on context. The logic and formatting can remain the same: only the content needs to change.
Render text-based content in other formats, and on other platforms.
Alter the logic and formatting (design) of a website without having to re-create all the graphics.

The Benefits of Text in Web Design - Part 2

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Completely searchable and indexable
Can be easily selected, copied and pasted
Accessibility benefits
Cross platform portability

Completely searchable and indexable

Web browsers provide human readers easy ways to search a web page for a required word or phrase. Also, sites can easily index text-based content, which can be used to enable powerful search tools. Even though indexing graphics is technically possible, it is much more difficult, so is in the domain of the more costly indexing tools.

External parties, such as search engines can crawl and index your website, which may deliver marketing benefits.

Can be easily selected, copied and pasted

Lots of people have been frustrated by trying to select a company's telephone number from its web page to paste into a contact record, only to discover that it is actually a graphic. These little things can make a difference.

Accessibility benefits

The flexibility of text is clearly evident in the area of accessibility. Users with slightly impaired vision may need to use a larger text setting on their web browser, in order to browse happily. Text content is normally resizable, whereas, graphics never are.

Users with severe visual impairments can use text-to-speech screen readers. These read the on-screen content and translate it into audible speech through a voice synthesizer. Graphical content can be translated in this way only if it has a useful HTML ALT tag.

Cross platform portability

Content that is separated from a website's logic and design/format can be rendered using an alternative design, or even syndicated to another site altogether. Websites are already viewed on other platforms other than computer-based browsers, such as WAP (mobile phones), or PDA (via AvantGo or similar).

WAP can only show text; many PDAs can only translate graphics into 2-colour black and white images. Any complex graphics may lose all their value in these situations.

General Guidelines for Graphics in Web Design - Part 1

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The use of graphics or imagery can play an extremely important part in your website design. There are some basic guidelines you should consider when looking at using graphics on your website.

Use imagery or graphics to add meaning, either to the brand, or to the content. Try to be as economical as possible, and get additional meaning from fewer graphics. Imagery that has meaning (Primary imagery) should be the focus of a web page design. Concentrate primary imagery in the following areas:

Site identification or logo
Primary content
Primary navigation

Where other graphics are used, they should support the primary imagery, by helping the eye move over lower-priority elements. This does not mean that non-primary areas cannot be rich and subtle, but they should not be attractive, in the literal sense. Flat colours, subtle contrast, gentle gradients, smooth curves, and fresh white space can help the user focus, and look great.

Remember the website's goals and the users' goals, and apply graphics in a appropriate proportion.

General Guidelines for Graphics in Web Design - Part 2

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The use of graphics or imagery can play an extremely important part in your website design. There are some basic guidelines you should consider when looking at using graphics on your website.

Navigation

Clarity is more important than attractiveness for navigation, and other functional controls. Controls should be simple to identify, and their purpose should be clear. The easiest way to achieve both of these qualities is to use well-known and recognized conventions.

Do not reinvent functional controls

You are more likely to reduce usability by spending on designing functional and interface controls. It is very tricky to build effective icons, and can be very time-consuming for little benefit.

Beware of icons

When they work, icons are incredibly powerful. A good icon is a compact visual shorthand that represents a complex idea in the minimum space. A good icon does not need decoding, its meaning is so clear or familiar. For example, Printer means "Click here to print", or an exclamation mark in a yellow triangle means "Warning" or "Alert".

However, it is extremely tricky to design an effective icon, and harder still to design a consistent set of icons. Consider hard your reasons for using an icon, if it is justified to use them, go for established 'iconic' images.

It is not worth trying to reinvent the wheel. An image does not just become an icon, in any sphere of design. It has to be used over a period of time, adopted by more people and become established in the community consciousness.

Creating Content for Web Pages

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the most important aspects of your website design is the actual content on each page. It is hazardous to begin a design before paying close attention to what a site will feature and why.

A good website design builds a structure that allows a clear two-way dialogue with all its users. Content is a web designer’s problem. Many designers think that web design is about the interface, and that content is what is added on later, or else it's "the client's problem".

Designing for the content should be the web designer's problem and focus because content is the key to success. Remember the purpose of design is to allow communication between the consumer and the content.

The most important point to remember is that content is what it is all about.

It is content that makes a website work, flow and communicate well with the right tone. That makes it the web designer's problem, because effective communication is a designer’s problem. It is a designer’s task to maximize a website's effectiveness and that means understanding how users will interact with a site's content.

It always helps to have a framework to begin with so that you are not designing into thin air. A good method to create a framework is to list what a site has to say, and then prioritise those messages. It may be beneficial to visualize an active two-way conversation between the site and the user.

Zoom - A Critical Web Design Technique

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Many people neglect to consider zoom when they are looking at their website design, however, zoom is a critical web design technique. Zooming is a very simple concept that can solve a wide range of web design problems.

Zooming your content simply means increasing the size of the key page features relative to less important features. Also, zooming in on the content to optimise the content with most communication value.

Zooming Enhances Getability

One of the absolutely fundamental principles of the "Save the Pixel" web design philosophy is to manage your visitor's attention so that they "get" your web page immediately when they arrive.

When a page is "getable", you know straightaway:

What the site is about, eg. brand, proposition
What is on the website
What you can get or do there

So that you get:

That you are in the right place to get what you want (or not)

There are many skills and techniques that contribute to achieving getability. We need to make sure that appealing factors (size, colour, tonal contrast, and dynamism) are applied to draw the eye to the content, and furthermore to the most important content first.

Give Your Website a Color Scheme

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are planning your website design, it is very important to consider the immense impact color has on your overall concept. Visually appealing web pages must have a consistent color scheme. Without color, a page lacks personality. With a consistent and balanced color scheme, a page can have a consistent and balanced personality. Too much color, or inconsistent color, can give the page a confused personality.

A color scheme often refers to a consistent system of matching hues. Alternatively, it may mean a way of using colors, which do not necessarily belong to a family of hues.

As an example, Apple.com uses different colors in different sections, but the colors are used in a similar way. In this case, the consistency is obtained from the treatment and application, rather than the colors themselves.

Guidelines for Using Color

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

A design aspect you may like to consider for your website design is the appropriate use of color. Here are a few things for you to consider.

Use enough color

If you use too little color on your pages, you run the risk of looking boring or inert. Color is a good way of identifying, grouping or differentiating various elements. It is cheap, particularly when applied through Cascading Style Sheets. If you don’t use enough color, you will have to use other means to draw the eye, to differentiate and give meaning to elements.

Leave white space in web page layouts

White is the best shade for reading text against. It is conventional to place content areas against a white, or possibly a very light-colored, background. White areas quickly stand out to the scanning eye as likely content areas.

Use your lightest background for main content

Many website designers believe that white is the best color to put your central content on. The lightest tonal area on your page should be your content area because that is conventional and what the brain expects.

Keep intense colors for attracting the eye

Intense color attracts the eye, and the greater the area, the stronger the attraction. Too many intense colors attract the eye in too many directions, and the technique loses its potential effectiveness.

Avoid using too many different colors

Lots of color can look hyperactive or gaudy. Some colors naturally go well together, some naturally clash, particularly when adjacent, which can create nasty effects on some screens.

Limitations of Color - Color-Blindness

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

It is very important to consider all the potential visitors to your website when you are developing your website design. One aspect you may need to carefully think about is the use of color on your web pages. Some people (mainly males) have impaired ability to differentiate between certain colors. There are several types of color-blindness, the most common affecting red & green, where they appear very much the same.

The implication of this is that you should not use color, particularly red and green, to mark elements in such a way that a user needs to differentiate the colors to use the interface successfully. The W3C Accessibility guidelines state the following as a Priority 1 checkpoint, i.e. you need to comply with this requirement to claim ANY W3CAG compliance:

Ensure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.

A second checkpoint states:

Ensure that foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen. [Priority 2 for images, Priority 3 for text].

Contrast Attracts Your Eye

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

As well as considering the use of color in your website designs, it is important to carefully look at the use of contrast also. Contrast makes things stand out from their surroundings, thus making them more noticeable. Items with a higher contrast will be more noticeable.

Contrast is one of the most common problem areas with website designs, normally because there is not enough contrast, or the highest contrasting elements are not the right ones.

How to use Contrast

Website designers use contrast to help users to browse effectively by guiding the eye quickly and smoothly around the page. A web page that has been well designed feels refreshingly easy to look at because it helps to minimize the difficulty of interacting with a screen. All screen features compete for the eye's attention. High contrast is employed to promote the more important features. Low contrast helps to make less important features withdraw a little from view.

Contrast Devices

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The use of contrast is a very important consideration in your website design. Areas of high contrast attract the eye more than elements of low contrast. However, you can only use this if there are areas of low contrast to stand out from. If everything on a page is high in contrast, everything will be fighting harder for attention, and the result is a page that is tiring to look at.

Sharp changes in tone attract. The greater the difference in tone, and the sharper the boundary, the higher the contrast. Thick lines attract more than thin lines, however, lines that are too thick (fatter than the spaces between them) lose clarity. As a mass, black text has more contrast on the page, but the individual characters have less contrast in relation to the space that each word occupies, and so lose clarity

Areas of color that are different from the page background or color scheme stand out

This is intuitive. If you put an orange logo on a predominantly blue page, it will stand out because the color contrasts. A single white box on a dark page will stand out because there is a lot of tonal contrast.

New things with high contrast stand out more than familiar things

When a visitor has already seen even one page and identified that dark bar at the top as "navigation", and that strip below it as "a banner ad" they'll automatically start to ignore it. Therefore, when there is something important for the user to see, it is easier to show if it is placed in a part of the page that changes, i.e. content canvas. Otherwise, it would have to work a lot harder to be seen.

Movement attracts

Things that move are clearly very effective at attracting the eye. In real life, we need to be more interested in moving things because they are more likely to be food or a threat. Our brains are hard-wired to respond more to movement out of the corner of the eye than to things in centre-vision that move.

Movement doesn't just mean animation. To a lesser degree, the visual suggestion of movement also attracts. Diagonal lines attract more than square lines. Busy patterns attract more than flat tones.

The Squint Test

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Contrast is a very important element of website design. The squint test is a simple way of evaluating the overall contrast of a page.

All you need to do is close your eyelids so your eyes are about three quarters closed, resulting in normal text becoming blurred and unreadable. All you will be able to make out is areas of lights and darks, and strong colours. This will show the areas of highest contrast.

Determine where your eyes tend to focus. What are they drawn to on the page? This will give you a good impression of the most 'attractive' elements. Are they the right ones to help your visitors use the website successfully?

Web 2.0 - Central layout

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the important features of Web 2.0 website design is the concept of a central layout. Essentially, the vast majority of websites today are positioned centrally within the browser window. Only a few are full-screen (liquid) or left-aligned / fixed-size, compared to a just a couple of years ago.

Why a central layout is good

The Web 2.0 style is uncomplicated, bold and honest. Websites that sit straight front & center feel more uncomplicated, bold and honest.

Furthermore, as we are being more economical with our pixels and content, we are not as pressurised to pack as much information as possible above the waterline or page fold.

We are using less to say more, so we can be a bit more free and easy with the amount of space used, and pad out our content with plenty of attractive white space.

When & how to use a central layout

In general, it is probably a good idea to position your site centrally unless there is a particularly good reason not to. You may want to get more creative with the space, or get as much information on-screen as possible, for example with a web app.

Web 2.0 - Fewer columns

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, and in particular with reference to the Web 2.0 design philosophy, it is important to pay attention to the number of columns you plan to incorporate into your design.

A few years ago, 3-column sites were considered the standard, and even 4-column sites were not out of the ordinary. Today, it is more the case that a 2-column design is the norm and a 3-column design is the mainstream maximum.

Why using fewer columns is good

As with lots of Web 2.0 design features, less is more. Fewer columns feels uncomplicated, bolder and more honest. We are exchanging less information but in a much clearer fashion.

There is also a consequence of the ascendancy of centered layouts. As we are not filling the entire screen so much, and not trying to get as much on-screen at any one time, we simply do not require as many columns of information.

How to choose your columns

For a good Web 2.0 design, it is a good idea to use no more than 3 columns. The simple reason is that you should use no more of anything than you need to. However, there are exceptions and this is by no means a hard and fast rule, but more a general guideline.

Web 2.0 - Separate top sections

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the features of Web 2.0 website design is the notion of separate top sections. This means making the top of the screen (the main branding and navigation area) distinct from the rest of the page (the main content).

In actual fact, there is nothing new about this approach. It is a good idea and has been used by web designers for some time. However, it is being used more than ever now and the division is frequently stronger.

Why distinct top sections are good

The top section of your web page says "Here is the top of the page". It may sound obvious, but your visitors will feel good when they clearly know where the page starts.

It also begins the website experience with a strong, bold statement, saying this is very "Web 2.0". We like strong, simple, bold attitude.

When and how to use a distinct top section

Regardless of the website, both the main branding and main navigation should be obvious, bold and clear. So it is a good idea to create a clear space at the top of a website design that positions the logo and navigation boldly.

Always put your logo right up the top of the screen and it is probably a good idea to place your main navigation immediately after it. It is certainly a good practice to mark the top of the page with a section that marks out the high-level screen features as separate from the main website content.

The top section should be visually distinct from the rest of the page content. The strongest way to distinguish is to use a bold, solid block of different colour or tone, but there are alternatives such as using a solid line as a separator.

Web 2.0 - Solid areas of screen real estate

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, and in particular with reference to the Web 2.0 design philosophy, it is important to pay attention to the solid areas of screen real estate in your design.

Leading on from the clearly differentiated top area, you will notice that many websites define the various areas of real estate boldly and clearly.

Real estate comes in various forms, including:

Navigation
Background / canvas
Main content area
Callouts / cross-links

It is achievable to design a web page so that these areas are immediately distinct from their neighbours. The strongest way to do this is using color, however, white space can be just as effective.

The biggest risk with strong color is that it draws the eye, so it can take attention away from other important screen elements.

In general, it is probably a good approach to place clean content on white space as this creates an easier experience, helping the viewer to feel more relaxed and free to browse.

Web 2.0 - Simple navigation

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the important aspects of Web 2.0 website design is the idea of simple navigation. Permanent navigation, your global website navigation that appears on every page as part of the page template, must be clearly identifiable as navigation, and should be easy to interpret, target and select.

Web 2.0 design makes global navigation large, bold, clean and obvious. Inline hyperlinks (links within text) are typically clearly differentiated from normal text.

Why simple navigation is better

Visitors to your site must be able to identify navigation, which tells them various important information:

Where they are
Where else they can go from here
What options they have for doing stuff

Following the principle of simplicity, and general reduction of noise, the best approaches to simplify navigation are:

Positioning permanent navigation links apart from content
Differentiating navigation using colour, tone and shape
Making navigation items large and bold
Using clear text to make the purpose of each link unambiguous

How to keep your navigation simple

The best way to keep your navigation simple is to remember that navigation should be clearly distinguishable from non-navigation. Follow the guidelines above, regarding differentiation through position, colour and clarity. Inline hyperlinks should also stand out suitably from the text around them.

Web 2.0 - Bold logos

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, and in particular with reference to the Web 2.0 design philosophy, it is important to pay attention to the use of bold logos and how they can enhance your design.

A clear, bold, strong brand, which incorporates attitude, tone of voice, and first impression, is certainly helped by a bold logo.

Why?

A strong, bold logos says "This is who we are." in a way that we can believe.

When & how?

It can be difficult to describe how to create a good logo, but in general terms, your logo should:

work visually in its main context, and any other uses in which it may be used, such as flyers or t-shirts
be recognisable and distinctive
represent your brand's personality and qualities on first viewing

Web 2.0 - Bigger text

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the important aspects of Web 2.0 website design is the use of bigger text. Many Web 2.0 sites have big text, compared to older style sites.

If you fill the same amount of space with less content, you will have more room. When you have made more room, you can choose to make more important elements bigger than less important elements, if they are still there.

Making things bigger makes them more obvious than lesser elements. This effect has been used throughout the history of print design, on headings, title pages and headlines.

Not only does big text stand out, but it is also more accessible to more people. Not just for people with visual impairments, but also people looking on LCD screens in sunlight, people sitting a little further from the screen and people just skimming the page. That can be quite a lot of people.

When and how to use big text

Big text makes most pages more usable for more people, so it is a good thing. Of course, size is relative. You cannot take a normal, busy site, make all the text bigger, and make it more usable. That probably will not work and will more than likely make it worse.

In order to use big text, you have to make room by simplifying and removing unnecessary elements. You also need to have a reason to make some text bigger than other text. That text must be meaningful and useful. There's no point adding some big text just to make your site look Web 2.0.

If you need to have a lot of information on a page, and it is all of relatively equal in importance, then maybe you can keep it all small.

Web 2.0 - Bold text introductions

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, and in particular with reference to the Web 2.0 design philosophy, you may like to consider the use of a bold text introduction to enhance your design.

Leading on from the big text theme, many sites lead with strong all-text headline descriptions. These normally set out the site's unique selling point, elevator pitch or main message.

They tend to be graphical, rather than normal text. The reason for this is that designers want a lot of control over the page's visual impact, especially early on in a browsing experience.

When and how to use a bold text introduction

Only use one if you have got something bold to say. If you don’t have something bold to say, then maybe it's worth having a think about the purpose of your site and coming up with something worth saying boldly.

If you have a simple message that you want your visitors to see first, then go ahead and headline it. Make it clear by putting it against a relatively plain background.

Web 2.0 - Rich surfaces

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the important aspects of Web 2.0 website design is the use of rich surfaces. Many 2.0 style websites use subtle 3D effects, sparingly, to enhance the qualitative feel of the design. We all know that these little touches feel nice, but we may not know why.

Realistic surface effects, such as drop-shadows, gradients and reflections, help make a visual interface feel more real, solid and "finished". They may also remind us of certain tangible or aesthetic qualities of real world objects, such as water droplets, shiny plastic buttons and marble floors. Creating items that look solid and real can make it look "touchable", which is likely to increase their appeal.

When and how to use rich surfaces

The golden rule here is to use with care and not to overdo it. These effects should not be applied to everything. Like any of these techniques, a rich surface may add value to your design when used sensitively and appropriately.

If your navigation, icon, logo or layout is a poor design to begin with, you will not be able to polish your way out. You must get the fundamentals right first.

It can also be important to maintain a consistent light-source. Although this can get more complex with the illusion of back-lit diffusion in buttons etc., you still know whether an overall design feels consistent.

3D effects can also make elements seem to stand out from the page, but only if the rest of the page is relatively flat. Avoid trying to make your entire design 3D-realistic because:

It is more work
It will increase the overall size of the page assets
You don't need to. 3D effects use lots of different pixels, and different pixels should be used deliberately to draw the visitor's attention to key content elements, or to enhance "soft" informational aspects. A little goes a long way.

Web 2.0 - Gradients

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, and in particular with reference to the Web 2.0 design philosophy, you may like to consider the use of gradients to enhance your design. The use of gradients in Web 2.0 design is very popular.

Why gradients are so useful

Gradients are useful because they soften areas that would otherwise be flat color or tone. They can create the illusion of a non-flat surface. Gradients can be used to fade a color into a lighter or darker tone, which can help create mood.

For page backgrounds, gradients can also create an illusion of distance. A common gradient combination is blue-to-white, which suggests the effect of aerial perspective, creating the sense that the background fades away towards the horizon.

Gradients are commonly used at the very top of page backgrounds, where they help denote the boundary of the viewable area. They are also an integral part of drop-shadows, and the inner-glows and spectacular highlights you see on glass- or plastic-style buttons.

Note that gradients usually work best when placed next to with areas of flat color or tone.

Web 2.0 - Cute icons

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, and in particular with reference to the Web 2.0 design philosophy, you may like to consider the use of cute icons to enhance your design. Icons play an important role in Web 2.0 design. Today web designers use fewer but better icons that carry more meaning.

Icons can be useful when they are easily recognisable and carry a clear meaning. In many other cases, a simple word is more effective.

In the past, icons were often overused. It seemed that everyone wanted an icon for every navigation link or tab. Now, we use clear text more extensively, and are less ready to fill a page with icons.

When Web 2.0 designers do use icons, they are reserved for higher-value spots, where simpler, more spacious designs demand less attention and allow for a richer icon.

Design the Content, Not the Page

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Good modern web designs place less energy into designing the page background, like the canvas and permanent page features, but rather focus on designing the actual content itself. This reflects the principle of drawing the reader’s attention to the content.

The effects can be seen in:

Freer, less boxed-in page layouts
Softer, simpler, receding page "furniture"
Strong color and 3D effects used to draw attention to the content itself, including the main branding
The focus is on making the site's subject look good, rather than making the web designer look good

Lessons to learn

What designers should learn from this trend is that it is not enough to design a blank page, to be swollen with content later. Content should be a designer’s problem. Designers should be thought of as communicators, not decorators, and website content carries the majority of the message.

Why center-align?

When the content sits in the centre of the screen, it feels up-front and confident. It also gives a sense of simplicity and balance, which reflects the move towards clean balanced design.

The most common centered designs are either fixed-width (i.e. master width in pixels or percent) or sometimes zoom-width (i.e. master width in ems). The benefit of restricting the width of the content (particularly with zoom-width, which resizes as the font size changes) is that the line-length is prevented from getting too long on larger screens. Very long lines of text are less efficient.

But it is also possible to have a liquid layout with a center-orientation. With this layout, just centering a logo can bring the friendly, forward-facing feel of the centered site, while getting a lot of content visible on the screen.

White on White Environments

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, one of the aspects you may consider is the effective use of whitespace. If you follow the path of pixel-saving through, you end up at a place where the empty page should feel very light and empty, a clinical super-modern space, similar to a surgical theatre or art gallery.

White is typically the best base color for web pages, because you want your content to have lots of contrast against its background. That means you need either light content against a very dark background, or dark and intense content against a very light background. Many people find that dark backgrounds tend to make pages feel sombre and heavy.

The background, or page canvas, tends to be light grey, for the following reasons:

A background tone is used because many modern layouts are zoom-width (i.e. master width defined in ems in CSS), to avoid the layout and line length being stretched too wide.

It is good for your background to look like a background, distinct from the content area, so that it is clear for visitors where to look to get what they need.

You do not want your background to contrast too much against the content area, because this would create a high-contrast edge, which draws the eye away from the content.

If our content area is white, the background should be a close plain tone, which means light grey or very pale colours.

Allowing Content to Stand Out

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

A design aspect you may like to consider for your website design is allowing your content to stand out. When you have a simple, plain, fresh environment, it gives you a great space to show your content for high impact and good, clean communication.

The term "white on white" comes in where, not only is the background spacious and well-lit, but when you find the main "furniture" elements are taken from a bleached-out palette.

Imagine a shiny, super-modern apartment space, where the walls and woodwork are all white or glass, and your eye is irresistibly drawn to the feature of the room. That is what some designers try and achieve for their web pages.

The reader’s eye is drawn to color and contrast that stands out, so when the background of a page is whited out, you have to look at the content, and the designer can easily make the most important bigger, bolder and more contrasting to make visitors notice it.

The main principle here is that you use just enough contrast in tone and color to let you differentiate one element from the next, but no more, in order to minimize the visual draw of background graphics.

Clarity in Website Design

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An important part of any website design is the clarity of the page. The goal is to arrange various elements on the web page to maximize your visitors chance of using the site successfully.

There is a set of simple designer's tools available to help you help the user. Clarity is all about the relationships between elements. The main factor of effective visual design is creating relationships to show:

what is part of what
what is different from what
how different elements relate to each other

One primary principle for clarity is economy. Do not use more techniques than necessary to differentiate. For example, if you use bold text to differentiate one piece of text from another, ask if you really need to use a colon as well.

Tools for Designing the Display Layer

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are designing your website, there are a number of tools available to you to help with the design of the display layer. These are a set of simple designer's tools available to help you help the user. Used in conjunction with layout tools (grouping, alignment etc.), these are further devices that have an impact over a design's attractiveness and ease of use.

The main design tools include:

Contrast
Color
Richness
Dynamism

Contrast

Contrast is the main tool of eye control. Contrast attracts the eye and it is the easiest surface mechanism to use. In order to work, contrast needs to be balanced against areas of low contrast.

Color

Color can attract the eye. Use color sympathetically to make a page attractive and easy on the eye, and also to pick out items for special attention. Colors must balance with other colors and areas of low color.

Richness

Richness can be created through use of color, pattern, layering, and 3D effects such as gradients, shadows and highlights. The eye can remain on richer areas, so use specific areas of rich detail in key areas.

Dynamism

Movement is another factor that attracts the eye. This does not mean that an element must actually be animated as some shapes, such as diagonals and busy patterns can suggest movement.

Using Attention Maps in Web Page Layout

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An aspect of website design you may like to consider is the use of an attention map in your web page layout. Attention mapping is a very simple web design approach to help you start to plan a web page layout around realistic communication between user and site. It can also be a useful analysis tool, assisting you to work out what is wrong about a web page layout.

The most important elements on a page are those that help the user, and the site for that matter, achieve their goals. Those things should be nearest to hand, and in positions where they can be easily seen.

Attention maps are great because it is much quicker and easier to sketch out your priorities first on paper than to try to do it as you go in Photoshop etc. Once you've got your map, you can use it to guide the amount of contrast and noticeability you give to each screen element.

1. Primary importance

What are the most important elements on the page, the ones the user most likely needs to use? Are there any? A regular web page will normally have three or less of these elements.

Only applications that use a common interface that features multiple tools should ever have more than three. If you can think of more than three, consider whether they are really all top priority. Take a piece of paper and draw a placeholder for the top-priority elements, really big and bold, up near the top-left.

2. Secondary importance

Next, consider the things that the user may need to find, but not urgently. Add these to your attention map, half as big and half as bold as any urgent elements. Then, take the minor elements that probably belong on the screen, and add them, smaller and less bold, and so on.

Choosing a Website Model

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you will need to think carefully about which website model you choose. You may have an idea for a website already, something you want to sell, or something you want to write about. However, before you start building your website you will need to decide what type of site it will be as there are a variety of different types to choose from.

There are two main types of sites on the Internet; ecommerce sites and content-driven sites. Ecommerce sites are those that sell products and content sites are those that provide information or other content.

There are different types of content sites and which type of site you choose to run will greatly influence the type of work you need to do to create it, as well as the type of work needed to maintain it. Also some site topics may lend themselves to a certain type of site, so when you decide what topic you want your site to be on, that decision may influence your site type choice.

Online Magazines

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Online Magazine sites are those styled on a typical magazine. These types of sites are article driven and add new content regularly. You may think of them as periodicals for the Internet. Online magazine sites often start slow but have the potential to pick up steam with an exponential growth curve. The reason is that with regularly added content you ultimately get a large library of content built up and you also attract a high number of return loyal visitors, much like subscribers to a magazine.

Online magazine sites are typically started with only a small amount of content with more content added on a regular basis. At first you will either need to pay writers to write that content or write it yourself, however, eventually you may be able to seek contributions from among your return visitors. These return visitors are also valuable in that they will keep using your site regardless of ongoing promotion efforts and their existence will make it easier for you to launch a community or forum on your site. You will only develop a loyal user following though with well written, useful, and regularly updated content and so online magazines, when compared to other site types, tend to require to most ongoing maintenance and writing work to run.

Blogs

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Web logs, or blogs as they are often called, are very similar to online magazines. Like online magazines, blogs feature and require regularly updated content. Where they differ is mostly in writing style. A blog is informal by nature and while many people still write formally in their blog, it is more typical to come across informal opportunistic writing. So that when a blogger wishes to write about a topic they do not necessarily open up their word processor and do a few hours or more worth of research or investigation before posting. Rather they just sit down and write. This informal, unpolished quality, is part of the appeal of a blog. In addition to the informal writing style, another unique characteristic of a blog is that the content is organized chronologically.

Blogs have a lot of things going for them in the monetization and promotion area. Unlike generic website publishing, blogging has become more main stream and as such you may find it easier to find advertisers, or even to find someone to buy you out for a tidy sum. In addition, blogs attract links like no other type of site. If you loathe having to work hard to build incoming links, open a blog, they will be much easier to obtain. The main disadvantage of a blog is that you are more or less locked into a content type. With other types of content sites you can expand easily and add new types of content or new types of content organization. For example, a resource site could one day open a community and/or a blog to complement their other content. With a blog though, you are usually stuck with that type of organization.

Another piece of good news with a blog is that there are great pre-existing scripts for site management, so if you do not have programming skills or do not wish to pay for a lot of custom development a blog may be the right choice for you.

Web 2.0

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you may come across the term Web 2.0. So what is Web 2.0 design and what does it mean for you? Many people use the term Web 2.0 to describe:

a resurgence in the web economy
a new level of technological interactivity between websites and services
or social phenomena deriving from new types of online communities and social networks

Others people will use the term in reference to a recent school of web design. If the term “Web 2.0 design” had to be summed up in one word, it would probably be "simplicity", so that is a great place to start. More and more people are becoming believers in simplicity and think that it is the way forward for website design.

Today's simple, bold, elegant page designs deliver more with less:

They enable designers to shoot straight for the site's goals, by guiding the site visitor's eye through the use of fewer, well-chosen visual elements.
They use fewer words but say more, and carefully selected imagery to create the desired feel.
They reject the idea that we can't guess what people seek from our sites.

Web 2.0 - Simplicity

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the important features of Web 2.0 website design is simplicity. This is where the designer tries to use as few features as possible to achieve what you want to achieve. Website design is simpler than ever, and that is a good thing.

Web 2.0 design means focused, clean and simple, however, that does not necessarily mean minimalist. More and more web designers are starting to believe in simplicity. That is not to say that all websites should be minimal, but that we should use as few features as are needed to achieve what you need to achieve. Given any two possible solutions to a problem, the simpler one is often the better.

Why simplicity is good

Websites have goals and all web pages have purposes.
Users' attention is a finite resource.
It is the designer's job to help users to find what they want, or to notice what the site wants them to notice.
Stuff on the screen attracts the eye. The more stuff there is, the more different things there are to notice, and the less likely a user is to notice the important stuff.
So we need to enable certain communication, and we also need to minimise noise. That means we need to find a solution that's does its stuff with as little as possible. That is economy, or simplicity.

There are two important aspects to achieving success with simplicity:

1. Remove unnecessary components, without sacrificing effectiveness.

2. Try out alternative solutions that achieve the same result more simply.

Web 2.0 - Remove All Unnecessary Visual Elements

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, and in particular with reference to the Web 2.0 design philosophy, it is important to pay attention to your use of visual elements.

Whenever you are designing, take it as a discipline consciously to remove all unnecessary visual elements. Concentrate particularly on areas of the layout that are less relevant to the purpose of a page, because visual activity in these areas will distract attention from the key content and navigation.

Use visual detail, such as lines, words, shapes, colour, to communicate the relevant information, not just to decorate. Of course, what you are often communicating is not hard data, but soft information.

Hard data means facts, such as news, stock prices, train times, or how much money is in your bank account.

Soft information covers the qualitative aspects of communication, such as the first impression about the quality of a company, the sense of how approachable a service provider is, and whether you feel a product will be right for you. It can be just as important as hard data.

Domain Name Information

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The first thing you need to do when building your own website is to obtain a domain name. Here are some details on what that is and why you need one. The main items you need to consider when getting a domain name are:

What is a domain name?
How to choose a good domain name
The best place to get a domain name
How to register a domain name

What is a Domain Name?

To put it simply, a domain name is your address on the web. It is the information that customers type in to find your website. It is what comes after the www. in www.domain.com.

A domain name can be any combination of letters and/or numbers up to 63 characters in length. The official domain name extensions are .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, .us and .ws. There are also other extensions like .tv and .tk but you will want to think carefully before choosing one of those.

How to Choose a Good Domain Name

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An important step when creating your website is the selection of a good domain name. Here is some information and tips to help you select the best domain name for you:

Keep it short

In general, the shorter, the better. If possible, it is a good idea to keep your domain name less than 15 characters. A shorter name is easier for people to remember and it also decreases the chances that your visitor will mistype it or spell it wrong. For example, GetIt.com has a lot less chance of being mistyped than iwantyoutobuythisfromherenow.com.

Keep it sweet

If you have a memorable name then people will find it easier to remember. You can have the best site in the world, but if people are not able to remember your domain name it will cut down on your return visitors. It is difficult enough to get traffic on the web without losing visitors that want to come back but cannot locate you.

Keep it simple

Choose a domain name that is simple for people to spell. Avoid spelling words in an unusual fashion. Unless you have fantastic branding, people will type in the common spelling of your domain and your competition will get visitors who were looking for you. For example, the domain name BlueRight.com is much better than BluRite.com

Choose a domain name that reflects your business

Do not select a random name. For example, if your sell dog supplies, you should select a name that has the words “dog supplies” in it such as YourDogSupplies.com. Or, your domain name should refer to dogs in some way, like barkbark.com. The first one will help you in the search engines. The second one will be more memorable.

When in doubt, choose a .com

If you are trying to decide between several different domain names, it is probably best to select the .com. It is what most people think of when they are typing in a domain name. Whilst many of the best names are gone, you may still find a good .com if you look. Many .coms expire and are released back in the market each month, so there is a solid supply of new domains coming into the market.

Choose a Web Host

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, one of the things you will need to consider is what web host to choose. It is very important that you select a good web host, where good does not necessarily mean expensive. But, good means reliable with great support.

Some people try and save money by choosing a free web host. They usually realize pretty quickly what a large mistake that can be. Free web hosting can end up costing much more than you save.

What is a Web Host?

A web host stores the website you create on their servers and transmits it to the internet so that when someone types in your domain name, your website appears in their browser. A server is another name for a computer that serves up your website to the internet.

How to Choose a Good Web Host

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

If you are looking at creating your own website, then you will need to know how to choose a good web host. It is very important that you choose a good web host. But, how do you know if a web host is good or not? Many hosts can look pretty much the same and they seem like they know what they are doing, right? There is one thing you can check on before you sign up and it is one of the most important things.

When you select a web host, make certain they have excellent support. If you have a problem with your website you want help right now, not in a day or two.

So, how can you determine how responsive the web host you are considering actually is? A great way is to test them. If they have a phone number, and they really should, call them late at night or on weekends to see if they are actually there.

You may also like to send an e-mail to their support e-mail address and ask them a basic question such as "How many e-mail addresses am I allowed?" and see how long it takes them to get back to you. For a non-emergency email like, you should probably get a response within 12 hours to be acceptable. If you send the e-mail on Saturday and they don't get back to you until Monday, that isn't too good. If they take more than 12 hours and either don't have phone support or aren't answering, you are probably better of selecting another web host.

Web Host Do's and Don'ts

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you have selected a web host, you will then have to decide upon what plan you want. Most web hosts provide several different plans and in many cases you may want you to purchase the more expensive one.

1. Do get the least expensive plan. Many people purchase a larger plan because they are not sure how much space they need and the space in the smaller plans does not seem like much. In general, 10 MB is enough for most first websites. If you want to be sure, then select a plan around 50 MB which a huge amount of space.

2. Don't get caught up in what the various hosts offer like PHP, MySQL and a lots of other similar sounding features. If you do not know what those things are, then you more than likely do not need them.

Web Site Hosting - Free versus Pay

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are creating your website, you will need to look closely at the web host options available to you. Some people go with free websites which gives them a domain name similar to www.freeservice.com/mydomain/. In general, free is good, but free websites and domain names are just not worth it.

Typically, free website services are unreliable. Your website may be up for a week and down for two. If your website is down, they probably will not care. Why would they? You are not paying them anything.

Also, they can shut down at any time. Nothing is worse than spending hours creating and promoting a website and then have it just vanish.

Even worse, you have no control over what advertising they put on your site. Most visitors will think pop ups are annoying. Would you go back to a site that has a pop up when you enter, when you go to another page and when you leave?

Another reason that free websites are not very good is that they hurt you in the search engines. The higher you get in the search engines the more visitors you will get to your site. Most search engines put pay domain names ahead of the free ones, so if you have a free one you are going to be further down the search engines.

In general, free sites and domain names will make your life a lot harder in the long run, so it is best to just go ahead and pay.

Website Builder Software

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at creating your own website, you may be interested in building the site yourself. To create a website yourself you need some kind of web building software. There are two main ways you can get this software:

1. Free from your web host. Some web hosts provide a web site builder that consists of free hosting and email. This is probably the best choice for people who are just starting out. All you need to do is click on the design you are interested in and then add your text.

If you want to offer products for sale on your site and accept credit cards, you will need to sign up with an outside credit card processor. Make sure you look into this carefully so you do not end up purchasing a lot of stuff you do not need or selecting a bad one.

2. From an outside vendor. There are a couple of different stand alone build a website software programs that you can purchase and use to build your website yourself. It is probably not a good idea for beginners to use a standalone website building program.

The advantages are you are not tied to your web host and they provide more flexibility than a web host's standard builder. The disadvantages are with stand alone site builders are they can be tricky for most beginners to use, they can cost a significant amount of money and most sites built by beginners with them do not look great.

If you are building your first website, it is probably best to go with the build a website software that comes with your web hosting account. It is much easier, does not cost a great deal and once you get the hang of how to build a website then you can expand out to your own software program later.

Do's of Building a Website

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Despite the software you use to build a website, there are some basic do’s you should keep in mind. It is very easy to get carried away on your first site and do things that send visitors away which is most definitely not what you want to do.

When you build a website:

Do keep your web site simple

Do not pack it full of clutter. Unless it is a how-to site, the less text, the better.

Do make it eye pleasing

Steer clear of crazy fonts and colors. The standard fonts for web sites are Arial, Verdana and Times New Roman. Whatever font you decide to use, keep it consistent throughout your site. Do not alternate fonts.

Do make sure visitors to your site can tell at a glance what your site is about

For example, if you sell widgets, make sure that is clear right up front. Many visitors will leave in the first two seconds if they do not think your site offers them what they are searching for. They are not going to spend the time to scroll around to see if you have what they are after. Ensure it is immediately obvious to them what your site is about.

Don'ts of Building a Website

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Despite the software you use to build a website, there are some basic don’ts you should keep in mind. It is very easy to get carried away on your first site and do things that send visitors away which is most definitely not what you want to do.

When you build a website:

Don’t use a Flash introduction

Web designers really like this and if you use a website builder they can be really fun to create, but many visitors click off as soon as they see it loading. The object is to get people to see your website, not drive them away.

Don’t put music or sound files on your site

It surprises visitors when they are surfing and suddenly hear music blaring out. Their immediate reaction is to back track straight away.

Don’t put a lot of slow-loading graphics on your page

Irrespective of how pretty the graphics are, visitors are not going to stick around and wait for them to load. You may like to optimize your images so that they load faster. What this means is that you can condense the size of the image. Usually you can reduce the size by 50% or more without there being a noticeable change in quality.

Don’t use pop-ups on your web site

Most people find these really annoying. The less you annoy a visitor, the more likely they are to stay and see what you have on offer.

How to Upload your Website to your Web Host Account

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Once you build your website, you will need to get it to your web host's server. This process is commonly referred to as “uploading" your files. Some people call it "publishing your website." Either way, it is the identical process.

If you are using the build a website software from your web host, all of your website files will already be on your web host's servers so all you will need to do is click a button. The button is commonly labelled Publish or Submit.

If you are using a standalone website builder, you will typically need to log in to your web hosting account and click the upload files button. Some web hosts call this FTP, others simply refer to Upload Files. It all depends on the terminology your web host uses, but they both are the same thing.

Planning Website Content - Optimal Niche

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are many different aspects to website design. One aspect involves the planning of your site content. If you can discover the correct niche for your website then you won't be working, you'll be playing. Your aim is to discover a topic that you really know and like and that you think would have some appeal for other people.

A great strategy to success on this over-congested Internet is to choose a specific niche and to fill it with high-value content. Everyone has some special interest, hobby or passion. Everyone knows something that others from around the world may be interested in.

What activities do you enjoy most? What special knowledge do you have? What occupies your typical day? Your aim is to find a subject that you really know and like and that you think would have some appeal for other people. Your passion will make work fun and easy.

The real opportunities lie in the niches. The optimal niche must be not too broad and not too narrow. Can a single person ever fill a website about, for example, "Marketing?" On the other hand, a website about "Internet marketing in Guinea-Bissau" will not attract many interested visitors. T he right niche lies between these extremes.

If you decide to develop a broad concept like "Marketing," with several major sub-themes, it will be harder to rank well for the sub-themes than if you dedicated a single site to a sub-theme. The simple recommendation is to keep your niche as narrow as possible, yet still with enough profit potential.

Website Structure

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the most important aspects of any website design is the structure of the site. Think of your structure like the blueprint for a building. The website structure does not have to be elaborate or complicated.

A well organized website makes it easy and intuitive for visitors to find what they are looking for. The easier it is to use, the longer users will stay on the site, and the more they will see of it. A good website structure also makes it easy for you to grow your site in a logical fashion.

Another thing that you should keep in mind is that every page of your website is no more than two levels deep from home page. In other words, it should not take more than two clicks to go from the home page to every page of your site. Otherwise, the search engine bots may not index all the pages.

Analyze Your Competitors

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An important part of your website design process is to consider what your competitors are doing. When you have chosen the best website concept, it is time to professionally research your competitors and partners. The aim is to expand your keyword list as this will generate the raw material for new keyword-focused content pages.

Review at least the first 10-20 websites from the top search results. As you conduct this in-depth research, you may observe three types of sites:

Irrelevant - for whatever reason they just do not fit. If your search on a keyword returns many websites that seem inappropriate, it is probable that this keyword will not bring targeted traffic to your website.

Merchant - enter in possible partners and the type of merchandise they sell. If they have an affiliate program that fits your concept, enter the URL of the join page for the affiliate program of that merchant.

Content - these websites are your direct competitors. They make money through banner ads and affiliate programs. Browse the website, drilling down into the content. You may get some great ideas for content on your own site. You may even find an absolutely new amazing idea for your website and loop back to analyzing this new concept. Click on the banner ads and text links, following these links out to their destinations, to see what kind of merchants they have chosen as affiliate partners. If a given merchant fits your concept and has an affiliate program, enter the kind of merchandise it sells, and the URL of the join page.

While visiting the websites have a look at the meta keywords tag within the HTML source code. Most browsers will view the source code of a web page by right clicking your mouse, and choosing something similar to “view source” from the menu. Many websites make a common mistake of listing lots of different keywords. You can get some good ideas for broadening your own list of keywords from your competitors.

What is the Best Website Design?

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

In general, how important is website design in building a successful, high potential website? Not as important as many people think.

Your website needs to be clean, simple and well-structured. People use the Internet to find information. The best website design includes informative content, simple layout, easy navigation and fast loading graphics. It permits users to search for and find the information they are looking for in the fastest and most convenient fashion possible.

Then again, your website design is a reflection of your business and the quality of your product. Web users looking for information not only want the right information, they want it from the right source. So make certain your website does not look like it was designed by an amateur.

Browsers

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the first things about the professional website design is understanding that your site will be viewed on a number of different computer platforms and browsers. In the majority if cases it will not matter, but occasionally it does. The platform issue is much less of a concern than the browser issue.

With respect to browsers, both the version of the software and the brand are essential. Different browsers display the same page in different ways, and sometimes not at all. Older versions do not support all the new tag additions and modifications. They will ignore any tags and attributes they do not identify.

Always verify your web design on at least the latest versions of the most popular browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera, etc. Whilst no website looks identical on all monitors, browsers and computers, you can design sites that look good on all, but only if you test the site on all.

Loading Time

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the most significant problems that face web designers is slow loading time, which often annoys people to the point where they give up and go to another site. So it is extremely important to design your website pages to load as quickly as possible. This means keeping page sizes as low as possible.

Internet users are the least patient people in the world, and if your site is slow, they know they can get the information, products, or services they are looking for at another site. So, keep your graphics down to a reasonable size.

You can decrease the loading time of your website by using common images on your pages. As the images have already appeared on a previous page, they will be loaded from browser caches, rather than from the server itself.

If you need to change images from page to page, try to use common elements from other pages. This design approach 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, leaving only the new elements to be loaded.

Consistency, Navigation and Fonts

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

There are a number of very important considerations when designing your website. A few are discussed below.

Consistency

When developing a professional looking website design, consistency is the most important thing to keep in mind. Nothing is more unprofessional in website design than a different colored background for every page. Backgrounds, colors, fonts, navigation buttons all need to present your site visitor with a uniform appearance. A consistent website not only lets users know where they are, but can also help build a "brand" so your site is recognizable.

Navigation

Regardless of the best website design or highly informative content, if your site is not easily navigable, all your hard development work will be worthless. Keep navigation simple and make sure it is consistent from page to page. No matter where you place your menu bar, always include a small text menu at the bottom of every page.

Fonts

If your website uses fonts that are non-standard fonts from what most people have has installed on their computers (such as Arial, Verdana, Times New Roman) the visitor will not see your fonts as you intended. Your users' computers will display your site in their default fonts, so stick to standards.

Website Design Overview

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Here are some thoughts to consider when you are looking at the design of your website. When creating your own website, the website design is the first step. Before you can determine your web site's requirements or select a proper host, you must first decide what your website is going to look like and what it is going to contain. If desired, your domain name selection can be done before or during the web design phase.

Website design considerations include a wide range of factors to be considered and evaluated with regard to their effectiveness in supporting your website's objectives. These may include, but are not limited to:

Content - Text, writing style, page layout, continuity of web site, navigation logic.

Artistic Effect - The correct use of graphic images, psychology of colors, photos, web site fonts and sound.

Performance - Page loading time, browser compatibility.

Bear in mind that this is where you decide what you want, not how you want it done. It is important not to worry yourself with how your website will be implemented at this point including whether or not you will need to learn HTML. For instance, knowledge of HTML will not be necessary unless you decide to code the web site yourself, and then only if you decide to use a non-WYSIWYG editor. If you code it yourself with an ASCII or HTML (non-WYSIWYG) editor you must learn basic HTML and probably, depending upon your requirements, some CSS and JavaScript also.

Design Your Website

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Below are some of the main points to consider when you are looking at your website design.

1. Decide Scope of Features

Create a checklist of website features that you want your website to contain. Visit websites of similar purpose to generate ideas for your own. Decide upon the degree of website sophistication required and the scope of user interaction that will be offered, e.g., online credit card processing, shopping carts, bulletin boards, chat rooms, site search, etc.

2. Decide Page Layout & Navigation Scheme

Estimate the total number of web pages and name and define the reason for each one. Plan the positioning and contents of the pages common areas, such as headers, footers and side links. Also, choose a navigation scheme that will be consistent throughout the website. This may be as simple as a static set of side links on every page or as sophisticated as a pull down cascading menu system which becomes more detailed as you go deeper into the site. Visit other websites to create ideas of your own and think about the use of free web design templates.

3. Determine Keywords

Perform your keyword analysis now to establish your most effective primary and secondary keyword phrases with respect to search engine positioning.

4. Draft the Content

Create the text content that will appear on each page. Review the rules for incorporating keyword phrases into page content and the specific concerns relative to writing for the internet before beginning.

5. Decide Artistic Enhancement

Plan the artistic aspects of your website, such as graphics, animations and text appearances. Check out free web design templates for ideas.

The Three Levels of Website Design Sophistication

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, there are three main levels of sophistication which you can employ:

Basic

All websites, whether personal, hobbyist, organization or small business, have some or all of the basic ingredients.

Database Driven

Websites can also have a backend database for storing and dynamically displaying various types of data and information.

Multimedia

Websites can also have a multimedia enhanced appeal. This is entertaining but is not always effective, depending on your websites purpose. Your visitors may not want to be bothered by lots of invasive and time consuming flashiness.

Incorporating Keyword Phrases into Page Content

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The inclusion of your keywords and keyword phrases in your web page content play an important part in your website design.

Identify one or two main keywords for your website and create content which contains your keywords about 5-6 times each on your front page.

Search engines look for keyword density, which really means how far apart the keywords appear. Some will only look at the first 200 characters of your website and count the number of times the keyword appears. Others will index a portion from the top, middle and bottom parts of your website, and search them for keywords. In general, your keyword density should be about 2-3%.

What are Browser Safe Colors?

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you will need to carefully consider the use of color.

It is a good design principal to only use one of the 216 browser safe color hex codes on your web pages wherever color specifications are required (text color, page backgrounds, table cell backgrounds, link colors, etc). You can be sure that they will have a similar appearance in every type of user browser. Of these 216, there are 140 matching color names. These names can be used safely as well, but the list is limited (only 140 choices vs. 216 when using hex codes) and cross browser compatibility is not as certain.

Basic Website Defined

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the three levels of website design sophistication is basic. These websites consist of one or more pages of basic website content, such as:

text
clipart, graphics, photos and animations
links to other sites
"email us" feature
"guestbook" feature
"message board" feature
background images, music and colors

They do not include:

backend databases with searchable product catalogs
ecommerce capabilities
multimedia features such as streaming video or audio

Steps Involved with Internet Database Development

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

You may like to include a database in your website design. The usual steps involved with website creation will apply to a database driven website also, however, there are a few extra things for you to consider.

Requirements Analysis

A backend database must be selected (eg. MySQL) and a server side scripting language must be also be chosen.

Host Selection

The host you select must be able to create for you an instance of a database (of the type you have chosen above) and must have the scripting language installed (of the type you have chosen above).

Development

The scripting language must be correctly embedded in your html web pages to allow for the transfer of data between your web pages and your database.

Steps Involved with Multimedia Website Design

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

You may like to include various aspects of multimedia in your website design. The usual steps involved with website creation will apply to multimedia enhanced websites also, however, there are a few extra things for you to consider.

Requirements Analysis

Multimedia software will be required. If you are hiring a web consultant to do your development then they will need to be familiar with your software selection.

Host Selection

The host you select must be willing and able to accommodate the multimedia features you are going to use such as streaming audio/video.

Bad Website Design Features - Backgrounds, Text, Links

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Below are website design features that can make a web design look bad. These are not personal opinions, but are ideas that have been collected from speaking to many different people.

Backgrounds

Default gray color

Color combinations of text and background that make the text difficult to read

Busy, distracting backgrounds that make the text difficult to read

Text

Text that is too small to read

Text crowding against the left edge

Text that stretches all the way across the page

Centered type over flush left body copy

Paragraphs of type all in caps

Paragraphs of type all in bold

Paragraphs of type all in italic

Paragraphs of type all in caps, bold, and italic all at once

Underlined text that is not a link

Links

Default blue links

Blue link borders around graphics

Links that are not clear about where they will take you

Links in body copy that distract readers and lead them off to remote, useless pages

Text links that are not underlined so you don't know they are links

Dead links (links that do not work anymore)

Bad Website Design Features - Graphics, Tables, Animations

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Below are website design features that can make a web design look bad. These are not personal opinions, but are ideas that have been collected from speaking to many different people.

Graphics

Large graphic files that take a long time to load

Meaningless or useless graphics

Thumbnail images that are nearly as large as the full-sized images they link to

Graphics with no alt labels

Missing graphics, especially missing graphics with no alt labels

Graphics that don't fit on the screen

Tables

Borders turned on in tables

Tables used as design elements, especially with extra large borders

Blinking and animations

Anything that blinks, especially text

Multiple things that blink

Rainbow rules (lines)

Rainbow rules that blink or animate

"Under construction" signs

Animated "under construction" signs

Animated pictures for email

Animations that never stop

Multiple animations that never stop

Bad Website Design Features - Junk, Navigation, General Design

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Below are website design features that can make a web design look bad. These are not personal opinions, but are ideas that have been collected from speaking to many different people.

Junk

Counters on pages, no one really cares

Junky advertising

Having to scroll sideways

Too many little pictures of meaningless awards on the first page

Frame scroll bars in the middle of a page

Multiple frame scroll bars in the middle of a page

Navigation

Unclear navigation; over complex navigation

Complicated frames, too many frames, unnecessary scroll bars in frames

Orphan pages (no links back to where they came from, no identification)

Useless page titles that don't explain what the page is about

General Design

Entry page or home page that does not fit within a standard browser window

Frames that make you scroll sideways

No focal point on the page

Too many focal points on the page

Navigation buttons as the only visual interest, especially when they are large

Cluttered, not enough alignment of elements

Lack of contrast (in color, text, to create hierarchy of information, etc.)

Pages that look fine in one browser but not in another

Good Website Design Features - Text, Navigation, Links

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

One of the elements of good website design is a lack of the elements that make bad website design. If you stay away from many of the bad design aspects, you will probably end up with a nice web site. In addition, keep these ideas in mind:

Text

Background does not interrupt the text

Text is big enough to read, but not overly big

The hierarchy of information is completely clear

Columns of text are narrower than in a book to make reading easier on the screen

Navigation

Navigation buttons and bars are easy to understand and use

Navigation is consistent throughout website

Navigation buttons and bars provide the visitor with a clue as to where they are, what page of the site they are currently on

Frames, if used, are not obtrusive

A large site has an index or site map

Links

Link colors coordinate with page colors

Links are underlined so they are instantly clear to the visitor

Good Website Design Features - Graphics, General Design

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Graphics

Buttons are not too big

Every graphic has an alt label

Every graphic link has a matching text link

Graphics and backgrounds use browser safe colors

Animated graphics turn off by themselves

General Design

Pages download fast

First page and home page fit into 800 x 600 pixel space

All of the other pages have the immediate visual impact within 800 x 600 pixels

Good use of graphic elements (photos, subheads, pull quotes) to break up large areas of text

Every web page in the site looks like it belongs to the same site; there are repetitive elements that carry throughout the pages

Planning a Website

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Before beginning a website design project it is important to understand what you are trying to accomplish, how you will achieve it, how long it may take and what the project is likely to cost.

Planning a website involves:

getting a feel for what other similar websites have done by performing a competitor analysis
understanding your audience and their requirements now and in the future
mapping the topics and content that you would like to cover
choosing a project management methodology to help guide the project
looking for alignment between your website and its objectives with other organisational strategies and projects

Website Lifecycle

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

In developing a website there are six main stages, beginning with the investigation of the project where the business case is established through to decommissioning when the website is retired. The stages are:

Investigate
Plan
Design, build and test
Operate, maintain and evaluate
Redevelop
Decommission

These stages of development occur in a multifaceted environment that is influenced and controlled by many different factors, such as agency and user needs, governance, standards, reporting and accountability.

The stages are not necessarily sequential. For example, many websites are never decommissioned but are instead redeveloped. Many agency corporate websites are seen as permanent and will be needed for as long as the agency exists.

During each of the stages of website development and management, project managers should remain watchful for opportunities to consolidate. Consolidation can improve the user experience by simplifying resource discovery, whilst also lowering development and maintenance costs.

The following environmental considerations should be considered at all stages of the website lifecycle: agency needs, user needs, governance, standards, and finally reporting and accountability.

Website Lifecycle - Stage 1 - Investigate

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are building your website there are six main stages, beginning with the investigation of the project where the business case is established through to decommissioning when the website is retired. The first stage is investigation.

In this stage, the website takes form as an idea. This idea is tested through assessing its business case; in particular, the level of demand from users and the value of the benefits to be delivered. The outcome is a business case that describes the justification, benefits and value for the proposed site.

This investigation should consider the whole internet portfolio of the business, and not just the proposed website, so that any opportunities for consolidation are considered in the correct context.

Website Lifecycle - Stage 2 - Plan

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

In this stage, the website is planned in detail. The more effort put into planning, the more successful the website is likely to be. Planning will save time and money by avoiding the need for potential re-work later on.

Planning requires a complete understanding of user and business requirements to make sure the project can deliver a successful result. The outcome of this stage is a detailed project plan including information architecture and conceptual design.

Website Lifecycle - Stage 3 - Design, build and test

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

In this stage the structure of the website is developed, its design finalised, then built and tested. This stage usually involves development of a small pilot version to test with users and the relevant stakeholders.

This is an iterative cycle that is complete once all problems have been addressed. The website is then launched and can go live.

Website Lifecycle - Stage 4 - Operate, maintain and evaluate

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

In this stage, the website is operated and maintained, with regular planned improvements. This involves keeping everything up to date and routinely reporting on performance, to make sure the website is a success. One element of the maintenance plan should be periodic evaluation of the website. This evaluation might lead to a decision to redevelop or decommission it.

Website Lifecycle - Stages 5 and 6 - Redevelop and Decommission

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Redevelop

The decision to redevelop should be based on a review of the performance and success of the website. It involves commencing again at the plan stage, while continuing to operate and maintain the website. A strict set of guidelines should be adhered to when performing the assessment of the website.

Decommission

If the redevelopment has led to consolidation of content, there will be a need to decommission older content and sites. A site may be due for decommissioning, or retirement, when:

a business changes its name and structure
a similar site is merged with the site
the information and services provided by the site are no longer relevant to the business or the user audience

Information Management

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are considering the design of your website, one aspect you may like to consider is information management. Information management is the process of managing content, data and metadata for the distribution of information and services, including electronic and paper-based publications and websites. Information management may be assisted through the use of technologies such as a content management systems (CMS), electronic document management systems (EDMS), email management, transaction management, online forms, search engines or recordkeeping and archiving systems.

Digital technology allows information to be stored in open formats from which a range of end-products can be created. Modern communications and computer technology permits the transmission of one digital file from which several different formats can be generated. For example, a file meeting the latest specifications for internet text can be viewed on a screen as text, displayed as Braille or run through a speech synthesiser and read aloud. These developments have a significant importance in facilitating the creation of documents that are accessible to a wide range of people. With a small amount of forethought, one document prepared in a standard format can meet a variety of needs with the end-user taking responsibility for how the document is accessed.

Writing and editing for the online environment is an iterative procedure that involves preliminary drafts and the collection and integration of comments before the content is finalised. The whole production process may be repeated for documents released initially as drafts.

At each iteration of the publication or replication stage, processes to support information preservation and information access need to be set in motion. These include processes to describe and uniquely classify the document and processes to place copies of the document for preservation.

The following key actions need to be taken during the production process to ensure documents are preserved for future access.

Drafting stage:

Place draft copy in recordkeeping system
Create metadata describing draft
Assign appropriate universal number identifier

Comment stage:

File comments in recordkeeping system

Redrafting stage:

Create metadata describing final version
Assign relevant identifiers, such as ISBN, ISSN, DOI, EAN

HTML Code for Graphic Images

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are considering your website design, it is important to pay close attention to your graphic images. Many graphic designers who do not specialize in HTML coding and website design do not know how to code web graphics for GIFs and JPEGs properly for web page download time and online promotion. Below is a summary of the main points of coding a web graphic image.

Here is a sample of the HTML code for a dollar sign web graphic image:

IMG: This is the HTML coding that tells the browser to insert a graphic image into a web page

SRC: This is the attribute that indicates which file name or URL of the graphic image you want to place on the web page. In this example, the image name is a JPEG called dollar.jpg, which is stored in the directory called images on your website. The file name or URL must be enclosed in quotation marks.

WIDTH / HEIGHT: These tags are your graphic image's dimensions, measured in pixels. Using the WIDTH and HEIGHT attributes in your IMG SRC tag preserves the layout of your web pages. Also, web pages using the WIDTH and HEIGHT attributes in their IMG SRC tags download faster than pages not using these attributes.

ALT: Stands for the alternative text attribute. Alternative text must also be enclosed in quotation marks.

If your visitors want to view text, by turning off the "Auto Load Images" option in their browser, to increase a site's download time, in the place of the graphic image will appear the alternative text. The same text will appear if your visitors are using a text-only browser.

This attribute is often overlooked by online promotion specialists. Some search engines index alternative text, thus making your graphic images another place to strategically place keywords. Also, if you are using Explorer as your browser, when you position your cursor over a graphic image, Explorer will display the alt-attribute message in a little box next to the cursor. This gives you an opportunity to add to the delivery of your site's marketing message.

BORDER: Inexperienced designers often overlook this attribute. If you are using your graphic image to link to another web page, such as a navigational button, you should set the BORDER to equal zero or else your browser will wrap a border around your image. The color of the border will be the same colors used in your text hyperlinks.

HSPACE / VSPACE: This attribute sets the horizontal (left and right) and vertical (top and bottom) spacing around a graphic image. This attribute is particularly useful if you do not want your text to be flush against the graphic image.

The HTML code shown on this page for graphic images should be the foundation of what most of your image tags should look like.

Image Maps and Web Page Design

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you may like to consider the use of image maps. An image map is a single graphic image that allows users to access different web pages by clicking on different areas of the graphic image. An image map can either be a GIF or a JPEG.

Image maps can be a creative way of showing how to navigate your website. The following are some basic rules to using image maps on web pages:

As you want your website to be easy to find, search engines should be able to index every web page on your website. Many search engines cannot follow the links inside of an image map, so it is very important to put text links or other small graphic images elsewhere on your web pages.

As you want your website to be easy to navigate, you will need to supply an alternative navigation method for people using text based browsers and for people choosing not to show graphic images in their browsers.

As you want your website to be quick to download, you may want to consider how much download time is added when you add either an image map or a set of navigational buttons to your web pages. An image map tends to be a rather large graphic image, both in size and in dimension (length and width), significantly increasing the download time of your web pages. However, you may find that an image map is smaller in file size than set of navigational buttons.

Occasionally, if you are using a mouseover effect on site navigation, a mouseover using a series of image maps might be quicker to download than a series of on/off navigation buttons.

Therefore, if you do decide to use an image map on your web pages, it is recommended that you use text-based links both for search engine indexing, for users of text-based browsers, and for people who turn off the graphic images in their browsers.

Using Graphic Images on Web Pages

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are considering the design of your website, it is important that you carefully take into account your use of graphical images. Possibly one of the biggest mistakes web page designers make is to mishandle or overuse graphic images on web pages. Designers become so enthusiastic about using new technology that they tend to focus on "look what we can make for you" rather than a web page's functionality.

It is important that web page graphics serve a function. If a graphic image's only function is to look cool, you are needlessly increasing the download time of your web pages. Looking cool can ultimately cost you more money and make you lose potential customers.

The following is a summary of the types of graphic images that are acceptable on a web page:

Navigation buttons - Used to assist visitors navigate your website. If designed well, these buttons can be much easier to read and find than text links.

Image maps - Also used to aid visitors navigate your website. If designed well, image maps greatly add to the visual appeal of a web page but can significantly increase the page's download time.

Logo - Used for your corporate or business identity. Logos increase brand name recognition and add visual appeal to any document or web page.

Bullet points – Are used to draw your visitors' eyes to the main points of your page. They are also used to break up a web page full of paragraphs.

Mastheads - Also known as a title graphic. Their main function is to let your visitors know which web page they are on. Adding clip art or an illustration to a masthead adds more visual appeal.

Divider lines or horizontal rules - Commonly used to separate footers, categories within a single web page, and FAQ questions and answers.

Background images - Used to enhance the visual appeal of a web page and make a web site easier to navigate. One of the most common background images is a sidebar which usually contains the links to the other pages in your site.

Headings (text graphic) - Normally used to maintain a typeface that many people do not have on their computers.

Photos – Normally used to make your web pages seem more personal and more inviting. Visitors' eyes are naturally drawn to photos of people. An absolute necessity to showcase products on particular e-commerce sites.

More on Using Graphic Images on Web Pages

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

It is important when you are considering the design of your website, to carefully take into account your use of graphical images.

All graphic images on your website should match in color, typeface and special effects. For example, the text in all of your navigation buttons should use the same typeface and have the same special effects on them, such as a drop shadow. Your navigation buttons, mastheads, bullet points and divider lines look best if they are designed using one of the colors in your logo.

For a really professional looking website, the minimum set of graphics on web pages should be a set of navigational graphics, a logo, bullet points and set of mastheads. If this set of graphics does not significantly increase a page's download time, then you can add other graphic images to improve your site. The general rule is to keep web page size between 40-60K in size. If you are a graphic designer, photographer, architect, or programmer, a 75K web page will still give a relatively fast download time on a 28.8 Kbps modem.

Any extra graphic images on your web pages should serve a function that is directly related to your business. For example, on a website, you can have illustrations serve several functions:

If a design firm has professional illustrators in its staff, they should showcase this talent in some form throughout the website.

Illustrations can also serve a navigational function. For some websites, you can tell which section of a website you are in based on the illustration shown.

A talented web graphic designer can design graphic images which download quickly and look good. Graphic images should be reduced in size without losing the integrity of the graphic image.

Remember, graphic images are primarily used to enhance a web pages function. If graphic images considerably increase your web pages' download time, you will have to either size down the graphic images, replace them with a smaller images, or replace them with the HTML default bullets, horizontal rules, or colored heading text.

Use Appropriate Colors in Your Web Illustrations

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are thinking about your website design, it is very important that you pay particular attention to the colors you use in your web illustrations.

If your illustration uses solid colors, it is a good practice to only use the standard 216 colors found in a typical web palette. These are the colors that will show up the same on all types of computers and web browsers. If you plan on using color gradients or blends, test how they will look first with your screen set to only 256 colors. Even though only a few people may use 256-color screens, images with blended colors can show up looking very dithered, muddied, unattractive and undistinguishable. If your illustration looks bad at this low resolution, try a different color blend that is not as harsh. For example, if you have a gradient of red to blue, try a gradient of green to blue instead.

Illustrations and Website Design - Part 1

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Illustrations play a critical part of any website design. Visitors will either stay at your site longer and click through other pages of your site because of them, or they will click to another website because your illustrations take too long to appear or don't appear properly. Here are some design tips to illustrating your web pages for the best results:

Keep your lines thick in your illustration

Small lines that show up on your printed image will show up more thinly or not at all on your computer screen. A monitor has a much lower resolution than ink to a printed page, and makes illustrations more difficult to view or read. Keep the lines in your illustrations thicker and your visitors will be able to see the detail of your illustration more clearly.

Your illustration should download quickly

Web page load speed is more important than creativity. No matter how good your illustrations look, visitors will leave your site if they are too big in file size and take too long to download. A single illustration should not be any bigger than needed. Test out your illustrations at a smaller file size, either by reducing the amount of colors or having them take up less space on your screen. If they still look good, then use the smaller version.

Your illustration should attract attention

Test your illustrations out with people not familiar with your website. Do they immediately catch their eye? Your illustrations should direct people to the content of your page and make them read on and click on to further pages. A very good illustration can also add a whole new perspective to what you are saying with your words.

Your illustration should complement, not control

Your illustrations should look good enough to attract your visitors' attention but not so much as to become a distraction from your site's content. Allow for some breathing room, or white space, to your images and between images. Do not overpower your visitor with illustrations by putting too many on a single page.

Illustrations and Website Design - Part 2

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Make your illustrations relevant to the web page content

A pretty picture that does not match the content of the page is a worthless picture, taking up valuable downloading time and leaving your visitors' confused. Your illustrations must compliment the message of your text. Your visitors should look at your illustration first and already be left with an impression of what they are about to read.

Save your illustrations in the correct file format

Illustrations with mostly solid colors and lines that need to look sharp should be saved as GIF files. Illustrations with gradients or blends, or that use smooth transitions should be saved as JPEG files. The commonly used extension for saving these types of files are .gif and .jpg.

Protect all of your illustrations

Online theft is quite common, so you should protect your illustrations from unauthorized use. Place a copyright symbol with your name or the name of your company/organization next to each of your illustrations. For added security, subscribe to a digital watermarking service like Digimarc, which can let visitors know that you are the author and copyright holder of the illustration, and also can trace the web for whoever else is displaying your images.

Guidelines for Selecting a Logo Design

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

What is a logo?

To put it simply, a logo is a name, symbol, or trademark of a business or organization. Logos can be made up of text that is configured in a distinctive fashion. Your logo can be an illustration with your company's name on or around the illustration. Or your logo can be a symbol. A logo may also be a combination of these, but its goal is always to project the company's intended image.

Why should you use a logo?

One reason is that many people process an image in their mind more easily than just words alone. A logo can be the visual stimulation that initiates the audience's memory, leaving a greater and lengthier impact than words alone can do. It is the simplest and most direct way in promoting a business presence; it is a "what we're about" statement without the boring speech.

Logos provide brand name recognition and add visual appeal to any web page. As your logo is a unique graphic image, your visitors' eyes will naturally be drawn to it both on the web and on your printed materials.

Types of Logos

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Logos can play an extremely important part in your website design. Some of the more important types of logos are discussed below.

Text Logos

Words in their purest form are images. Type fonts come in various shapes and sizes, which communicate different impressions to an audience. A thick font conveys strength and power. A script font conveys elegance and austerity, and a slanted typeface conveys movement. Your company name thus can be your own logo, provided your type font displays the intended qualities of the business.

Symbol Logos

A symbol uses an image or images that suggest an actual or abstract representation of a business. Since a symbol alone is less direct than text, it leaves itself open to a wider interpretation of what the business is about. Using a symbol in your logo has several possibilities.

It may be a take on a company name. One example would be showing a logo with an ocean wave in a company that calls themselves "Wavelength Optics," which has nothing to do with the ocean but is actually an optical engineering business.

Text and Symbol Logos

A brief amount of text, or even just an abbreviation, compliments the symbol and provides additional clarity of what the business is about.

There are many choices to consider when deciding the logo that best fits the image of your business. Do not limit yourself to one option. It can be very easy to see an image you personally like and think it would look attractive in one format without giving thought to how it will look everywhere else. In the end, it is not about what you want your logo to look like, but how your audience will perceive your logo that is more important.

Logo Design Guidelines

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The selection of your logo design can play a very important part in your overall website design. Here are a few guidelines you may like to consider when thinking about your website logo.

Your logo should be compatible with your image

If you are a financial or legal institution, you will more than likely want a logo that is conservative in design and color. Navy blue, maroon and dark teal are good color selections for projecting a conservative image.

If you are an artist or a state-of-the-art computer company, you may want a logo that is more conceptual and modern. Shapes and symbols are good choices for a conceptual look. Even using black and white as colors on a unique design gives a modern look and feel.

Your logo design should be simple

A reason your logo should be simple is that people process an image in their mind more readily than just words alone. The other reason that your logo should be simple is that the simpler your logo is, the easier it will be for your graphic designer to resize and recolor it for various design purposes. You should have various logo sizes (small, medium, and large), a web version and a print version of your logo, and a black-and-white and color version. Always plan beyond your original design purposes for your logo since the ultimate goal of your business is to expand.

Your logo should be unique and recognizable

There are two main reasons you should have a unique logo. Firstly, you want people to see a visual representation of your company or business. When people see your logo, you want them to immediately associate that logo design with you and no one else. You do not want your logo to be a piece of clip art because someone might associate that clip art with your competitor. Using an image or a typeface that is too common defeats the purpose of having a logo and can even have a negative effect with your audience who would view your company as unimaginative.

Secondly, a unique corporate identity is important because you do not want to violate any copyrights or trademarks of other companies. If your logo is too similar to another company's logo, you should modify or redesign the logo. What it would cost you in time and money to have it redone would be very small compared to winding up in court for a copyright violation.

If your logo is simple and unique, and if people visit your web site repeatedly, people will associate your logo with your company. If done correctly, a logo is one of the easiest ways to make a brand name recognition impact.

Using Logos in Banner Designs

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

While displaying your logo may be indispensable for print and related media promotions, when looking at your website design, a logo on a banner deserves serious reconsideration.

People react to ads differently on the web than other types of media. A logo in a banner usually screams "advertisement" to a reader, and many web pages are already oversaturated with banner ads. Usually visitors do not want to see ads when they come to a website, they are expecting to find information or entertainment.

One of the most ineffective banners is one that contains a logo and a company slogan. In what way does that banner ad benefit your audience? What reason does the reader have to click on to your site? None whatsoever. You have just said in your banner "look how good I am" rather than thinking "look what good I can do for you."

There are some circumstances when a logo in a banner ad can be helpful. One is for "branding" purposes where you want to get your business name out in public so people are more likely to remember your company, product, or service. Some companies purposely create branding banners when their logo or name is already well known with the public, like Microsoft or Coke.

Generally, companies who use banner advertising for branding are companies which (a) are already well known to the public, and (b) have a large advertising budget to feature their name in many places. That means for the majority of businesses, using a company name and/or a slogan in a banner ad is an ineffective way of obtaining high click-through-ratios.

How then do you get people to click on to your website through your banner ad if your company is not a big, well-known company? Design your banner with the appearance that it will provide information or solve a problem if you click on it. If you have to include your logo on the banner, then make sure the logo is not the main focus of the banner. Make your logo small and place most of the emphasis on the call-to-action.

Banner Design Tips

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An effective banner design can make the difference between an successful and an unsuccessful banner ad campaign. Below are a number of banner design tips that you may like to consider as part of your website design.

Use animation

A quick-to-download animation can greatly increase a banner's click-through-ratio (CTR). Animation must be used very carefully as the function of the animation is to attract visitors, not to annoy them.

For animated banners, these general guidelines apply:

The animation should be subtle enough to attract attention but should not be so pretentious as to interfere or clash with the design of the web page you are advertising on.
An animation that loops endlessly tends to annoy visitors. Have the animation loop 7-10 times, leaving the main message on the last animation frame.
Conversely, some visitors will stop a web page from loading before the banner animation has loaded, leaving only the first frame. Therefore, it may be a good idea to have your message come across in your first frame if you know that the web page you are advertising on has a long download time.

Feature a call to action

Placing a "Click here" or "Submit" graphic image on your banner can drastically increase your CTR.

Use bright colors

Blue, yellow and green banners have a higher CTR than black and white banners. Use the color red in moderation.

Use the word "Free" in your banner

Depending on what is on offer, the word "free" can increase CTRs. For example, offering a free software demo quite often gets a good response. Offering free money arouses suspicion since people will want to know what the catch is.

Give a benefit for clicking on your banner

For example, "Do you want more traffic?" or, "Need help with taxes?" The answer to the question will be on your website.

Keep the message short

Simple banners have higher CTRs than unfocused, wordy banners.

Link the banner to a specific page

When people click on the banner, they want to go directly to the web page that has the information they want. Your visitors do not want to go to your home page and have to search for the information.

Refresh or change your banners regularly

Studies have shown that CTRs drop significantly after 2 weeks. The CTR usually increases when a new banner appears.

To find the most successful banner design for your business, you must go through a period of testing. Testing means that you run a banner over a period of time and measure the results, for example CTRs and resulting sales. Then you change one thing about the banner design, such as a color or a font change, and run that banner over a period of time and measure the results. The banner designs that result in the most sales should be the types of banners you use for your banner campaigns.

Colors and Banner Designs

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

The correct use of color can add impact and clarity to your banner message. Color can emphasize, highlight and lead your visitors to a call-to-action, such as clicking on your banner. Color can also be used to trigger emotion. Your website design needs to carefully consider the use of color in all aspects of the design, including the banner design.

If color is used incorrectly, it can compromise your message and bewilder your target audience. The interpretation of a color depends on culture, physiology of the eye, readability, your target audience's profession or industry and personal preference.

Banner colors and target audience culture

When designing a banner ad, you should careful consider the colors you choose if you are targeting a specific country or a global audience. For example, though the color purple is also associated with royalty in European countries, the color orange is associated with royalty in the Netherlands. The color white is associated with death in China, whereas white is associated with purity in Western cultures.

Colors and legibility

How the human eye processes color is also a consideration for selecting banner colors. Purple is one of the hardest colors for the eye to discern, so it is probably not a good overall color selection. Conversely, yellow is the first color the eye processes. So if you were to try and call attention to some text on a dark-colored banner, yellow can be an excellent color choice. But if you were to use yellow as a background color of a banner, you might want to change the color so that it is less stressful on the eye.

In order to make the text on a banner legible, it is very important to use colors that provide a high contrast. Black and white are the two colors that provide the highest color contrast, but white banners tend to have the lowest click-through-ratios (CTRs).

Psychology of color

The type of profession you are in may sway what colors you will choose for your banner ad. In the finance industry, the color red signifies financial loss. In the health care industry, the color red is associated with danger or an emergency. So using the color red in the financial or health care banner designs would not be a sensible selection.

Blues, teals and greens tend to be safe color selections because many of their psychological interpretations include security, professionalism, reliability, conservatism, and technology.

Compressing Animated GIF Banners

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, it is important to consider the file size of any graphics that you incorporate, including any animated GIF banners. Many web publishers expect animated GIF banners to have a file size less than 12K, this website design tip tackles how to reduce the file size of your animated-GIF banners.

Colors

GIF is an abbreviation for Graphics Interchange Format. A GIF file can store from 2 to 256 different colors. Therefore, when working with an animated GIF banner design, it is a good approach to work in a 256-color palette.

In order to keep your file size to a minimum, use only a couple of high contrasting and complementary web colors because the more colors you use in your banner, the larger the file size. Using the smallest color palette possible in your animated GIF banners will let you use more artistic special effects in your animation.

Dithering

To display a full color graphic image on a 256-color monitor, computers must replicate the colors it is not able to display. They achieve this by dithering, which is combining pixels from a 256-color palette into patterns that approximate other colors. At a distance, the human eye merges the pixels into a single color. When viewed up close, the graphic image will appear pixelated and speckled.

The use of dithered images in an animated GIF banner will increase the file size. For example, photographs typically display thousands to millions of colors. If you include a photograph in a GIF banner, the resulting photo will become dithered because the GIF file format will reduce the colors in the photo to only 256 colors. Therefore, if you use photographs in your animated GIF banner, try and include photos that do not use many colors in order to minimize dithering.

More on Compressing Animated GIF Banners

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, it is important to consider the file size of any graphics that you incorporate, including any animated GIF banners. Here are some more tips on how to achieve a greater looking banner ad that it is not huge in file size.

Interlacing

Interlacing is storing partial data from a single graphic image in multiple sequences. With interlacing, equally spaced sets of lines from the original image are stored together and these sets appear one on top of the other in sequence. You will often see a set of horizontal lines appear first before you see an entire graphic image, which is interlacing.

The reason for interlacing is to have a partial image initially show on screen rather than having to wait for the entire image to download. The advantage of interlacing is that end users know that they are about to view a graphic image rather as opposed to viewing a blank space.

The downside is that interlacing adds to the download time of an animated GIF banner. Therefore, prior to making a decision to use interlacing on your animated GIF banner, you must make your mind up which is more important: the increase in the overall file size or the interlacing effect.

Number of frames

You can decrease the file size of an animation by using the smallest number of frames achievable.

Some special effects take longer to download than others, both in animated GIF banners and rich media banners. Glow effects and fading text effects take longer to download because the animation normally needs more frames to achieve the effects and glows and fades use a larger color palette.

If you want to use glows and fading text in your animated GIF banners, it is possible to achieve a smaller file size if you compress the animation using lossy compression.

File compression

Compression is a method to create a file or a data stream smaller for faster transmission or to take up less storage space. In web design, there generally are two types of compression: lossless and lossy compression.

Lossless compression refers to a data compression method where the file quality is preserved and no data is lost. Lossless compression is commonly used on GIF images, including GIF animations, but can only reduce file size to about half of its original size.

Lossy compression refers to a method of reducing file sizes by giving away some precision of detail. JPEG images are an example of a file that is compressed this way. By reducing the quality of a picture when you save it, the file size becomes smaller. Lots of photographs can take of loss of fine detail before the quality becomes perceptible.

Conclusion

The primary goal of any banner is to encourage readers to click on your banner and visit your website. By creating a banner ad that downloads quickly, you are increasing the chances that this will actually occur.

Compressing Flash Movies and Flash Banners

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

If you are thinking about incorporating a Flash banner in your website design, there are a number of items you need to consider. Many businesses and designers prefer Flash web banners over animated GIF banners because Flash web banners allow more complicated animations, have a greater graphic quality and can include scripting features and interactivity, all of which are advantageous for e-commerce applications.

In turn, your visitors will benefit from Flash's smaller files, faster download times and streaming functionalities. For example, a short banner animation can play in the forefront while the main banner downloads in the background. Also, Flash banners are now almost universally accepted, displaying on the vast majority of computers connect to the Internet.

However, Flash banners are not designed as well as they could be when it comes to file size. If not handled with skill, Flash files can become large and will take too long to download.

Tips on Reducing Flash Banner Sizes

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Flash banners can quite easily become large files which are not good for your website visitors who are waiting for them to download. Therefore, you need to consider the use of Flash banner carefully in your website design. Below are some tips that will help reduce the size of your Flash files.

Colors

1. Use a limited color palette on your Flash banner.

2. Web-safe colors are best because your Flash banner's colors will look the same across all major browsers and platforms.

Gradients

1. Use gradients in moderation on Flash banners. Each area of a gradient fill requires more data than a solid fill.

2. Left-to-right (horizontal) linear gradients are preferable to up-and-down (vertical) gradients as browsers read them more quickly.

Symbols

To appreciate advanced optimizing in Flash, you must first understand how to create symbols. Symbols are elements in your movie that you select for using repeatedly. Symbols can be graphics, buttons, movie clips, sound files or fonts.

1. By making a symbol, the symbol is stored in the Flash file's library, which you can select and place for multiple uses and edits. Symbols reduce file size because regardless of how many times you make and place a symbol, Flash stores the symbol in the file only once.

2. For advanced color optimizing, use the effects panel's tint to create different colored instances of a single symbol instead of creating multiple symbols.

3. Be careful not to overuse the alpha transparency color effect as it can slow playback.

Fonts

1. Limit the number of fonts and font styles you use in your Flash banners. For embedded font options, choose only the characters required rather than the entire font.

2. Use font symbols as shared library assets. A library is where all your symbols are kept.

More Tips on Reducing Flash Banner Sizes

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Lines

1. Limit the number of special line styles used, such as dashed and dotted. Solid lines require less memory. Also, lines made with the pencil tool require less memory than brush strokes.

2. Use Modify > Optimize to minimize the number of separate lines in your shapes.

Limiting the number of special line effects will also keep the file size of your Flash banners low.

Bitmap images

1. Bitmap graphic images imported into Flash, such as a photo or a file from another software program, take up more file size than Flash (vector) graphics, so you should use them in moderation.

2. Size bitmap images to the exact dimensions you need before importing them into Flash. This includes reducing image quality as much as possible.

3. Whenever possible, avoid animating bitmap elements, if you must use them in Flash banners.

4. Try and convert your bitmaps to vector graphics, as you may achieve a considerably smaller file size.

5. Adjust the JPEG quality of bitmap files and turn off the Smoothing option for bitmap images in a movie's library. Playback will be faster because the bitmaps will render more quickly.

Sound

1. To choose sound compression options, use the options in the Export Settings of the Sound Properties dialog box. Use the lowest sampling rate and bit depth required. Sixteen Kbps should suffice for most situations.

2. Instead of using a long sound file, take a segment of the file and set it to loop, that is, to repeat itself.

3. Select fast in your quality button under Sound Settings. Fast gives better compression results than medium or best.

4. In the Compression menu from the Sound Properties dialog box, choose ADPCM (Advanced Differential Pulse Code Modulation) for short sounds, and streaming (MP3 compression setting) for longer sounds such as background music and soundtracks.

Animation

1. File size increases with the number of frames. Use symbols for every element in your banner that appears and changes in more than one frame.

2. Use keyframes and tweening to reduce the number of individual frames and keep your file size down to a minimum. However, avoid using too many tweening operations at one time, as too many could slow playback considerably.

3. Animate a fixed area of your banner, not everywhere on it.

4. Choose motion tweening over shape tweening. Motion tween symbols instead of grouping objects.

5. Use caution when creating complex symbols or having many symbols in a single frame as it may cause the movie to pause while symbols are downloading.

Exporting to the Web

1. Flash movies for export, SWF or ShockWave Flash movie, require you to also save an HTML file. The HTML document is needed to activate the Flash movie and specifies the browser settings, including where the Flash movie appears on screen and the movie size.

2. Make certain you choose carefully among the anti-aliasing options found in the HTML section of a movie's Publish Settings.

3. Use the bandwidth profiler to see if your movie meets or exceeds your target audience's connection speed. You can see where a movie may be paused to wait for a large file to download.

Flash is a powerful tool for creating web banners and it will take some time to learn all the features. However, keep these optimizing tips in mind and you will be able to make spectacular banners that are quick to download.

Using Animation, Sound and Plug-Ins in Website Design

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, you should think carefully about the use of animation, sound and plug-ins. The use of special effects on web pages has taken-off in recent times. Special effects can either be used to draw a potential client's attention to a website or to show off technical expertise. However, many website designers, graphic designers and programmers often incorporate special effects without considering how their target audience will react to them. In the end, using advanced technology can isolate the very customers designers are trying to attract because they want their web site to look cool.

Prior to adding any special effects to your website, you should ask yourself, is your site easy to read, easy to navigate, easy to find, consistent/coherent in design, and quick to download? If you answer yes to all of these questions, then incorporating special effects to your website may be a good idea.

Special effects add to a website's download time, and you do not want potential customers clicking off your site before viewing its content because you wanted cool effects on your web pages.

Some special effects, such as animation and music, may be attractive and impressive initially. However, after the initial impact, they can quickly become annoying. Some people can become so annoyed that they unplug the speakers to their computers.

To show design, technical, or programming talent, it is a good idea to divide your site into individual pages that showcase one particular talent per page. Doing this can greatly increase your pages' download speed, and your visitors will know what to expect when they go to a special effects page. An additional benefit to this layout is that you can code and promote each talent page differently, possibly resulting in better, targeted traffic to your website.

Print Design versus Web Page Design - Part 1

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, it is important to distinguish between traditional print design and web page design. Many website design companies build websites that receive such low sales that do not even cover online costs. The problem here though is not the web, but an inability of inexperienced graphic and website designers to distinguish website design and promotion from everything that's come before it.

When some people turn on their computer, they actually think they are seeing a printed page on their screen. They then assign print strategies to a web layout. But many of the rules of print simply do not apply to the web, so the end result can be a mess, and the original promotional message of the business has vanished.

The following points will help you identify some common problems involved in the creation of a web page.

Resolution

Resolution is the image quality measured in terms of how many pixels make up your image. It is usually referred to as pixels per inch, or "ppi". Since your images are to be viewed on a screen, all web graphics should be no larger than 72 ppi. A higher resolution has no improved effect and only creates greater download times.

GIFs and JPEGs

GIF is an abbreviation for Graphics Interchange Format. The advantages of GIF are that it is supported by practically all web browsers, can include transparent backgrounds, supports interlacing (providing a low-resolution preview of the graphic to the viewer while it downloads), and can be used as an image map.

JPEG is an abbreviation for Joint Photographers Experts Group. JPEG is superior in rendering color and detail found in photographs or graphics using blends, gradients and other tonal variations.

On some occasions, it is clear that a graphic on a web page was saved in the wrong file format. Photos may look too grainy, or flat-color images may look too fuzzy. When selecting GIF or JPEG for your graphics conversion, it is important to consider the type of image you will be working with. Use a GIF format if your graphic consists primarily of line art or flat colors without gradients. JPEG converted graphics are best for photographs or images with fine tonal variations in colors, such as images with gradients or metallic images. Choosing the right file format is not only important for the quality, but for keeping your image's file size to a minimum.

Print Design versus Web Page Design - Part 2

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Fonts

For your readers to view the same font you see on your own screen, they must also have the same font installed on their own individual computers. If they do not have the font installed, their browser will instead show a substitute font, which designers have no control over.

Therefore, it is a good idea to be more conservative with your choice of fonts. Display only what the general public already has on their computers. If you are looking for a modern look, use standard fonts like Helvetica or Arial. If you're looking for a more stylish look, use fonts like Times or Verdana. If you absolutely must have everybody see your creative font, then convert the selected text into a graphic, but use this option in moderation as it will increase your web pages' download time.

Typography

The reality of web design is that you do not have the kind of control over how your text appears. It is far less sophisticated than what is possible in print media. The choice of font, the exact size of the text, where the text breaks and how the text reads - all are aspects of typography. On a web page, they are mostly determined by the web browser, not by the creator or owner of a web site.

At a screen resolution of only 72 dpi, text is nowhere near as sharp on screen as it is on a print publication. For this reason, be very careful not to overload your readers with too much text and allow for some open white space.

Plug-ins

There are several mistakes designers can make when it comes to adding plug-ins to their website. They may:

1. fail to include a warning to the visitor in advance that a plug-in is needed to view the site and where they can download it, or

2. create a link to the plug-in creator's web page but the visitor is no longer at the original company's web site.

You may like to code the link to the plug-in so that when it is clicked a new browser window appears, rather than losing your web page. Or even better, try and obtain direct access to the plug-ins FTP site so that people will only see your web site while the plug-in downloads.

Print Design versus Web Page Design - Part 3

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Navigation

The web is a much more interactive experience than a print publication. The viewer controls the sequence of web pages and jumps from page to page using links. Consequently, the web designer must organize the content on the web pages very differently from the way one might organize them from a brochure, newsletter, or book. Remember, your website is not a document your audience can actually hold. You cannot assume the viewer has seen previous pages or will proceed to subsequent pages on your website. Each page must be able to stand by itself. Your readers always need to be reminded where they are and how to get to anywhere else on your site.

Colors

The advantage of color on the web is that it is cheap. Technically, you can produce millions of colors on your screen, provided your monitor and video display are a reasonable quality. The disadvantage is that there are actually only 216 web safe colors, meaning that these are the only colors that appear the same on all monitors and operating systems without dithering.

It is important to understand that colors from a print piece cannot be effortlessly transferred to a computer screen. Many print variables, such as paper thickness, texture, color, absorbency; inks, are not available for a computer monitor.

Additionally, too much color on a web page can be distracting and counterproductive. The most successful strategy is to use color in moderation. Adding too many colorful items can create the visual equivalent of noise. Rather, leave room for white space. This will help your visitors focus on the items that are highlighted in color.

Computer monitors

A web site that looks clean on a monitor with millions of colors could look dithered and jagged on a monitor with only 256 colors. Colors that appear bright and sharp on your screen may appear dark and dull on someone else’s. A web page that appears well suited for a 19" or larger screen will appear cut-off on a smaller one.

Before making any design revisions, first view your web page on several different computers. If you only have one computer, go somewhere else and view it. See how the website reads under poor lighting also. All of these factors can be observed before reaching an acceptable medium.

Scanning Graphic Images for the Web

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you may be considering scanning some of your graphical images. Scanning images for the web is a specialty and requires advanced skills and training to make your original photo or graphic image recognizable on a wide range of viewing environments on the web. There is also an added challenge of reducing your photo or graphic image to the smallest file size possible for quick downloading and viewing.

For an e-commerce website, scans are a critical component of the selling process. A well scanned picture allows for your audience to perceive an added value in your product or service. A poorly scanned picture will hurt your sales and reputation.

Professional designers will first scan a photo or graphic image at a much higher resolution before shrinking it down for the web. This is done to preserve the image quality while making any necessary graphic adjustments. It may include cropping the image to get rid of unwanted areas, rotating the image to keep it straight, retouching the image, compressing the image and saving the image to an appropriate file format.

When scanning graphic images, you almost never use the scanner just as it was when purchased from the store. Left to only its default settings, a scanner will have difficulty picking up detail in the darkest and lightest areas of many pictures, produce colors that don't match, or leave the image looking flat and blurry. That makes it the designer's job to make the required adjustments without harming the other parts of the photo, so it will all look sharp and crisp.

There are many variables that determine how your scanned image will look, such as computer monitors, computer operating systems, web browsers, etc. A professional designer will test your photo or graphic image to make sure that it will show up properly under all of these circumstances.

Your Website Should Be Easy To Read

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, one important aspect you need to consider is the readability of your website.

The most important rule in web design is that your website should be easy to read. But what exactly does this mean? You should select your text and background colors very carefully. You do not want to use backgrounds that confuse your text or use colors that are difficult to read. Many people find that a dark colored text on a light colored background is easier to read than light colored text on a dark colored background.

Also, you do not want to set your text size too small (as it will be difficult to read) or too big (as it will appear to shout at your visitors). Many people interpret capitalized letters as giving the appearance of shouting at your visitors.

It is a good idea to keep the alignment of your main text to the left and not centered. Center aligned text is best used for headlines. You need your visitors to be comfortable with what they are reading and most text in the West is left aligned.

Making Your Website and Web Graphic Images Easy to Read

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An important aspect of your website design is the readability of your website. The first basic rule of website design is that your site should be easy to read. That means producing HTML text, background images and the text in graphic images with the highest possible contrast. The highest color contrast comes from using the 2 colors black and white. Another good color combination is light yellow and dark blue.

In general, it is best to keep the highest color contrast in your main HTML body text, and many web designers recommend using black text against a white background. Other color combinations are best used in headings, mastheads, sidebars, navigation buttons and image maps. Using graphic images as backgrounds can make a web site more aesthetically pleasing, but graphic image backgrounds can make your website more difficult to read.

If you know that the text in your graphic images will continue on a second line, then it is best to increase the leading, or the spacing between lines of text.

The most readable typefaces are standard serif (normally Times) and sans-serif (typically Arial or Helvetica) fonts. Decorative or cursive fonts are much more difficult to read.

Therefore, it is best to design the majority of your site in a serif or sans-serif typeface. If you have a decorative or cursive font in your logo and wish to use the typeface in your web site design, it is best to use it in (a) graphic images and (b) to use it in a larger type size.

Sometimes, sans-serif typefaces are more legible than serif typefaces when the character size is small.

In terms of font style, italicized, oblique or condensed fonts are harder to read than standard typefaces.

In conclusion, to make your website easy to read, you should always consider color contrast, legible typefaces, font size and font style when designing your website and web graphic images.

Your Website Should Be Easy To Navigate

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you must pay careful attention to how visitors will navigate around your site.

All of your hyperlinks should be obvious to your visitors. Graphic images, such as buttons or tabs, should be clearly labelled and easy to read. Your web graphic designer should choose the colors, backgrounds, textures and special effects on your web graphics very carefully. It is more important that your navigational buttons and tabs be easy to read and understand than to have showy effects.

Link colors in your text should be familiar to your visitor. The convention has been blue text usually indicates an unvisited link and purple or maroon text usually indicates a visited link. If you elect not to use the default colors, your text links should be emphasized in some other way, for example boldfaced, a larger font size, set between small vertical lines, or a combination of these. Text links should be unique and they should not look the same as any other text in your web pages. You do not want people clicking on your headings because they think the headings are links.

Your visitors should be able to find what they are looking for in your site within three clicks. If they cannot, they are likely to quickly leave your site and visit a competitor.

Your Website Should Be Easy To Find

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

It is very important that when you are considering your website design, you think about how your visitors are going to find you.

There is a common misconception that, "If I build a website, they will come," which is still held among companies and organizations new to the Internet. People will not come to your website unless you promote your site both online and offline.

Websites are promoted online via search engines, directories, award sites, banner advertising, electronic magazines (e-zines) and links from other websites. If you are not familiar with any of these online terms, then it is best that you have your site promoted by an online marketing professional.

Websites are promoted offline via the conventional advertising methods, such as print ads, radio, television, brochures, word-of-mouth, etc. After you have built a website, all of your businesses printed materials including business cards, letterhead, envelopes, invoices, etc. should have your URL printed on them.

As well as your website being easy to find, your contact information should also be easy to find. People like to know that there is a person at the other end of a website who can help them in the event that:

1. They need answers to questions which are not readily available on your website.

2. An element on your site is not working and visitors need to be able to tell you about it.

3. Directory editors need you to modify parts of your site to ensure that your site is placed in the most relevant category.

By giving all relevant contact information (physical address, telephone numbers, fax numbers and email address), you are also building a sense of security for your visitors. They can contact you in the way that makes them feel the most at ease.

Your Website Layout and Design Should Be Consistent

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

An important aspect of website design is the consistency of the web page layout throughout the site.

Just as in any document formatted on a word processor or as in any brochure, newsletter, or newspaper formatted in a desktop publishing program, all graphic images and elements, typefaces, headings, and footers should remain consistent throughout your website. Consistency and coherence in any document, whether it is a report or a set of web pages, project a professional image.

For example, if you use a drop shadow as a special effect in your bullet points, you should use drop shadows in all of your bullets. Link colors should be consistent throughout your web pages. Typefaces and background colors should remain the same throughout your site.

Color coded web pages, in particular, need this consistency. Typefaces, alignment in the main text and the headings, background effects and the special effects on graphics should remain the same. Only the colors should change.

Your Website Should Be Quick To Download

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

When considering the design of your website, it is important to pay attention to how quickly the website downloads.

Studies have indicated that visitors will quickly lose interest in your website if the majority of a page does not download within 15 seconds. Quite often artists' pages should have a warning at the top of their pages. Even websites that are marketed to high-end users need to think about download times. Sometimes, getting to a website such as Microsoft or Sun Microsystems is so difficult and time consuming that visitors will often try to access the sites during non-peak times. If your business does not have good brand name recognition, it is best to keep your download time as short as possible.

A good application of this rule is adding animation to your site. The animation may look cool and does initially catch your eye, however, animation graphics tend to be big files. Test the download time of your pages first. If the download time of your page is relatively short and the addition of animation does not increase the download time of your page by a great deal, then and only then should you consider animation.

Writing CSS Code Properly

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Basically, speaking about any programming language, which is used in website design, proper syntax is among those essential elements, which ensure the code will work exactly as it was meant to work.

CSS as the specific language for defining the styling or presentation of the web documents has a pretty simple syntax. First of all, remember that CSS file should not contain any HTML tags. Typically, a CSS style can be created in any text editor and saved with the .css extension.

CSS file also consists of CSS rules. Each CSS rule consists of two parts: selector and declaration. Selector defines which HTML element (e.g. p, h1) you are going to style with the CSS rule. Each CSS rule can contain only one selector but one or several declarations. Declaration consists of property (e.g. color) and value (e.g. blue).

After each declaration a semicolon should be placed, and declaration group should be kept within curly brackets. Below is the example of CSS rule:

H1 {color:blue;font-size:12px;}

The above said rule says the browser that each H1 element in the website document should be displayed in blue and with the size of 12.

Sometimes to make coding easier and more comfortable, each CSS rule is written as follows:

{

color:blue;

font-size:12px;

}

How to Create Your Own Selectors in CSS?

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

It is not a rare situation, when website design goes beyond the HTML. Often the HTML elements are not enough to style you website in accordance with all the project requirements. When styling paragraphs, links or headers is not enough to realize all your web design creative ideas and plan, CSS allows you to create your own selectors and define the desired presentation style to them.

One’s own selectors can be created with the help of id or class selectors in CSS. The id selector, which is marked in CSS with “#”, is used when it is necessary to define a style for a single element of the web document. Class selector is used to define the style for a group of elements and it is marked with “.” in CSS file.

Below is the example of using id ad class selectors within a CSS file.

ID Selector:

#element1 {text-align:left;color:blue}

Class selector:

.center {text-align:center}

Practical Tips on Styling Web Documents with CSS

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

CSS or cascading style sheets technique offers a pretty vast set of tools for both basic and advanced website design styling. Below is the short summary of the most basic methods to define styling of the website document.

CSS and Backgrounds

The following CSS properties can be programmed with the help of CSS:

background-color (sets the color of the background, e.g. body {background-color:ivory})

background-image (sets the image as the background, e.g. body {background-image:url('paper.gif')})

background-repeat (tells a web browser to repeat the background image either horizontally, or vertically, or none, e.g. body {background-image:url('gradient2.png');background-repeat:repeat-x;}

background-attachment (defines whether the background image is fixed or scrollable)

background-position (defines the position of the image, e.g. body {background-image:url('img_tree.png');background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:top right;})

CSS and Text Formatting

The following CSS properties can be used to define the text formatting:

color (defines the color of the text)

direction (defines the direction of the text: ltr (left-to-right) or rtl (right-to-left))

line-height (defines the distance between lines)

letter-spacing (defines the distance between characters)

text-align (defines text aligning, e.g. left, right, center, or justify)

text-decoration (adds decoration to text, e.g. blink, underline, overline, line-through, or none)

text-transform (this can transform the text, e.g. capitalize, uppercase, lowercase)

vertical-align (defines the vertical aligning, e.g. baseline, top, middle, botton)

word-spacing (defines the spacing between words)

CSS and Fonts

If you need to define the type, style or size of the font used, you can use the following CSS parameters:

font-family (define the font family, e.g. serif or monospace)

font-size (defines the size of font)

font-style (defines the font style, e.g. italic, normal, or oblique)

font-weight (defines the font weight, e.g. normal, bold, lighter, etc.)

CSS and Hyperlinks

CSS allows defining color, size, background color and other properties to the hyperlinks in the web document. Besides, CSS allows specifying different properties for different links, as follows:

a:link – normal link

a:visited - visited link

a:hover – a link with the mouse over it

a:active – a link being clicked

How to Format Tables with CSS

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Tables are now commonly used in website design. CSS technique allows centralizing all table formatting in a separate file away from the table itself. Below we will have a look at some of the examples on how to format tables with CSS.

If you need to define the border of the table, table row or table data, this can be achieved with the border property:

table, tr, td

{

border: 1px solid black;

}

Width and height of the table can also be defined by corresponding CSS properties. For example:

table

{

width:100%;

}

{

height:50px;

}

Besides, one can easily define the vertical and horizontal alignment as well as color of the table element:

{

text-align:right;

background-color:green;

color:white;

}

Finally, padding or the space between table border and the content of the table can also be adjusted with CSS:

{

padding:15px;

}

Steps Involved in Publishing Your Web Page

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

There are a number of steps involved when you decide to create your web page. The main ones are:

1. Define your objectives

2. Design your web pages

3. Download an HTML editor from the web

4. Construct your site

5. Find a web server where your site can be published

6. Copy your pages to the web server

7. Promote your website

8. Track your hits and fine tune

Define Your Objective

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

There are lots of good reasons for creating a web page but it is important that your own individual goals are clear. It is your objectives that should drive the content and the design. Some people create home pages as a hobby, just for their own personal development. Other people build them to promote a business or social happening.

Knowledge of web page development can assist in your career development. Many businesses today have their own Intranet sites, which are internal Internet systems designed to share corporate information. The ability to communicate electronically is a valuable skill to employers.

There is also potential for generating income from the web pages you create. This can be achieved by building interesting pages that attract large numbers of visitors and then selling advertising space, goods or services from those pages.

Design Your Web Page

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you know what you intend to publish and who the targeted audience will be, the next step is to determine the mood of your website. Should the feeling be informal, professional or high tech? Will you use graphics, animation or music? How will you structure the text and which fonts will you use? How will visitors navigate through your site? Whatever decisions you make, try to maintain the same theme and conventions throughout your website.

The most important component of your website is the textual content. What you write should add value and make the visitor want to return again and again. Review your web page objectives and your target audience and create a message that suits your audience. Check for spelling and grammar mistakes before publishing your pages.

Publishing on the web differs from writing for a newspaper in that you can take advantage of multimedia capabilities, such as photos, graphics, music and video to make your site more interesting. However, you should be careful not to overdo it. For example, graphics are often large files that can take some time to download.

It also pays to remember that people use many different types of personal computers, modems and versions of software. A web page that loads quickly on your machine might not function quite as well on another. So you must be aware of different requirements for various machine, browsers and software.

Find a Web Server

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

As part of your website design process, you will need to find yourself a web server. When you are ready to publish your page on web you will need to copy all your pages, graphics and music files which your page uses from your computer's hard drive to a web server.

The Internet service provider (ISP) that you use for Internet access may provide free web hosting to its customers. If not, there are many companies that will provide server space at no charge. However, you will be required to include a banner or icon somewhere on the page to promote the free hosting service or their sponsors.

Even though there are disadvantages to using free web hosting services, such services do provide an opportunity to learn and develop basic web publishing skills. As an alternative, there are many professional web hosting companies that offer inexpensive hosting packages with advanced features.

When you register for web hosting services, you will receive instructions on how to upload files to the web server. The web host will also provide you with a user ID and password so that other people are not able to access or change your files.

Promote Your Website

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

After you have built your website, your work is still not done. Some web page developers seem to think that if you build a page, people will just visit. Unfortunately, life is not quite so simple. With so many web pages on the Internet, the odds of someone bumping into yours is rather remote, unless you promote it well.

One way of promoting your website is registering your URL with one or more search engines and portals. There are many search engines in existence today. Although it is free to add your URL to some search engines, the registration effort does take time.

Search engines can be national, international, or subject specific. However, there are a few very large search engines that are used by most internet users on a regular basis. You should certainly register your site with each of these.

Depending on your objectives, you may also want to register with some of the international, regional or subject based search engines. Alternatively, you can use a URL submission service to register your site with several search engines at once.

Monitor Page Hits

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Even after you have created your website and published it to the web, it is very important to statistically track visitors to your website. Web tracking software provides great information about website visitors that can help you improve your web content, navigational structure and retention of visitors. Good information will help you develop great strategies that will ultimately lower your costs and increase your revenue.

A good hit tracker will provide answers to the following types of questions:

1. From which countries did my website visitors come from?

2. Which search engine did they use to find my site?

3. Which words or phrases did they search on?

4. Which sites and URLs are sending me traffic?

5. How did my visitors navigate through my site?

6. Which of my pages are the most and least popular?

By regularly analyzing your web stats, you will more than likely make draw some interesting conclusions. For example, you may find that only a few search engines are sending you most of your traffic. Also, you may discover that only a few of your pages are receiving the majority of your hits.

What is the Best Website Design?

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

In general terms, how important is website design in building a successful high-potential website?

Your website needs to be clean, simple and well structured. People use the web to find information. The best website design includes informative content, simple layout, easy navigation and fast loading graphics. It allows users to search for and find the information they are looking for in the quickest and most convenient way possible.

On the other hand, your website design is a reflection of your business and the quality of your product. People searching the Internet looking for information not only want the right information, they want it from the right source. So you must make certain your site does not look like it was designed by a novice.

Browsers

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

One of the first things to appreciate regarding professional website design is understanding that your website will be viewed on a variety of computer platforms and browsers. For the majority of the time it does not matter, but occasionally it does. The platform issue is much less of a concern than the browser issue.

Concerning web browsers, both the version of the software and the brand are important. Different browsers can display the same page in different ways, or sometimes they do not display it at all. Older versions may not support some of the newer language features.

It is a good idea to check your web design on at very least the latest versions of the most popular browsers. While no site looks identical on all monitors, browsers and computers, you can design sites that look good on all, but only if you test the site on all.

Web Page Loading Time

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

One of the most significant problems that face web designers is slow loading time, which often annoys users to the point where they give up and go to another site. So it is extremely important to design your pages to load as quickly as possible, which means keeping page sizes as low as possible.

Internet users are typically not very patient people, and if your site is slow, they know they can get the information, products, or services they are looking for at another site. So it is imperative that you keep your graphics down to a reasonable size.

You can decrease the loading time of your website by using common images on your pages because the images which have already appeared on a previous page will be loaded from browser caches, rather than from the server itself.

If you want to change images from page to page, try to use common elements from other pages. This web design approach 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, leaving only the new elements to be loaded.

Web Page Consistency

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When developing professional website design, consistency is one of the most important things to keep in mind. For example, nothing is more unprofessional in website design than a different colored background for every page. Your backgrounds, colors, fonts and navigation buttons all need to present your site visitors with a uniform appearance.

A consistent website not only lets users know where they are, but can also help develop a brand so your site is recognizable.

Website Navigation

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Website navigation is a very important component of any website design and you need to think about it from the very beginning. Good website navigation should allow your visitors to know three things: where they are, where they can go and how they can get back to where they came from.

At all times and on all pages in your site, you must give the visitor a sense of place, of context within the site. Every page on your site should have a header, footer, or sidebar that tells the reader what site they are visiting and where they are within that site.

Website navigation must be consistent from page to page, so your visitors do not have to figure out how to get places every time they come across a new page.

Home page

Your website's home page should act as the crossroads, the point of origin for all traffic going into your site. Your home page must link to all your sections and perhaps directly to some important articles.

Always include a link to home on every single page of your site. This way, if users do get confused, or just want to start over from the top, they are only one click away.

Site map

It is not worth trying to reinvent the wheel. Site maps, or tables of contents, work for website navigation just as well as they do on paper. Site maps are usually pages that contain links to all of the pages on a site. People understand these conventions, so they find them simple to use.

The main advantage is that they provide your visitor with a one-stop location to access anything on the site. The bad thing is you have to get them there in the first place. This should be your supplemental method of navigation, not the primary one.

Navigation bars

There are no hard and fast rules about how and where to put navigation bars. As most computer screens are wider than they are tall, and good typography for the best readability demands shorter line lengths, it makes sense to put navigation bars on the left or right hand side of the screen.

This layout is becoming increasingly popular because it is practical and allows the site to reserve part of the screen (usually between 150 and 200 pixels) for navigation and identity.

Images for Web site navigation

You should never rely completely on images for navigation bars. Of course, every graphic on your site should contain ALT text, so even if your visitors have pictures turned off they can still read and use your navigation.

That is one of the reasons why it can be dangerous to use image maps (a single picture that contains a number of links). As without the pictures turned on, it is impossible to use an image map.

It is also important to note that you should always include a text version of your navigation bars, as some people surf with images turned off or even with text-only browsers. You will often see the text navigation at the bottom of the page.

Frames

A common way to keep website navigation on screen no matter how much a visitor scrolls is to use frames with the navigation bar in one frame. This way, when users click from point to point, they do not have to reload the navigation bar on each page.

The problem with this is that frames can be confusing for site visitors. It is harder to print and bookmark a page. Using frames can either prevent search engines from finding pages within a Web site, or cause them to send visitors into a site without the proper frame context being established. Frames can also cause visitors with older browsers to be unable to see any of the content of your site.

Site search engines

Creating a good navigation scheme for a large website with lots of pages and a good mixture of material can be difficult. How can you get your visitors to the information they want without lots of confusing labels, pictures and links? Site search engines provide this capability.

Adding search capabilities suddenly gives you an incredibly flexibly, user-definable website navigation scheme. In the past, this required special software, but now it can be done easily and for free using various online tools.

Keep it Simple

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

One of the most important things to remember when designing a web page is to keep it simple. You do not need fancy graphics, Flash, Java, scrolling text, etc. It is not worth trying to impress people with your web building skills.

All you really need is a professional logo, a crisp, fresh look and simple navigation links. Make sure you are backward compatible. If you use cutting edge technology, can exclude readers. Many, if not most users, will be at least one generation behind, so try not to shut them out.

Keep your web page sizes as small as possible. That means using a small logo and images only if absolutely necessary. Not many people will wait 30 seconds for your page to load.

Provide Useful Information

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Most people use the web to find information that they can actually use. So make certain that your readers will find your information useful for them.

Design web pages so that all important text and images are above the fold. This is the part of the page that your users will see first.

The most significant information should be accessible to users without scrolling down the page. People will scroll, but only if they think there is something of interest to them on your page.

Home Page

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

A home page is a web page designed to act like an introduction and table of contents in a magazine. Your home page should contain links to site's sections, and possibly directly to articles you want visitors to get right into.

Ensure the first thing your home page shows is a reason for visitors to stick around. Visitors should immediately learn what the site is about and what it can offer them. You must answer these questions and do it quickly.

You can achieve this by showing a few lines of text prominently, where your visitors will see it straight away. If your visitors are forced to search for how your site may help them, it will be too late, and will be gone.

Some sites use a "splash screen," which is a page designed to act like a magazine cover. This page can add style to the site and serve as a ceremonial front door, but because they present less information than a home page, some users find them annoying.

Headlines

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, it is a great idea to always start your pages with the headlines because everyone reads them. Design web page headlines so that they grab the eye, intrigue and enthral the reader. Their sole aim is to make the reader continue on to read the body text.

You should use lots of subheadings. They should expand upon the story hinted in the main heading and draw the reader inevitably into reading the body text. Format them as separate lines, or as a lead-in sentence to a paragraph.

Also, remember that bold text stands out. However, it is best to use it sparingly, such as for lead-in headings at the start of a paragraph. You can use italics for emphasis. Italics can help make your text sound more conversational. People like to read bulleted text, so condense important points to bulleted lists.

Design Web Pages for Easy Reading

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When designing web pages, it is a good idea to avoid wide text running from one side of the screen to the other because this can result in lines of text that are so long they are difficult to read.

You can control the length of your text by limiting its width to around 60-70 characters (400-500 pixels). It is more important for web page design to make your text readable than to fill every inch of the screen.

In order to avoid large text blocks, break up text into smaller sub-categories. This will make your web page 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 trawl through large amounts of text.

Make sure that your paragraphs are not too long, with each paragraph no more than 3 or 4 sentences long. People on the web just do not have the time, or the inclination, to read long paragraphs.

If you combine text and images, use contrasting colors and blur the background image. Additionally, this web page design tactic also helps to reduce the size of images, allowing your page to load faster.

Web Page Backgrounds

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

One important aspect of your website design is the background you choose. Web page backgrounds are simple, fast and effective tools to make your website look unique and to remind your site visitors where they are.

Web page backgrounds can be specified in the <body> declaration:

Rest of the document goes here

</body>

The bgcolor attribute allows setting of the background color for the document. "#rrggbb" is a hexadecimal (base 16) red-green-blue triplet used to specify the background color.

The background attribute sets an image file that will be tiled across the browser window, to provide a background for the document. Browsers permit the use of GIF, JPG, and PNG images as web page backgrounds.

A browser tiles a background image as many times as is necessary to fill the screen. It will tile both horizontally and vertically. If the tile is not as wide as the screen, the browser will repeat the image, over and over, to the right, then to the bottom.

If you want a pattern repeated across and down a page, then creating a smaller tile will do just that. You need to remember that good web page backgrounds should have very little contrast, otherwise it will make text hard to read.

If you have a wide background tile that is as wide (or wider) as the screen, but not very tall, it will only tile down the page, not sideways. This is a way to create colored bars along the left or right side of the screen. You should make your background tiles wider than the current high-end standard, to avoid tiling across.

As browsers cache graphics (they store them on your hard disk so they do not have to download them repeatedly), using one or two web page backgrounds on all your pages will help your site load faster.

Background Tricks

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Fixed Background

Microsoft's Internet Explorer has the ability to watermark HTML documents, by fixing the background so that it doesn't scroll. To achieve this, add bgproperties=fixed to the body element:

Web Page Backgrounds that are not Tiled

You can implement this CSS effect by inserting this code into the HEAD of your document:

<!--

BODY {background: #ffffff url(image.gif) no-repeat}

-->

</style>

You can also center the background, however, it will be centered as the background of the entire document, not centered on the screen:

<!--

BODY {background: #ffffff url(image.gif) no-repeat center}

-->

</style>

Website Fonts

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your

website design

, one of the most important aspects you will need to consider is your choice of fonts.

Web fonts have a tremendous subconscious effect on the impression your website gives to visitors. Is it formal or casual? Modern or traditional? Serious or friendly? Warm or cool? These feelings can be conveyed instantly, even if the visitors may never consciously notice the web fonts used on your site.

You can specify any font installed on your computer, but if you stray from using the standard fonts that everyone has installed on their computers, the viewer won't see your fonts as intended. A number of the basic, or safe, web fonts are described below:

Times New Roman

Times New Roman is a Windows serif font that looks like something you would see in a newspaper or magazine. It is specially hinted for easier reading on-screen, however, Microsoft's free font Georgia is actually a better typeface for the screen.

Times

Times is a Mac serif font. It is similar to Times New Roman, but it is not as carefully designed for on-screen viewing.

Georgia

Georgia is a Microsoft's serif face. It is much easier to read on screen than other serif web fonts because it was designed specifically for the screen. Georgia has excellent italics that are easy to read and are attractive.

Arial

Arial is a Windows sans serif font that has a streamlined, modern look. However, it is not easy to read on screen because it is narrow and can look light in smaller sizes.

Helvetica

Helvetica is a Mac sans serif font similar to Arial.

Verdana

Verdana is a very easy to read sans serif font that is included with Internet Explorer.

Tahoma

Tahoma comes with Microsoft Office and is almost identical to Verdana.

Comic Sans MS

Comic Sans MS is a sans serif font that is included with Internet Explorer. It is informal and friendly, which is ideal for some websites, but may not be professional enough for others.

More on Website Fonts

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you can use bold or italic to emphasize some text, but remember that italic type looks better for serif fonts, while bold type looks better for sans serif fonts. Sans serif means without serifs, the little tails at the ends of each letter.

The <font> tag allows site designers to specify what font the browser should display:

The size attribute sets the font size. Valid values range from 1-7. The default font size is 3.

The color attribute sets the color for the text. "#rrggbb" is a hexadecimal (base 16) red-green-blue triplet used to specify the color.

The face attribute sets the typeface that will be used to display the text on the screen. It allows you to specify a list of web fonts to use in case the visitor's computer does not have the first one.

You should always list fonts by the easiest to read first. For serif faces, this should be:

For sans serif faces, it should be:

Using <font> tags ties the presentation of your website with its content, making it hard to modify your site design. If you later decide to change the color scheme or web fonts used in your site, you'll have to edit every page in order to do this.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) provide a solution to this problem. Instead of defining the site design in each and every page, you can use a style sheet to control the overall layout of the website. Then if you want to change your site design, you can easily change the style sheet.

Website Fonts and Graphics

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you may be considering the use of graphics rather than using fonts. Some websites use graphics to stray from the standard fonts. If graphics is used only for a few words at most, the files are small and download quickly.

It is not a good idea to use graphics for an entire paragraph of text unless it is absolutely necessary for the style of your website. Make certain that you include all the text in your Alt tag, as you want to ensure people can read your text, even if they cannot see your graphics. ALT text is also important because it can be indexed by search engines.

Website Design Do List - Part 1

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, there are many different things to consider. Here are some of the website design ‘dos’:

The Do List

Design for 800 x 600 pixel monitors. Never force visitors to scroll left and right.
Make extensive use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). They ensure your website will look the way you want on all browsers and operating systems. They also make your site more compatible with cell phone and pda browsers.
Place your logo on all pages. Put the same navigation tools on every page in the same place, preferably on the top or on the left.
Include a privacy statement, information about yourself, a telephone number, location and hours of business.
All transactions must be secure.
Make navigation intuitively obvious. There are lots of people who are new to the net every year. Do not lose them with mysterious symbols and visual language they may not understand.
Use small icons for navigation if possible.
Use alt tags and titles for images.
Use metatags, keywords and page descriptions for the search engine bots.
Compress images for fast downloads. Even though you want your pictures to look their best, noone will see them if they are too large.
Look for simplicity. Nothing beats a white background.
Be totally consistent throughout the site. Make all links the same color. Try not to confuse people.
Edit text carefully. Typographical and grammatical errors look unprofessional. You may like to hire an editor if necessary.
Edit pictures carefully. Convince yourself that the pictures really do need to be on your site.

Website Design Do List - Part 2

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, there are many different things to consider. Here are some of the website design ‘dos’:

The Do List

Do not use frames unless absolutely necessary. They hide the URL of a page and make it difficult for people to bookmark pages they want to return to.
Give pages sensible titles. They will appear in the browser and printouts, and some search engines need them.
Keep URL names concise and intuitive. For example, gallery.html and not glry.html.
Minimize the number of mouse clicks required. Every click you put between the start and the destination is a filter and visitors can get left behind.
Provide useful content. If you are a photographer, write an article for brides on recommended poses. If you have instructional and educational content on your site, if it is not all just selling, some search engines will rank you higher, and people seeking this sort of info may locate you more easily.
Have your host set the server software so people do not need to enter "www".
Add something new every now and then. Let them know you are still active.
Have a guestbook or a way to collect email addresses. Send out a short text email when you add something or improve the site. Keep it to text. Many people cannot read html email, and others block email with attachments.
Avoid link rot. Test that all links are still valid.
Make all your links to internal pages relative and not absolute. This will allow you to test on any server or move the whole site from one machine to another without breaking any links.

Website Design Do List - Part 3

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, there are many different things to consider. Here are some of the website design ‘dos’:

The Do List

Put your URL and email address on all your printed material, such as business cards, letterheads, envelopes, brochures, etc.
Study your logs and make sure your analysis software is omitting your own browsing so you are not misled by counting your own browsing or your site.
Use digital image metadata to store your name, copyright, email and keywords. Some programs, like Photoshop, allow you to embed info like this in the image file so it can be found by search engines that know how to read it.
Create personal, humorous error pages. "Oops!" is better than "Error 404". Put your email address on the error page.
Is imperative that you conduct lots of testing. Test with Windows, Mac, Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, etc. Have friends and family test your web pages.
Promote the site with search engines and mutual links.
Plan on the site taking some time and money. You cannot just put it online and ignore it. Make sure you or someone on staff has time to do the job right.
Get help when you need it.
Take criticism as valuable and pay attention to it. Praise is meaningless, however, criticism is priceless.

Website Design Do Not Do List - Part 1

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, there are many different things to consider. Here are some of the website design ‘do not dos’:

The Do Not Do List

Do not over design. Design for design sake is bad for business. Design for a novice. Ask your Grandma to test it.
Do not use Flash unless absolutely necessary, and if you do, keep it small.
Do not use rollovers unless necessary.
Do not use dates on pages unless the info is subject to change or the news is tied to a date. Dated pages get old fast and make the site look stale.
Think carefully before you take ads. Why sell somebody else's website? Why not sell yourself?
Do not use visitor counters. No one needs to know how many people have visited your site. You can get this info from your logs.
Do not let pages get longer than three screens. Do not make people scroll too much. One screen is ideal.
Do not email subscribers more than twice per month.
Do not use black backgrounds. Type breaks up against it.
Do not use automatically changing dates. People can set some browsers to email them when a page has changed. A date that changes automatically every day activates this "subscription" function, they go to your site, see nothing has changed, and get annoyed.

Website Design Do Not Do List - Part 2

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, there are many different things to consider. Here are some of the website design ‘do not dos’:

The Do Not Do List

Do not use sounds without advance notice. People browse at night and loud noises wake people up. Also, do not ever use sound loops. They can drive people crazy and they leave just to get away from the noise.
Do not use any typeface other than Verdana, Arial, Courier or Times. These four are on practically every computer. Helvetica and other decorative fonts are not. If the font you specify is not found on the customer's computer, the type will either switch to another font or be illegible.
Do not hold out the hope that you can control design. Current html and browsers give you a lot of control, but not nearly as much as you want. Be prepared for people to override your font sizes, or link colors. Lines will wrap in the oddest places. Heads will be widowed.
Do not use clipart because it always looks cheap.
Do not let table borders show as they can look ugly. Set them for 0.
Do not use symbols such as % or ! in URLs. They will break some servers. Do not use spaces in URLs either.
Do not change URLs. If you name a page mysite.com/gallery.html, do not change it to mysite.com/portfolio.html. People who have bookmarked the original page will get an error page and you may lose them.
Do not try to do it all yourself.

Stages of Website Design

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

A typical website design will evolve. In the beginning, many website owners become besotted with "bells and whistles" that, on the surface, may appeal to their target audience. Items such as Flash movies, Java applets, animation and other rich media have become increasingly popular over the years.

However, in the hurry to have the "coolest" website design, some website owners have forgotten who they are designing their site for: their target audience. Your audience might find that Flash movie annoying after viewing it a couple of times. Your audience may not be able to find your site in the search engines. "Bells and whistles" are attributes of a web site that need to be measured and tested to see if they increase or drive away visitors.

The various stages of evolution websites typically undergo are:

Stage 1 - Style Over Substance
Stage 2 - Designing for Online Visibility
Stage 3 - Designing for Your Audience
Stage 4 - Site Redesign

Stage 1 - Style Over Substance

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

For some people, the first stage in your website design is to design a site that the CEO, venture capitalists and ad agencies like to see. This design contains all the "bells and whistles". An entire site might be a Flash site. Or there might be some beautiful JavaScript mouseover effects or drop-down menus in the design. It is always a pretty design, but the message is very clear -- style over substance.

Stage 2 - Designing for Online Visibility

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The second stage of your website design is where the reality of an ineffective web design begins to hit, usually around 3-6 months after the initial launch. A website will typically get rejected by many of the major directories, not be indexed by the major search engines, or not get the traffic or sales that were projected based on the various types of marketing strategies used. Usually, that is when companies decide that they will try to hire a professional online marketer to promote the site. Doorway page companies, in some way, shape or form, can then start to show their faces.

Unfortunately, many website owners fall for a doorway page company's pitch because the beautifully designed site could not possibly be the problem with low site traffic. Yahoo might have rejected a site, or the site might have been listed in Yahoo and the company cannot understand why they have no description next to their company name. But in no way would many ad agencies or doorway page companies want to tell potential clients the truth, they simply did not design and write an effective web site, because it would mean losing thousands of dollars in business.

Stage 3 - Designing for Your Audience

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

By the time you get to Stage 3 of your website design, after spending an excessive amount of money on pretty web site designs and numerous marketing strategies, website owners generally figure out that they did not design or write an effective website for their target audience.

Usually, website owners will bring in a usability expert to analyze potential problems and present various solutions. Bringing in a search engine marketing expert to help with search-engine friendly design templates early in the design phase can save a company thousands of dollars in online marketing costs.

Stage 4 - Site Redesign

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The final stage of your website design comes after careful usability and search engine visibility analyses, when website owners finally have an effective website. A site that is written, coded and designed for user friendliness and search engine visibility generally gets the most traffic and resulting sales because it was written, programmed and designed for end users.

Website Design Overview

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Websites should always be designed with your target audience in mind, not your own personal preferences. Colors have meaning and professional designers understand the psychology of color and the use of white space to best project the image your audience wishes to see. For example, it is best to avoid the color red on a financial site.

Understanding the products, services or information your target audience is searching for is the most important consideration when designing and maintaining an effective website. When you launch a site, you may have to make an educated guess as to what your target audience wants. After that, tools such as site statistics software and reporting from site searches tell you exactly what your visitors are looking for. Then your content and marketing strategies can be adjusted appropriately. Unless the advanced technology clearly benefits end users, do not use it on your site.

It is your target audience who will ultimately determine the success or failure of your website.

The Psychology of Color

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are considering your website design, it is important that you pay particular attention to your use of color. Color selection is a very important element in your web image because colors have an effect on your visitors before they begin to read the content of your website. Therefore, it is very important for you to consider your target audience, the psychology of color, and the corporate image you wish to project before you build your website.

When color is used correctly, it can add influence and clearness to your message and highlight important points. When color is used incorrectly, it can compromise your message and bewilder your target audience.

Color can work for your web site and printed materials in various ways:

1. Color emphasizes, highlights and leads the eye to important points or links.

2. Color identifies recurring themes, for example titles and subtitles are usually the same colors.

3. Conversely, color can differentiate, such as different colors in pie charts and bar graphs.

4. Color symbolizes and triggers emotions and associations.

The interpretation of a color depends on culture, profession and personal preference. Generally, the colors red, orange and yellow are "exciting" colors and the colors purple, blue and green are "calming" colors.

The Interpretation of Color

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Interpretation of color for your website design is not always a matter of personal preference. For example, in Western cultures the color white symbolizes purity, however, in China the color white symbolizes death.

The type of profession you are practicing also influences what colors you will select for your corporate image. The following table shows just a few examples of how the same colors are interpreted in different professions:

Color	Finance	Engineering	Medical
Red	Loss	Hot, danger	Danger, emergency OR healthy, oxygenated
Yellow	Important, substantial	Caution, warning	Jaundice
Blue	Reliable, corporate	Water, cold, cool	Death, poison
Green	Profit	Safe, environmental	Infection
Cyan	Cool, subdued	Steam	Poison, lack of oxygen

In summary, it is very important for you to consider your target audience, the psychology of color and the corporate image you wish to project before you build your web site, printed materials and logo.

White Space and Web Page Design

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

As part of your website design decision process, you will need to consider the use of white space and now it impacts on your overall site design. White space, also known as negative space, is the term describing open space between design elements. It can be between letters, words, or paragraphs of text; space in and outside of graphics and between all of the elements of the page. It is essential for providing spatial relationships between visual items and actually guides your reader's eye from one point to another.

White space is an important layout technique and is often overlooked by an inexperienced designer. While some artists concentrate heavily on what to put in, they can overlook what to leave out. A design that is to be visually appealing must also be easy on the eyes. Without an adequate amount of white space, text would be unreadable, graphics would lose their emphasis and there would be no balance between the elements on a page.

White space takes on an added importance on the web because more of a strain is placed on the eyes than with print material. You will find that going through the same amount of web pages as print pages can be more visually demanding, one of the reasons being that you usually find yourself staring up at monitor flickering pixels coarser than printed ink. White space provides our brains with much needed breathing room to absorb the material displayed before us.

Treat white space as more than just a background. Treat it as an integral part to your page design. You will find it increases your layouts appeal with less visual noise, while enhancing the visual power of your message.

Difference Between a Font and Typeface

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

An important aspect of your website design is your choice of font. A font is a complete set of characters in a particular size and style of type. This includes the letter set, the number set and all of the special character and diacritical marks you get by pressing the shift, option, or command/control keys.

A typeface contains a series of fonts. For example, Times Bold, Times Italic and Times Roman are actually 3 fonts, even though people often refer to one entire font family as a "font".

Types of Typefaces

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

An important aspect of your website design is your choice of typeface. There are 3 basic categories of typefaces:

1. Serif, with little "feet," is a more traditional looking style. Common serif typefaces include Times Roman, Garamond and Palatino.

2. Sans serif, with no "feet," is a more contemporary looking style. Common sans serif typefaces include Helvetica, Arial and Avant Garde.

3. A decorative typeface is everything that doesn't fit neatly into the other two categories. This would include script typefaces and many others.

There can be many variations of the same type design within a single typeface. Most typefaces have at least 3 variations: normal, italic and bold. Some have other variations including condensed, expanded, light, demi, demi bold, black, heavy, or ultra, among many other possibilities.

The height of a typeface is described in points. The size of a typeface is often chosen from a series of set sizes, such as 10 point, 12 point, 14 point, 24 point, 48 point, and so on. Thanks to modern computer technology, you can enter any point size for your typeface and have it appear smoothly on your screen and in print.

One thing to be careful about is that type sizes are not standard. Meaning, one size in a particular typeface is not necessarily the same size as the same point size in another face.

Typefaces in Website Design

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Applying different fonts and typefaces in website design is not as easy as it is in print design. For example, let's say you would like your web pages text to display in the typeface Avant Garde. In order for your web pages to actually appear in this typeface, your visitors must have the Avant Garde typeface installed in their computers. If your visitors do not have this typeface, your web pages will look completely different than what you intended.

The only way to have a typeface display exactly as you intend it to display on a web page, is to place the typeface in a graphic image.

If you desire to force a typeface in the text of your web pages, we recommend that you use the most common typefaces already installed on computers. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana.

Text Links

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you will need to consider the navigation scheme you want. One aspect of the navigation scheme is text links.

Many new people to the web understand that blue, underlined text is a hyperlink. For this reason, it is generally a good idea to include text links in your website design along with other graphic images.

If possible, the link colors in your text should be familiar to your visitor. Blue text usually indicates an unvisited link and purple or maroon text usually indicates a visited link. If you elect not to use the default colors, your text links should be emphasized in some other way: boldfaced, a larger font size, set between small vertical lines or square brackets, or a combination of these. Text links should be unique and they should not look the same as any other text in your web pages. You do not want people clicking on your headings because they think the headings are links.

Advantages

The biggest advantage of using text links is the quick download time. If you are using large graphic images on your web pages, then it might be best to have a navigation scheme of text links. The other advantage of text links is that some of the text can be keywords.

Disadvantages

The biggest disadvantage of text links is that they can be boring to look at, particularly if you have a large amount of blue links sprinkled throughout your web pages. People like simplicity and ease of navigation. Therefore, if there is a way to make your text links more visually appealing and easy to discern from other sections of content, such as placing them in a colored table cell or a colored sidebar, then it is probably better to do that.

Graphic Images - Navigation Buttons

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you will need to consider the navigation scheme you want. One aspect of the navigation scheme is using graphic images for navigation buttons.

Graphic images add uniqueness, color and personality to a website. Many websites you will come across will use web graphics (buttons) as a navigation scheme.

Advantages

Graphic images have visual appeal. Peoples' eyes are naturally drawn to a splash of color and a change in dimension. The biggest advantage of using navigation buttons is that they give your visitors a visual representation of how to navigate your site right away, particularly if the navigation buttons are visible on the top part of a computer screen.

Another advantage of using graphic images/navigation buttons is that as long as the navigation buttons have alternative text in the HTML code, your website can still be navigated even if your visitors turn off the graphic images.

If navigation buttons are used in conjunction with text links, you have multiple places to put keywords: both within the text link and the alternative text of the navigation buttons. Many search engine optimization specialists recommend this combination for good search engine indexing.

Disadvantages

Download time is a big consideration in determining whether or not you should use navigation buttons. In general, you should keep the navigation buttons' file to between 1K-5K in size and dimensions between 60-165 pixels in width and 25-60 pixels in height. You do not want the main message of your site to be the navigation buttons, and you do not want people clicking off of your site waiting for all of your navigation buttons to download.

Many sites are using a beveled effect on navigation buttons to show variety in website design. The disadvantage of this idea is that many visitors might not understand that the graphic image is a hyperlink. One of the main reasons beveled buttons are so popular is that people believe that a "buttony" image is "clickable."

Graphic Images - Image Maps

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you will need to consider the navigation scheme you want. One aspect of the navigation scheme is using graphic images for image maps.

An image map is a single graphic image that allow users to access different web pages by clicking on different areas of that image.

Advantages

Sometimes a single image map is quicker to download than multiple navigation buttons. Another advantage for using image maps for site navigation is that graphic designers can show a bit more creativity in designing an image map compared to designing a set of navigation buttons.

Alternative text can also be placed inside the HTML of an image map.

Disadvantages

Many graphic designers who specialize in print design like to show off their design talent by creating beautiful image maps that are slow to download. Having a beautiful image map can increase sales and show creativity and uniqueness, but there is a good chance of having potential customers click off your web site before a page has time to download.

Also, many search engines will not follow the links inside of an image map, so it is very important an alternative means of navigation for the search engines on your web pages.

Drop-Down Menus - Javascript, CGI, etc.

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you will need to consider the navigation scheme you want. One aspect of the navigation scheme is using drop down menus powered by Javascript, CGI, etc.

JavaScript is a scripting language supported in Netscape Navigator since version 2.0, and in Microsoft Internet Explorer since version 3.01. You can program with JavaScript directly into your HTML pages, making it a very popular means to navigate a website. A navigation scheme can also be coded using a CGI script.

Advantages

The main advantage of drop-down menus is web page real estate. Drop-down menus do not take up as much screen space as multiple graphic images.

So long as you know that the majority of your site visitors use browsers that support JavaScript, this is a very useful navigation tool.

Disadvantages

The main disadvantage of this type of navigation scheme is that many early browsers do not support JavaScript. If you know that many of your site visitors and customers use browsers that do not support JavaScript, then it would be best to use alternative forms of site navigation.

If your site navigation uses a CGI script, you must have a web server support your type of script.

Dynamically generated URLs

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you will need to consider the navigation scheme you want. One aspect of the navigation scheme is using dynamically generated URLs.

A dynamically generated navigation scheme, such as pages generated in a search function, is best used for websites that have databases. For example, online stores with a large inventory can create a search function for their users to find the products they are looking for.

Advantages

Dynamically generated URLs, particularly for online stores, assist potential customers find the product or services very quickly. Site visitors can type in a search term and find what they are looking for within a few mouse clicks.

Also, search functions do not take up much screen space.

Disadvantages

The main disadvantage with this navigation scheme is that many search engines will not index dynamically generated URLs. Therefore, in order to get your website indexed, it is best to submit non-dynamically generated web pages to the search engines.

Maintaining both a database that generates web pages (i.e. dynamically generated) and static (HTML) pages can be both time consuming and expensive.

GIF Images

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

One of your website design considerations will be the format of the images you include. One of the available image formats is GIF.

GIF is short for Graphics Interchange Format. GIF's advantages are that it is supported by practically all web browsers, can include transparent backgrounds, supports interlacing (providing a low-resolution preview of the graphic to the viewer while it downloads) and can be used as an image map (allowing the viewer to click on the graphic as they would a regular link to another site.)

The disadvantages of GIF are that it can only support 8-bit color (or a palette no greater than 256 colors). It may also handle dithering poorly, which is the result of pixels in a graphic that try to mix themselves up to emulate different colors. Photographs saved as GIFs can also lose their detail and a wide range of values.

JPEG Images

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

One of your website design considerations will be the format of the images you include. One of the available image formats is JPEG.

JPEG is short for Joint Photographers Experts Group. JPEG is superior in rendering color and detail found in photographs or graphics using blends, gradients and other tonal variations. It also provides for greater compression options (Low, Medium, High and Maximum) allowing the artist the perfect balance between quality and file size.

The disadvantages of JPEG files are that they cannot be saved in index-color mode, meaning that many people who view the images with 8-color monitors may experience unusual dithering patterns. JPEG files also do not allow for transparent backgrounds, so you are stuck with either leaving the background of the image the same color as the background of your page, or having to settle for a border around your image.

Using CSS - How to Embed CSS into Your Website?

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Using CSS or cascading style sheet in order to define the web pages presentation style offers significant advantages in terms of website design convenience and efficiency. In order to use CSS for your website, there are three ways to embed a CSS into a website.

1) External style sheet. This is a preferred way of using CSS, since external, separate CSS file, located at the root directory of your website, ensures all the benefits of CSS technique. Such CSS file can be applied to multiple web pages, and you can edit the layout and the presentation of content on your web pages just by editing this single CSS file.

CSS file can be created at any text editor. Remember that you cannot use any HTML tags in the CSS file. CSS file should be saved with .css extension and uploaded to the root directory of your web site.

In order to apply the particular style, defined in the CSS file, to some HTML file, the HTML tag <LINK> is used:

<head>

</head>

2) Internal style sheet. If you need to apply the style for a single HTML document rather than for many of them, it is reasonable to use the CSS embedded in the HTML document. This can be done using the <STYLE> tag as in the following example:

<head>

hr {color:blue}

p {margin-left:15px}

body {background-image:url("images/mybackgroundimage.jpg")}

</style>

</head>

3) Inline styles. Though this method does not offer much of the benefits of using CSS concept, it is sometimes needed when it is necessary to define a style of a particular element in a single HTML file. However, this way crisscrosses the main benefit of CSS, which is separation of content from presentation, so try to avoid using this method often. However, once needed, inline style can be used as follows:

<p style="color:blue;margin-left:15px">This is a paragraph.</p>

With the three different methods of embedding CSS into website design, the first method, which is external CSS file, remains the most popular and the most efficient way to make the most of the CSS technique.

Definition and Purpose of CSS

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

CSS or cascading style sheets were first introduced in 1997 and offered a new way for improving HTML website design. CSS is commonly defined as a style sheet language, containing a set of standards to describe the presentation of web content. CSS often deals with the font types, colors, backgrounds and types of different objects presentation on the web pages.

Originally, CSS was called to separate the content of the web page from the style of its presentation. While HTML is focused at the content of the web page, CSS deals with the style of content presentation, defining the colors and sizes of different elements, such as headers, links, text, etc. In other words, while HTML defines what will be displayed on a particular web page, CSS defines how that will be displayed.

With CSS, there is no need to specify all the parameters of the particular element on every web page, it is enough to link the page with the appropriate CSS file and all the formatting and styling will be applied on the go. That is, surely, very convenient for website design, because it saves much time and helps to add a professional look to the website.

Benefits of Cascading Style Sheets

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

After the introduction of CSS standards, many webmasters breathed a sigh of relief. With CSS techniques website design has become more efficient and less time and efforts consuming. Let us point out some of the benefits and advantages, cascading style sheets brought into website design.

Faster website design coding. With a single CSS file in place, you do not have to code font characteristics or text alignment for every text element on every web page of the website. This makes the web pages cleaner with less repetitive code, which results in faster pages loading and displaying in web browsers.

Easier website designing. Basically, CSS is often compared with using tables for creating a desired website layout. Most of the web designers, who mastered CSS, agree that using CSS is much easier than using tables for webpage layout. Actually, it is always easier to edit one CSS file than editing all the HTML pages of the website.

Total control over your website look from one file. Actually this specific benefit is closely related to all the other benefits of CSS. When the presentation of the web content is predefined in the single CSS file, all you have to do is to edit this single CSS file to change the style of the rest of your HTML web pages. For example, if you want to change the text color in the navigation menu, you do not have to edit the <FONT> tag attributes in all the web pages. Just edit the necessary element of the CSS file, and the changes will appear on all the web pages.

Enhanced search engine optimization. For the purposes of successful internet marketing, CSS is also a preferred way of website design. When all the formatting and styling is accumulated in the one CSS file, HTML pages remain cleaner of programming tags and give more space for actual content, which results in better rendering of the pages by search engines.

Smaller file sizes. With no need to use formatting tags and attributes here and there, your HTML pages will become smaller with CSS. That will result in faster loading time and more efficient server space usage.

Improved accessibility. CSS allows a web master to make a website accessible not only in all the browsers, but also on certain specific platforms, including text phones, speech synthesizers, Braille devices, and multiple mobile devices with web access.

How to Use Frames in Website Design

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Website design with the help of HTML programming language offers a specific technique, which makes it possible to divide the browser window into several sections and display different HTML documents in those separate sections. This technique is called frames, and they can be useful, when it is necessary to keep some section of your web page visible, while the other sections are scrolled down or even replaced.

Frames can be helpful to create, for example, a navigation menu bar, which always remains at the same place, while the other sections of the page can be scrolled down or replaced with the other HTML pages depending on the menu option clicked by site visitor.

Below is the example of using frames in the simple web page:

<HTML>

<HEAD>

<TITLE>Simple Frames Example</TITLE>

</HEAD>

</FRAMESET>

</HTML>

The result of such code should be like this (the window is divided into two columns with 25% and 75% width respectively):

---------------------------------------

| | |

| Frame 1 | Frame 2 |

| | |

---------------------------------------

The tag <FRAMESET> defines how to divide the browser window into frames. It can hold the attributes:

cols – to define the width of columns AND/OR

rows – to define the height of rows

The tag <FRAME> contains the link to the separate HTML document, which you want to display in the particular frame.

There is a one peculiarity of using frames in the website design – once you use <FRAMESET>, you should not use <BODY> tag on the web page. Besides, it is also recommended to use <NOFRAMES> tag at the end of <FRAMESET> section. <NOFRAME> tag should contain the information to display, when a user browser does not support frame structure.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Frames in Website Design

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Frames have been introduced in the website design a long time ago. Since then, this technique has been both at the peak of its popularity as well as at the downside of use among web masters. The reason for this is the presence of both benefits and drawbacks of frames usage for the purposes of effective website design. Framesets use is still a discussable issue within the web community, and below is some of the most prominent pros and cons of using frames.

Advantages of frames:

Opportunity to make the navigation bar or heading banner always visible at the predefined place of the browser window, even if the other part of the window is scrolled down or the content is changed.
Easier content editing. If you need to edit some sections of your website, for example, add a new navigation menu option, you have to edit only one HTML document and not all the pages of your website, where this navigation menu is displayed.
Frames may increase the usability of the site, since the necessary elements can be kept at easy reach for site visitor.

Disadvantages of frames:

Search engines may not index frames properly – sometimes search engines may lead site visitors to the separate elements of the frame structure rather that to a complex view of the page. As the result, people may view only menu bar without the main window or vice versa. This is actually the most significant drawback of frames. Now, when everyone aims at successful internet marketing, problems with SEO may crisscross all the benefits of frames use.
Bookmarking of the framed pages does not work properly in all the browsers.
Using frames may increase the total cost of website design project, since it is recommended to create both framed and unframed version of the website to avoid some problems with site indexing.
Some people just do no like framed websites, which seem outdated to them.
Printing inconveniences. It is not that easy to print a webpage containing frames. Usually it may require additional tuning of the printer setting.
Backlinking may be problematic with framed websites.

Steps to Avoid with Training

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

In order to steer clear of a training disaster, try and avoid these steps:

1. Organize a training program without a clear understanding of what you want to get out of it.

2. Provide short notice for the training, leaving trainees with no time for preparation.

3. Don't ask for input from the people who will be getting the training. Set up and plan it all by yourself. If people have questions or input during the training session, ignore them.

4. Select training methods that do not match your business culture. For example, perform role playing with a group of people who are shy and introverted, or provide computer based training for people who do not understand basic computer operation.

5. Remove people from training for other business. Ensure all staff have their mobiles set to ring on high in case there is a disaster they need to attend to.

6. Teach skills that have no relationship to the work they are performing. Stick to a pre-designed syllabus which you do not change in any way.

7. Pay no attention to the set up of the room. Cook or freeze your participants by setting the room temperature really high or low. Either squeeze 20 people into a room designed for 10 or place 10 people in an auditorium.

8. Do not bother checking to make sure your equipment (projectors, laptops, internet connection etc) works beforehand. Assume that everything will operate flawlessly and that you can arrive at the training session five minutes before you the scheduled start. Do not worry about finding out who to contact to help with any technical problems.

How Users Read the Web

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When looking at your website design, it is important to consider how the content is written. People hardly ever read web pages word by word. Instead they scan the page and pick out individual words and sentences. Therefore, web pages should contain scannable text, using:

highlighted keywords
meaningful sub-headings
bulleted lists
a single idea per paragraph
the inverted pyramid style, starting with the conclusion
half the word count of conventional writing

Credibility is important for web users, as it is often unclear who is behind the content and whether a page can be trusted. Credibility can be increased by high-quality graphics, good writing and use of outbound hypertext links. Links to other websites show that the authors have done their homework and are not afraid to let readers visit other sites.

Users do not like "marketese" writing which is the promotional writing style with boastful subjective claims like "best ever". People are busy and they want to get the facts straight away. Credibility also suffers when users can clearly see that the site contains exaggerated claims.

Preparing Content for your Website

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you look at the design of your website, it is very important to consider its content. In fact, your website is the content you decide to place on it, including the words, pictures and audio or video material. You have built a website in order to show your business to the world, so the main requirement is that the content be informative and interesting to users. It also must provide them with accurate and up-to-date information about your business and what it does.

You must make sure that the content you create is appropriate for your intended audience. It must also satisfy legal requirements, in particular copyright and privacy laws.

The message you want to convey to your audience will establish the words and graphic components, like photographs, drawings, icons, your business logos and identifying images.

You should try and visualize your website content from the viewpoint of visitors to your site. They must be able to find out about your business easily and quickly. You will need information like who you are, what you do and what attractions you offer. The information should be presented in an attractive and appealing fashion, using both words and format, so that users notice, remember and are encouraged to return.

The content that you finally select will need to be edited for factual accuracy, spelling, grammar, sense and relevance. You also need to make sure that you have the resources to review the content frequently and keep it up-to-date.

Training and Support

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Many people suggest that only a third of a businesses’ internet spending should go on hardware and software, with the remainder going towards support and training. Training is vital to an efficient use of internet technology in your business. Without proper training, your staff will waste significant amounts of money and time.

Training should be a fundamental component of your internet plan and your budget. Technology training should be a part of your overall staff training plan.

Allow for the cost of relief staff in your calculation of training costs. Ensure you organize time for training into the work plans of your staff. It is difficult for people to be enthusiastic about training if it results in them having to work all weekend to catch up on the work they missed while they were at a training course.

Developing a Healthy Internet Culture

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The success of your internet plan will depend upon whether there is a healthy internet culture within your business. If your staff and management do not fully support the use of the internet as you have planned, the long-term success of your businesses’ involvement in online activities is likely to be restricted. Creating a healthy internet culture is not easy for small non-profits either, even though they may have fewer staff.

A strong internet culture in any sized business should have many of the following features:

The internet is supported as much as possible as a method of performing everyday business in the business.
Staff are encouraged to suggest new approaches of using the internet.
Staff are capable and enthusiastic users of the web and of their own business website.
The business website is not seen as outside your main business, but an important part of it.
Staff believe they have ownership of the website.
There is a dedication to ongoing improvement of your internet activities.

To realize a healthy internet culture you must make sure that staff are part of the internet planning process, so that they have ownership of the plan and any changes it brings in their jobs. Training in website use, email and other internet-related technologies should be planned, so that staff are not reluctant to use the technology and have the ability to use it properly.

Do Not Outsource Your Responsibilities

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Your business should not delegate responsibility to web developers or the in-house web expert. Every staff member should be involved in the development and the maintenance of content on a website. At the very least they should look after the content that directly relates to their work. This can have many benefits including:

The website has the latest content and it is all consistent.
As staff use the website, they can perform as an audience and error checkers.
The website undergoes continually improvement as a result of this.
Staff suggestions direct the growth of the site.

Training Staff

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Prior to you bringing in a trainer, or sending staff on a training course, try and get a sense of where their currently skills are. You should also have a clear understanding of what your business needs for staff skills are. A training needs assessment is a method of determining what skills staff require and what they can already do. It may be a good idea to complete a computer usage survey, which could take ten minutes for everyone to complete.

It can also be helpful if staff have input into what training sessions they go to. If people believe they are developing their skill sets and maintaining proficiency in new technologies, it may increase their loyalty to your business and decrease staff turnover.

Make sure your staff are aware that you view training as a priority. If your staff see your name first on the list for a training session, they will take it seriously. If you question them about their training progress in your regular meetings, they will understand that it is an element of your performance expectations.

Types of Training

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

There is a large variation in people's learning styles, comfort with technology and training needs. Non-profit staff may be most comfortable learning from a book or online tutorial and testing on their own. Others may need the individual attention and support of a tutoring session, or the structured assignments of a more formal class. Carefully consider what best meets the requirements of your staff.

Training Classes

Technology classes for non-profit staff can vary from a two-hour session to a regular tertiary course. Local colleges and universities may have courses that teach fundamental technology skills. Distance learning is a popular method for people in remote areas to take classes via satellite or using the internet. There are more and more websites which offer a full listing of online courses for independent learners.

Customized Training

For times when you need to train your entire workforce, you may consider bringing in a trainer to provide customized training. A trainer can tailor a session to fit your individual needs and teach the particular technology tasks you need to learn.

Do-it-Yourself

Independent learners may want to take advantage of the many online resources, books, CDs and videos you can buy to teach you different technology skills.

Promoting Your Website

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

One aspect of your website design you will need to consider is how you are going to promote the website when it is completed. Without successful promotion, your website will not be seen as often as you want. As you have spent a lot of time and money on the website, it certainly makes sense to promote it. The website cannot realize your aims if your target audiences do not know it is there.

You will need to develop a promotional strategy. Before your website goes live to the public, you should consider:

1. Promotional techniques, when they should be performed, who will do the actual work, the type of resources needed and what you expect to benefit.

2. Risk management strategies, where you consider what could go wrong and how you will handle the situation.

3. How the strategy will be explained and sold to everyone in your business.

4. How the marketing plan fits into your businesses plan.

5. How to measure the success of the strategy and how to implement any changes if required.

Advertising on a Search Engine

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

One aspect of your website design you will need to consider is how you are going to promote it. Advertising on the internet can be an unsure and costly exercise. Banner ads are the most noticeable form of advertising, but many readers pay no attention to them unless they directly meet an immediate need.

You can however advertise your service cheaply based upon how many times people see your advertisement. This is also known as ‘targeted keyword advertising’ or ‘adwords’. This type of promotion has been used successfully by many non-profit organizations.

Search engine advertising requires the creation of small advertisements that will show on a search results page when someone searches for a particular term or keyword phrase. For example, if you search for ‘camping’ you will notice on the results page a number of display ads for various camping services.

The concept is to identify key search terms or phrases to advertise under. Search engines will charge you a fee based on the number of times your ad appears. Your ad will receive exposure when people search for your nominated keywords.

Advertising Your Website Using Traditional Media

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

One aspect of your website design you will need to consider is how you are going to promote it. Advertising your business web address in traditional media can be a very successful approach to promoting the site. It also has the potential advantage of pointing people who may not yet be regular users of the internet, to the existence of your website.

It is possible to promote your website as part of any special or ongoing campaigns your business is involved in or simply on its own, through the use of:

magazines
newsletters
posters
free postcards in cafes, etc
billboards
newspapers
television
radio programs
books

Tips for Advertising Your Website

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Here are a few tips to help you promote your website and get the most out f your website design. Some of the approaches you can follow, include making sure your website address appears on your:

letterheads, invoices, receipts and envelopes
emails
business cards
packaging, wrappers
uniforms
signage on buildings, windows, vehicles
recorded messages on staff mobiles and the office switchboard number

These ideas will not cost you any more, however, the additional exposure can result in great dividends.

Evaluating Your Website

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Even after you have completed your website design, the site is never really finished. A website differs from printed forms of communication because it is quite simple to keep improving.

It is essential to keep on evaluating, refining and improving your website for two main reasons:

1. As user feedback and visitor statistics are readily available, there is the ability to continually shape the site as user requirements and internet technology develops.

2. If the content does not change frequently, people will not keep coming back.

An initial step in reviewing the performance of your website is to consider the following:

Are there any other services or products we should be providing or selling online?
Does the website have the speed and reliability required?
Is the website easy to use and can customers easily find what they are looking for?

Six Steps to Evaluating Your Website

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Good website design and development will also include a process of evaluation. Studies have been conducted on a number of websites and six simple measures were determined to help in assessing how well a website is communicating with target audiences.

These measures included:

1. A users' ability to interact with the site

2. The site's educational value

3. The efficiency of the site in communicating the businesses mission

4. The layout and content level of interest

5. Whether text is current or outdated

6. How accessible the site is for the user

Website Maintenance

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

After your website has been designed and launched, you will have to start thinking about the maintenance of your site. Whilst maintenance occurs after the website is launched, it is important to think about how you will maintain the website so that suitable features can be built into the site from the start.

There are a number of different levels of sophistication and options for content maintenance of a website:

1. Outsourced. Requests for modifications and the new content are emailed to a web developer who implements the changes.

2. In-house semi-automated. This is where the business makes the changes itself by using an off-the-shelf editing program.

3. In-house automated. Here the business makes the alterations itself by using software that lets non-technical staff manage the site content. This is known as a content management system (CMS).

Technical Maintenance

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The technical maintenance of a website refers to any modifications to the site that need changes to its programming code. For example, changes to the site's graphics and navigation, metadata, database, e-commerce solution. Technical maintenance can also mean adjustments that improve the website's reliability and speed, and usage monitoring of the site.

Generally speaking, maintaining the technical aspects of the website needs specialist knowledge and skills in website programming. Therefore, you will need to determine which items on the list you can handle yourself and which you would want to be looked after by your web developer. Any maintenance arrangement with a web developer will need a separate contract and agreement as to service levels needed, which is known as a service level agreement.

A Technical Maintenance Checklist

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Even though the technical maintenance of your website may be performed by your developer, you should have an understanding of the process.

In consultation with the developer, settle on a schedule for technical maintenance that specifies what is to be done weekly and monthly and what tasks are to be performed only when the need presents itself. The schedule should consist of all maintenance items and show for each what related tasks are to be undertaken daily, weekly etc.

This discussion is for website maintenance only and not large-scale changes which need to be fully planned and scoped.

A typical technical maintenance list may contain some or all of:

the speed of the site, how fast it is to download
hotlinks to other sites, e.g. validity of the hotlinks
the reliability of the web server, including dealing with error reports from the web server
the speed and reliability of information derived from the database
email lists, including the removal of faulty email addresses
user sessions, hits and traffic through the site
the exporting of data collected from online forms to the appropriate personnel
if applicable, the integrity and performance of the e-commerce system
interactive elements of the site, e.g. play-back feature for audio/video
the use of metadata in the website

Website Maintenance

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Website Maintenance

Instead of having a dedicated employee we can undertake your web maintenance needs thus projecting a professional image of your company.
We will look after your website maintenance while you focus on your core business.
Normally smaller updates are completed within 24 hours and larger updates are also executed promptly.
Our web site maintenance team works on enhancing existing applications, adding new content, search engine optimization, bug fixing and technical support.

An Overview of Website Promotion

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

There are many aspects that make the internet attractive for campaigning, such as its speed, its reach globally and locally to a huge number of users, inexpensive publishing costs and 24-hour access. The internet is a significant alternative source of information to official and mainstream media, and a powerful way of connecting outside mainstream institutions. It is a truly mass medium, allowing people all over the world to share information and discussion.

You should consider electronic campaigning to be a good complement, but not replace, other offline strategies. Populations that are less connected to the internet, for example, are less likely to be reached by internet campaigning alone.

All campaigns determining their strategy should analyze their goals and determine the best method to influence, facilitate and create opportunities. Electronic campaigning approaches can work best when they supplement offline methods, or can even be unsuitable given a campaign’s planned audience, targets, timing or resources.

The idea of a centrally coordinated, traditional campaign should also be looked at again with respect to the appearance of large-scale online partnerships that are not centrally or hierarchically organized.

Developing a Web Accessibility Business

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Developing a Web Accessibility Business

Implementing Web accessibility solutions often results in improved technical performance. The relative importance of various technical benefits of Web accessibility is different for specific organizations and situations. For example, reducing server load might be most important to an organization with a large, mission-critical, high-traffic site; whereas another organization that focuses on cutting-edge technology might be more interested in interoperability and being prepared for advanced web technologies. However, these same technical benefits might not be very important for organizations with small, simple sites; they might be more interested in simplifying site maintenance.

Identifying Technical Factors for a Specific Organization

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Identifying Technical Factors for a Specific Organization

The following questionshelp identify how the technical aspects of Web accessibility apply to the organization:

* Is the organization starting a new web development or redesign effort?

If so, the business case can emphasize the technical benefits of incorporating accessibility early in the project. See Reduce Site Development and Maintenance Time.

* Does the organization change site content or design frequently?

If so, the business case can emphasize that Web accessibility can reduce maintenance time. See Reduce Site Development and Maintenance Time.

* How important is it to the organization to reduce bandwidth use or server load?

For example, if it is important for the organization to reduce the need for additional servers or increase the download speed, the business case can emphasize these factors. See Reduce Bandwidth Use and Server Load.

* Does the organization want its website to work in different configurations?

For example, if the organization wants its website to work on multiple operating systems, web browsers, and devices, the business case can show how Web accessibility contributes to interoperability and device-independence. See Enable Content on Different Configurations.

* How important is it to the organization to be prepared for advanced web technologies?

For example, if the organization is interested in taking advantage of advanced web technologies, this factor can be included in the business case. See Be Prepared for Advanced Web Technologies.

* Does the organization want to have high-quality websites that meet standards?

If so, the business case can point out the overlap between Web accessibility standards and other standards. See Have High Quality Websites.

Website Promotional Methods - Part 1

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

There are a number of methods you can use to promote your website, some of which are described below:

Accepting payments through your website

This is known as e-commerce and does not necessarily have to be an expensive or complicated function or process. It is basically a tool that makes it simpler for users of your site to donate money or pay you for a service.

eParticipation

This is a broad term which encompasses online consultations, online conference activities and eDemocracy. Greater online participation opportunities can offer an important extra dimension to communicating with your visitors.

Surveys

Surveys are very useful tools to extract everything from snapshots of opinions to considered evaluation feedback. Surveys conducted online can be created to be interactive, as well as easy to use. This has the advantage of saving costs with mail and paper. A general or special section of users can be invited by email, or on a website, to participate in the survey.

E-consultations

These involve requesting comments on a particular issue and letting users provide their responses via an online form. The call for comment can be open to the public, or by invitation only where you provide a password to access the consultation site. Normally background information about the consultation will be supplied.

Website Promotional Methods - Part 2

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

There are a number of methods you can use to promote your website, some of which are described below:

Discussion forums

These include simple email groups, web-based discussion forums and hybrid web-email forums. Nearly all discussion forums are moderated which means that all contributions to the forum are checked by forum moderators prior to being made available to everyone else to see.

Webcasts

A webcast is a live video or audio broadcast over the internet. A user can receive a webcast without any specialist software, however, successful reception will normally require a broadband connection.

Blogs

Blogs are online personal journals that are regularly updated and intended for general public use. The important features of the blog are its journal form which normally includes a new entry sitting at the top each day, and its informal style. Blogs are a great way of building an online community letting people voice their opinions, make suggestions and communicate with others. The access to ideas and opinions on the website provide each users a sense of being part of the organization and part of a community.

Really Simple Syndication

RSS is a easy way of sharing content. RSS feeds allow your users to bring into their desktop the headlines of stories from your website. RSS is a way to send breaking and up-to-date information from your website to a supporter group.

Reduce Site Development and Maintenance Time - 1

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Reduce Site Development and Maintenance Time - 1

Reduce time and effort needed to change presentation across a site by defining presentation through a style sheet and using proper markup (for example, in XHTML) for structure.

Presentation includes design and style such as font size, font face, and background color. If the presentation is defined in an external style sheet, it can be changed throughout the site by making the change to that one style sheet. However, if the presentation was improperly defined throughout the HTML, the presentation markup would have to be changed in every instance on every web page.

Reduce Site Development and Maintenance Time - 2

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Reduce Site Development and Maintenance Time - 2

Facilitate efficient debugging with automated validation tools by conforming to standards and identifying a DOCTYPE. Facilitate efficient human debugging by simplifying markup and using style sheets to define presentation.

Reduce Site Development and Maintenance Time - 3

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Reduce Site Development and Maintenance Time - 3

Reduce redesign and translation time and skills needed by using standard markup and style sheets to style and format text, instead of using bitmap images of text or math.

Site designers often use bitmap images for stylized text. In such cases, to change or translate text content or style, each image has to be manipulated. If instead the text was not in an image and the style was provided in a style sheet, then the text can be easily changed or translated. To change the design is a simple style sheet change instead of restyling images of text.

Reduce Bandwidth Use and Server Load

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Reduce Bandwidth Use and Server Load

Web accessibility techniques can reduce the server load, which increases the download speed and can reduce the need for additional bandwidth or servers, as follows:

* Reduce the size of each page served by defining presentation in style sheets (which are only requested once per session) rather than the markup of each page, and by using text rather than bitmap images of text.

* Reduce downloading of large image and multimedia files by including alternative text for images and transcripts for multimedia files. For example, this lets users with low bandwidth connections browse with images off, and lets users preview the information and decide whether or not to download it.

* Reduce unwanted page downloading, and thus server requests, by providing clear and consistent design, navigation, and links.

Enable Content on Different Configurations

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Enable Content on Different Configurations

Many organizations are increasingly interested in web interoperability and device-independence, such as making their websites work well on mobile phones. Web accessibility can enable web content to be rendered and interacted with on different configurations, including different devices, operating systems, and web browsers, as follows:

* Allow users and user agents to access content for different configurations, and servers to provide content for different configurations by using current versions of technologies with built-in accessibility support such as XHTML, XML, RDF, SMIL, CSS, XSL, XSLT, and PNG.

* Render styled text across a wide range of configurations by providing information as text and using style sheets to define presentation, rather than using bitmap images of text.

* Facilitate interaction with different input devices by designing for device independence.

* Allow users and user agents to request content in a way that suits their capabilities by using markup for structure and style sheets for presentation.

Be Prepared for Advanced Web Technologies

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Be Prepared for Advanced Web Technologies

Ajiboye accessibility can help organizations take advantage of advanced web technologies and be prepared for future web technologies, for example:

* Allow content re-use by enabling tools to extract and present information to users in different modalities.

* Simplify forward migration and backwards-compatibility by defining presentation in a style sheet, using proper markup structure, and using the latest standards.

Increase Website Use

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Increase Website Use

A major benefit of Web accessibility is the potential for direct and indirect financial gains from increased website use. Web accessibility can make it easier for people to find a website, access it, and use it successfully, thus resulting in increased audience (more users) and increased effectiveness (more use).

Many organizations benefit financially when more people successfully use their website; for example, commercial companies can get more sales, educational institutions can get more students, and non-profit organizations can get more funding by demonstrating successful outreach and dissemination. Increasingly, websites are used to cut costs by decreasing customer support services and letting customers complete transactions online rather than requiring personnel and paper interactions. The many examples of cost savings from online transactions include citizens renewing licenses; filing tax returns and making payments online; investors trading stock and monitoring their pension funds online; and students registering for classes and completing course work online. Thus, increased site use can result in financial gains and cost savings.

Increases potential use by more people, expands potential market share

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Increases potential use by more people, expands potential market share

Accessible sites can be used by more people - including people with disabilities, older people, people with low literacy, people who are not fluent in the language of the site, people with low bandwidth connections to the Internet, people with older technologies, and new and infrequent web users, as discussed in Social Factors - thus increasing the market segments and number of people who can successfully use the site.

* An important potential market for many organizations is older people. People are generally living longer and older people are an increasingly large percentage of web users.

* Accessible websites are more usable to people who have temporary or permanent impairments due to accident, illness, or ageing.

* When web use is a significant part of a job, intranets and web applications that are accessible can help with employee recruiting and retention.

* People with disabilities and older people are particularly likely to be loyal customers of websites that work well for them. Furthermore, word-of-mouth or "viral marketing" can be significant among these groups.

Increases potential use in more situations

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Increases potential use in more situations

Accessible sites can be used in more situations. websites that can be used by people with disabilities can also be used more easily by people without disabilities who are limited by their situation, such as:

* in a noisy environment

* using a small black-and-white display or a mobile device outdoors

* low bandwidth

The Enable Content on Different Configurations section of Technical Factors describes how accessibility techniques help web pages work with different configurations.

Increases usability

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Increases usability

Accessible sites are generally more usable to everyone, including people with disabilities and people without disabilities. Increased usability means website users achieve their goals effectively, efficiently, and satisfactorily. When users have a positive experience with a website, they are more likely to use the site more thoroughly, return to the site more often, and to tell others about the site ("viral marketing"). Some accessibility guidelines directly increase usability to all users, such as:

* clear and consistent design, navigation, and links

* blocks of information divided into groups

* clear and simple language as appropriate

* supplemental illustrations

* good color contrast

Technical factors for cost savings

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Technical factors for cost savings

Following technical factors can provide direct cost savings.

* Decreases personnel costs for maintaining the site when accessibility reduces site maintenance

* Decreases the amount of server capacity needed and saves on additional server costs when accessibility reduces server load

* Decreases the need for creating multiple versions of a site for different devices when accessibility enables content to work on different devices

* Decreases the cost of upgrading for new technologies when accessibility helps take advantage of advanced web technologies and be prepared for future web technologies

Decreases cost of translating

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Decreases cost of translating

The cost of translating a website to other languages can be decreased by following accessibility guidelines for:

* clear and simple language as appropriate

* styled text instead of bitmap images of text to convey information

* separating content from presentation

* clear and consistent design, navigation, and links

Terms for promoting your website

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Terms for promoting your website

Traffic - The number of people who visit your site. The more of this you get, the better. Whether you're selling something online, putting out information about your company, or whatever, more traffic means more potential sales. If you don't promote your Web site, your traffic will probably hover around zero.

Promotion - Anything you do to increase your site traffic. This includes site submission, advertising, sending out press releases, etc.

Submission - The process of notifying the various search engines and related sites about your Web site.

Search Engines - Sites that people use to search for information on the Web. This is the primary way that people find Web sites, so a Web site owner needs to know as much as possible about search engines and how they work. Although some popular sites such as Yahoo are more accurately described as "directories," the term "search engines" is often used to include all sites that act as tools for people to find other sites.

Submitting to Search Engines

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Submitting to Search Engines

What's the first step in promoting your Web site? Submitting to the search engines? Not quite. Good Web site marketing is something that begins with Web site design. Your site should be designed with promotion and marketing in mind. You'll see why, once you understand how search engines work.

There are millions of Web sites out there today, and the total number of pages must be in the billions. How do people find the information they want? By using search engines and directories. True, some people type in URLs they got from a TV or magazine ad, or that some guy whispered to them on a street corner, and quite a few find sites by following links from other sites. But the majority of Web surfers find stuff using one of the most popular search engines: Yahoo, Excite, Altavista, Infoseek, and Lycos (to visit any of these, just stick a ".com" on the end and paste it into your browser).

Each of the search engines is slightly different, and people have their favorites, but they all work in basically the same way. The user types in a word or a phrase, hits "search," and is rewarded with a list of links (the "search results") that hopefully have something to do with what's being looked for. The words the user typed in are called "keywords," and the search engine finds links by matching these keywords to ones found in its database.

Do you suppose the search engine actually visits every site on the Web to see if it can find the keywords, every time someone does a search? Nope. That would be like Santa Claus visiting every house in the world every Christmas Eve. No posible, Señor. No, the way it works is this: a search engine has a database, which lists every Web site that the search engine knows about. When a search is performed, it tries to find matches in the database for the keywords entered.

As a Web site owner, you want search engines to send you as many visitors as possible. Therefore, you want to make sure that you are in the databases of as many search engines as possible. This is pretty simple.

As this is a rather tedious process, there are several tools available that will automatically submit your information to several search engines at a time. Instead of visiting all the sites and copying and pasting in the same info a dozen times, you simply enter it once, and the "auto-submitter" sends it to the search engines. All these services offer a basic free service, with additional features available at a small price.

When someone searches for something that has to do with your site, you want your site to come up as near the top of the list as possible. In other words, you want to optimize your ranking with the search engine. This obviously makes the next question "How do search engines determine rankings?" The answer has to do with keywords.

How to Use the META Description Tag

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

How to Use the META Description Tag

A META Description tag, for those of you who write your web pages using raw HTML code, looks like the following:

Give a brief description of your page in this tag. Bear in mind that this description (or part of it) will be displayed in the search engine results so try to make sure you phrase it in such a way that the person searching can tell at a glance that he's found the correct page for his search. Minimize irrelevancies and put the essentials near the beginning of the description so that if the search engine only accepts the initial (say) 150 characters, the essential parts of your description will still be displayed.

Not all search engines use this tag. For example, Google normally only displays the text surrounding the matching keyword that the searcher used.

How to Use the META Robots Tag

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

How to Use the META Robots Tag

Although this Meta tag is seldom mentioned in search engine promotion guides, it is important if you want certain search engines to crawl through your website using the links on the page you submit. Since adding it involves little additional effort, you might as well do it while you add the other tags.

In general, you will add the following line to your web page if you want the search engine to index your page and follow the links on it.

In cases where you do not want it to index your page simply use "noindex" instead of "index". Likewise if you don't want the engine to crawl through the links on your page, use "nofollow" instead of "follow".

Most, if not all, search engines today recognize this tag.

Furthermore, if you do not want the search engine to keep a cache of your page on their servers, you can affix a "noarchive" value to the "content" attribute, such as in the example below:

Google, for example, will see the "noarchive" value and not keep a copy of your page in its cache.

Surveys

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Surveys can play an important part in your website design. They are useful tools to obtain everything from snapshots of attitudes to well considered opinions.

Online surveys can be created as interactive and as well as being simple to use they can result in reduced expenses for mail and paper. A general or specific section of people can be invited by email or on a website to complete the survey.

An online opinion poll can merely involve asking a single question and showing answers to date. A more involved questionnaire may contain open-ended or multiple choice questions.

You can either create a survey form specifically for your website, or you can use one of the many free or pay special-purpose websites that exist to run surveys.

E-Consultations

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

You may like to consider e-consultations as part of your website design. E-consultations involve inviting comment on a specific topic and allowing people to supply their responses using an online form.

The call for comment can be open to the public, or by invitation only, where you provide a password to enable access the consultation site. Background information regarding the consultation will generally be provided.

E-consultations usually require setting up a special-purpose page and form on a website, or a special discussion forum. A separate e-consultation might have its own unique internet address also.

When a simple to use web page has been created with an easy form to be filled in, the success of the consultation will depend on creating publicity and persuading people to use it.

Discussion Forums

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

It may be worthwhile considering the use of discussion forums as part of your website design. Discussion forums can take three main varieties:

1. Simple email groups. These push email to subscribers when someone makes a contribution.

2. Web-based discussion forums. These need a user to visit a website to contribute.

3. Hybrid web email forums. These distribute content to a web page so that anyone can read it or locate old postings. They can also send emails to subscribers, either with the new comment, or to alert them of new content on the web page.

The software used to support online forums ideally should be able to:

generate a regular digest of posts
moderate comments, with all comments hidden from the public until they have been approved
close comments on topics after a certain time, so that continued moderation of postings is not required

Publishing Video or Audio

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

An important aspect of website design can be the publishing of video or audio content. Video or audio files can be made available easily and cheaply on the web. The files can be downloaded with a single click, similar to a PDF or a Word document. Users must have software on their PCs to enable them to read the downloaded files and in most cases this software will be freely available.

The publishing of recordings from events, conferences or talks that people provide for downloading can drastically increase the impact of an event. The key is to let people know that the files are available online.

Many web CMS will permit you to upload a file from your computer and make it available at the click of a button on a web page. If you have a static website this may require a little bit of programming.

The creation of a video or audio file is not that hard technically, as digital cameras and audio recorders have made digital recording as simple as pressing a button.

Prior to publishing big files like videos to the web, it may be a good idea to have them optimized for the web. This involves reducing the quality and file size to the minimum standard necessary for good web playback. The main advantage of this is a reduction in the time and bandwidth required to download them.

Webcasting

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The inclusion of a webcast may greatly enhance your website design. A webcast is a live video or audio broadcast over the internet. A user can receive a webcast with no specific software but they will generally need a reliable broadband connection.

Webcasts can be used for streaming an online broadcast of an event, speech or session at a conference. They can be used for online seminars for remote communities, online university tuition and for video conferencing that uses a video camera at each participating location.

Video webcasting

This is the most common form of webcasting. It has the advantage of supplying both pictures and audio and provides the most involving online experience. However, it is very expensive to broadcast and will require high bandwidth for the users. The most basic video webcasting will require a small camera connected to the internet using software that is provided with the camera.

Audiocasting

This is cheaper than video webcasting because the equipment needed is simpler and the bandwidth required is less as less data has to be sent. It is akin to internet radio where all a listener needs is a common sound player on their computer. The lower bandwidth requirements result in it being able to support more users than video. Audio will also provide a better user experience than video for users with slow dialup internet connections or older computers.

Before you webcast ensure you have your speakers express permission. Some professional speakers do not like to do this as they believe will cut into fees they can earn from other events.

Podcasting

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

You may like to incorporate podcasting into your website design. Podcasting is technique of publishing audio programs via the internet and lets users subscribe to a feed of new files (normally MP3s). You can then listen to the file at any time on your computer or digital audio player. Podcasts can be used to download many items from radio programs, to university lectures and short audio pieces by independent bloggers.

Users can subscribe to a podcast service which is similar to subscribing to an email newsletter.

When someone subscribes to a podcast, new recordings will automatically appear on their computers and, if they are using the correct software, on their digital audio and music players.

One advantage for users is that even though streaming audio uses a lot of bandwidth, downloading a podcast requires less and when it is on your computer or music player you don’t have to be online at all.

Podcasting also lets people listen to their selected radio shows when they have the time, rather than when they are being broadcast.

Blogs

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, you may like to look at blogs. Blogs are online personal journals that are regularly updated and are intended for general public use. They use a simple form of web content management system that lets users with no technical knowledge create content.

The central feature of a blog is its journal form which normally includes a new entry sitting at the top of each day. Blogs are generally informal in style and represent their owner’s personality and interests.

Together with online discussion forums, blogs are one of the ways to generate an online community which can let people voice their opinions, make suggestions and communicate with other supporters as well as your business.

Blogs can:

allow people to post news and observations that would be of interest
serve as a forum for swapping resources and information
provide a friendly atmosphere for people to ask questions, provide feedback, or share ideas
provide details of meeting dates and events
provide a way communicating matters of general interest

The access to thoughts and points of view on a website provides users with a sense of being part of the business.

Wikis

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

You may like to consider using a wiki as part of your website design. A wiki is a website that can be collaboratively edited by a group of people. A wiki lets a group of people build, edit and modify a website with no programming or HTML whatsoever. It is essentially a very simple web content management system.

Wikis are different from normal websites. Normal sites are normally developed offline and then presented to users as a finished product, however, wikis are first presented to users as an empty page. A new wiki is an empty wiki, with no pages and no links. Rather than a team of designers developing a website in private, a wiki is developed in public by the users of the wiki.

All wiki pages have a publicly available link that usually says ‘Edit this Page’ or ‘EditText’. When a user wants to update or change a page, they click the ‘Edit this Page’ link, make their changes using plain text and then click ‘Save’. It is this simple and easy editing functionality that makes a wiki so efficient in collecting information, as people only need to edit a page to update the website and no programming skill is needed.

RSS Feeds

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) forms an important part of many website designs. RSS is an easy method of sharing content. RSS feeds let you to bring into your website or desktop the headlines of stories on other sites, like major news sites.

RSS is a method of having information frequently sent to you from a website, in what is commonly referred to as a feed. You can receive these feeds using special RSS reader software, which is similar to receiving email in your inbox. Most major online news sources use RSS to deliver content.

One possible use of RSS is to gather different feeds from large or small websites and have them as a combined ‘News’ listing on your website.

Microsites for Specific Issues

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The use of microsites for specific issues and campaigns may be a consideration for your website design. If you are running a campaign you may want to think about pointing users to a special page on your website which has been set up expressly for a particular issue.

These special pages are known as microsites or landing pages. They function like a mini website and can be created and removed at relatively short notice. Interested people can be are directed to the micro-site using direct mailings, e-newsletters, media stories or advertisements.

A number of microsite advantages are:

they provide a call to action on a specific issue via a short focused presentation
they place less obstacles in the way of someone’s decision to act
they do not risk distracting the supporter with general material on your main site

It is a good idea to provide easy navigation to your main site from any micro-site and vice versa.

General Enhancements

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, there are a number general enhancements you may like to look at. Inexpensive day-to-day enhancements to a website can be made that don't require major decision-making or shifts in your internet strategy.

Thoughts for enhancements may come out from regular website reviews or while updating content on the website. However, unlike updating, you have more flexibility in choosing if and when you make enhancements because, by definition, they are embellishments rather than being essential.

When you are maintaining your website, think about the small enhancements you can make, such as:

1. Adding additional text to what is already there and not just updating. For example, providing a better explanation of how to download a document, expanding on image captions, adding to the number of frequently asked questions.

2. Incorporating new images, video, audio. For example, adding images to an e-postcard facility or providing a video demonstration.

3. Adding new content by hotlinking to free syndicated content. For example, news, time and weather feeds.

4. Adding new links. For example, adding links to other sites and providing extended explanations about the hotlinks.

5. Promoting more aggressively. For example, registering the site with search engines that you have never registered with before, increasing the number of reciprocal links with other sites.

Accessibility Guidelines

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

An important aspect of your website design is accessibility. The World Wide Web Consortium (WC3) has formulated guidelines for website accessibility. The top priority guidelines are:

1. Offer alternative text for all image type buttons in forms, which is known as ‘alt’ text.

2. Supply text equivalents for every non-text element, including images, scripts, animations, audio and video.

3. Make certain that all information represented with color is also available without color.

4. For images which convey important information further than what is in its alternative text, supply an extended description.

5. For spreadsheets, or other tables not used as layout, provide headers for the table rows and columns.

6. If the submit button is used as an image map, provide individual buttons for each active region.

7. Offer alternative content for each script that provides important information or functionality.

Metadata

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, you should pay close attention to metadata. Metadata is about identifying key words that make it easier for search engines to find information. Metadata is back-end structured information that you provide about each page on your website.

Metadata can be likened to a library catalogue record that allows the discovery of a particular work by supplying information such as title, author, publisher, subject, description of the work, location, etc. Similarly, metadata makes it simpler to find and use a business’ resources online by supplying information that assists and increases the ease with which information can be found by search engines.

Disadvantages of PDFs

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, you may be thinking about including PDF (portable document format) files. The use of PDFs has grown quickly in recent years. When you are placing content on your website you may be faced with the choice of using web (HTML) pages or a PDF.

If possible, the best choice in terms of usability will be web pages. These are the language of the web, they are easily searched by search engines and are accessible.

Some of the problems of PDF files are:

1. They are usually converted from documents that were originally created for print. The user is confronted with a long slab of text that can take up many screens, is difficult to read and probably has no internal navigation.

2. PDFs reside in their own environment and have different commands and menus to the web. Simple processes like printing or saving documents can be tricky as standard browser commands do not work.

3. The user must wait for the special reader to start before you can view the content. PDF files can also take a long time to download.

4. PDFs are actually ‘image’ files which imply they violate accessibility guidelines for disabled users.

5. As the PDF file is not a web page, it does not have standard navigation bars and users can have trouble returning to your main site.

6. Searching can be a problem with PDFs. If a search engine finds a PDF it will place the user at page 1 when the information searched for is on page 56.

7. In many cases PDF layouts are optimised for a sheet of paper, which may not match the size of the user's browser window. Frequently a page will be in two columns which results in the user having to continually scroll up and down.

Advantages of PDFs

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

If possible, the best choice in terms of usability will be web pages. These are the language of the web, they are easily searched by search engines and are accessible.

However there are advantages of using PDFs and the reason PDF usage has grown so rapidly is:

1. They provide an established format that can be accessed on different platforms, browsers, word processing software, etc.

2. They are very simple to create.

3. They provide a simple method of supplying a large volume of information on a website quickly. For some non profit organizations, the choice will not be between putting a document on the web as a PDF or as HTML pages, but between a PDF and not putting the information online at all.

4. If the user wants to print the document out, a PDF produces a better result.

5. If a document has a print existence, such as a booklet or report, the PDF mirrors that print document exactly with the same format and pagination. This allows people to cite or quote that document with no confusion between the web version and the printed one.

XML

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

There are a number of considerations when you are designing your website and one is whether to use XML. XML is the next-generation of HTML, the computer language which is used to write web pages. XML is a special standard computer language that permits content to be re-used and even shared between websites. XML stands for ‘eXtensible Mark-up Language’.

XML is now regarded as a key standard in the web world and the main method to swap information in environments that do not have a common platform. If you are purchasing a content management system (CMS) you should make sure it supports XML. Even though you may not need to share content at the moment, all modern content management systems should provide you with the option.

The most common use of XML is Really Simple Syndication (RSS), which is a simple way of sharing content. RSS feeds let you show the headlines of stories on other sites, such as news sites, on your website.

Forms: Downloadable or Interactive

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

You should consider how you use forms when you are looking at your website design. An online form is used to collect information or comment from website visitors. Forms are used for everything from feedback to payments to complex surveys.

The alternative to performing these transactions online is for the user to download, print out and then fill in a form from your website using pen and paper, and then mail or fax it back to you. A downloadable form of this type can be provided as a PDF to control the layout of the printed document.

Most people prefer online forms over forms they can download. There will be some users who do not like providing email or credit card details over the web, but web users increasingly trust the internet and are willing to use secure online payment methods.

Information collected in an online form may be sent in email form to an individual, be collected in a database for examination later on, or activate an automatic action with a payments system. The costs associated with online forms depend upon how the data is to be used. The more complicated the database requirements, the more you will require specialist assistance.

Accepting Payments Through Your Website

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

For many businesses, an important part of your website design will be the ability to accept payments online. Known as e-commerce, this refers to buying, selling or ordering goods and services on the internet. It also includes receiving membership subscriptions and donations.

Websites or email can be used to permit customers to:

join immediately
renew membership subscriptions
make donations
make bookings and buy tickets
make venue or facilities bookings
order and purchase services and products
purchase subscriptions to specialist services, newsletters etc for which you normally charge
purchase information in the form of papers, images, video or audio

E-commerce does not necessarily have to be a complicated or expensive process. It is merely a tool that enables members, clients and users of your website to donate money or pay you. Don’t confuse e-commerce with online banking which is about using the internet to manage your bank accounts.

E-Commerce Options

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When designing your website, there are three main e-commerce options available for you to use:

Accept credit card payments via email and process the order or payment manually.

The disadvantage of this approach is that many people are not comfortable providing their credit card details via a low security method such as email. A variation on this option that gets around the credit card security issue is to accept orders by email, and then telephone the customer to get their credit card details.

Provide a link to a specialist credit card processing website such as www.paypal.com.

There are a number of specialist sites where you can register you as a payee and receive credit card payments on your behalf for a fee. The major advantage is that no merchant facility is needed, so it is a cheaper option than obtaining a merchant facility for businesses that don’t already have one. These arrangements are suitable if you have a small number of transactions. This method could be awkward and expensive though if you were accepting a large number of online transactions.

Using a full e-commerce facility on your own website.

This is essentially incorporating a payment gateway with your own website. This requires software that permits a user to input credit card information to a secure page on your site, and the automated ability to authorise the credit card transaction and deposit the money into your bank account. This option is the most complicated and secure but it is expensive. There will normally be a setup cost, the rental of a merchant facility from the bank and a percentage fee for each transaction.

Secure Web Transactions

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

An important part of your e-commerce website design is how to make your web transactions secure. When conducting transactions online, it is extremely important to ensure they are carried out securely. The most common method for making sure transactions are secure on websites is Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL is used widely because it is supported in all major web browsing software packages.

A website that is receiving money from selling a service or product will be using SSL if there is a small padlock in the bottom right hand corner of the browser.

When the padlock in the bottom right hand corner of the browser appears on the screen, the computer has successfully established a secure connection with the website. This makes certain that personal details, order details, credit card details, delivery address and contact telephone numbers are protected as they are sent to the online store.

Using SSL is virtually an invisible process, except for the visible padlock icon. You will also see that most sites using SSL have an address that begins with https:// rather than http://.

Implementing SSL

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

It is not a good idea to try and install SSL on your website by yourself. It is far better to go with a web developer who has experience in e-commerce or possibly go directly to an online payments provider.

To incorporate SSL sessions on your website you must obtain a digital certificate for your server. Digital certificates are issued by trusted third parties, referred to as Certificate Authorities, who must authenticate the identity of your organisation before a certificate can be issued to you.

When the certificate has been loaded into your server, you will have the ability to establish SSL sessions on your website, allowing encrypted transmission between your server and a customer’s computer.

Creating a secure payment gateway on your website will require working with a payment gateway provider, or your bank, to create the necessary systems to provide end-to-end encryption of customer credit card information between the customer computer, your website and your bank’s e-commerce merchant facility.

E-Commerce Questions to Ask Before You Start - Part 1

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

There are a number of e-commerce questions to ask before you start with your website design:

1. What is it you are selling? Is it just memberships, or publications? Not every product or service is suited to being sold online and maybe some are better sold face to face through your office.

2. What price should you charge and what is the pricing model? Should the pricing be identical as that charged to face-to-face customers? It may be a good idea to offer a discount for online payments. Do you have to charge for shipping and handling?

3. What is the payment method and timing? Do you want to be paid by credit card, cheque, money-order or cash? When is the best time to accept the payment, given the type of product or service involved? Instantly, at the point of sale, or is it sufficient to take an order via the website or email and invoice the user at the point of delivery or at the end of the month? The standard is credit card and all the other models need you to wait until payment is received.

4. How are the products or services to be delivered? If your customers are paying for memberships or making donations, then are they being delivered directly online, by post, courier, or collected in person by the purchaser?

5. What level of security for your e-commerce approach is needed? How dependent will your business be on the security and reliability of the system? For example, if a large amount of money is to be put through the website then it must be very secure and reliable.

E-Commerce Questions to Ask Before You Start - Part 2

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

There are a number of e-commerce questions to ask before you start with your website design:

6. What is the availability of the goods and services you are offering? If you ask for instantaneous payment but then cannot supply the goods, you may waste time crediting their money back. It is also likely that you will lose the goodwill of the customer.

7. How are you going to present your products and services? Will you provide photos, video clips, animations or samples of your products or services? Do you have a range of products and options, how will these be presented? How will you show the prices? My what method do you want users to make selections and edit their choices should they decide before paying that they want to change their mind, often referred to as a shopping cart solution?

8. If you have only a small number of services or products, and expect to sell only low volumes through the website, then you more than likely will not need a stock and inventory system. But if you expect high volume sales, and/or you have a large range of products and options being offered online, and/or your stock must be updated regularly, then you may need to have a direct link between the website and the stock systems on your office computers.

9. How frequently will you need to add, delete or update the details of products and services on your website? If you need to update the e-commerce catalogue regularly, then an efficient solution will need to be provided by the web developer. There will have to be a balance between the need for efficiency and ease of updating with the cost of the proposed maintenance solution.

10. Providing an e-commerce solution carries some risks with it. To limit these risks and to make certain that you manage the expectations of your online users, you should create and clearly explain on the website your policies covering:

privacy
returns policy
shipping policy
security

eParticipation

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

As part of your website design, you may want to consider eParticipation. eParticipation is a broad term which is used to cover online consultations, online conference activities and eDemocracy.

Greater participatory opportunities online can offer an valuable extra dimension to communicating with your customers, clients, members and supporters.

eParticipation can be used to:

1. Offer online opportunities to comment on an issue, any time and from any place with internet access. You can ask for comments regarding public issues and plans, as well as inquiries or complaints.

2. Let people take part in online meetings. These could be virtual meetings with only online participants, or a real world event where you allow people to watch or listen to speakers via the internet, and possibly interact with the speakers too.

3. Improve the post-event experience, for example written or taped records of an event, opportunities for ongoing discussion or reporting.

Delivery and Testing of Your Website

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When considering your website design, an important consideration is the delivery and testing of the finished product. To ensure your new website satisfies your aims and objectives, testing of various kinds must take place during its construction, delivery and deployment.

There are three major phases that require testing during the development of the website and just prior to launch:

Usability,
Content, and
Technical solutions.

The testing of these three extremely important features of your website should be significant points in the development schedule and included into the contract with the web developer. The results of the testing conducted should establish whether or not you sign-off on the applicable deliverable or milestone.

Usability Testing

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

One aspect of your website development you need to consider is usability testing. Usability testing determines how easy visitors find the site to use, understand and navigate through. This may sound an easy exercise to undertake, however, it incorporates testing users' reactions to the content, each design element and function on the site and performing an assessment on how the various aspects complement each other.

There are a number of issues to consider for usability testing:

1. The best results will usually be obtained by employing an independent consultant who specialises in testing websites. In all likelihood, your team and the web developer will be too closely involved in the site to see its problems, and you may not be experienced enough to ask the right questions of users engaged in the testing exercise.

2. Preferably, the testing organisation will be engaged by you and not by your web developer. This eliminates any concerns regarding the independence of the test and the report.

3. Ensure the testing organisation generates a complete report detailing the problem areas of the website and detailing the criteria to use as to whether the problem has been subsequently corrected by the web developer.

4. Usability testing may be conducted successfully by using people from the website’s target audience in individual usability testing sessions, if an outside consultant is beyond your budget.

5. The most efficient way to conduct usability testing is to observe users first-hand as they use the website. See what they like, what they don’t like, what works for them, what confuses them and if and where they get lost anywhere in website.

Testing Before and During Building

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Before you sign-off on your website design with the web developers, make sure you test the design with a representative group of your target audience. As far as possible, the test group should use computers, browsers and connections that match the minimum configuration agreed to with the developer at the beginning of the website development process.

The main difficulty you will probably come across is with timing. At the time when the first of the formative usability tests is performed, the website will not be completed and hence the user may not be able to assess properly all the important aspects of the design. This could very well result in an unfairly harsh assessment. Therefore, it is important to create the first usability test so that it only tests what is possible at that particular stage. The web developer should be involved to provide as real an environment as possible for this phase of testing and to state the limitations before the testing commences.

Usability Testing at the End

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Usability testing also needs to be performed at the completion of the website development phase when the whole website is finished but prior to its launch. Whoever is testing the website must have access to the complete, fully working website using computers, browsers and connections that match the minimum configuration agreed with the developer at the beginning of the development process.

Ideally, the usability test should engage a representative group of the target audience. It should be thorough and investigate all the important aspects of usability.

Technical Testing

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

An important aspect at the completion of your website development is technical testing. Technical testing is equally as important as testing the content and usability of the website. Technical testing is needed when milestones in the building have been reached and prior to the site being launched to make sure that the site performs as intended. Even though it is something that your developer will be responsible for, it is important that you appreciate the essentials of what they are performing at this stage.

As is the case with usability testing, it is essential that technical testing is conducted on a range of computers, browsers and connections that echo the real life usage patterns of your target audience. For example, if you expect that many of your users will be restricted to dial-up internet connections then you must make sure that pages and documents on your website are reasonably small files so that download times are not too slow.

Delivery and Deployment

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Once the website has been built and the testing has been completed, the site is ready for hand over to your business.

The web developer is involved with this final stage of the development by:

1. Conducting training in using the maintenance software

2. Installing any third party software or templates that your staff will use to maintain the site

3. Providing the site documentation, for example navigation maps, indexes of files and the files themselves

4. Returning any hard copy and soft copy materials used during the development of the website

5. Closing the test site and project management email groups

Web Standards

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When looking at your website design, it is very important to be aware of the website standards. Website standards address common policy issues and practical challenges that businesses face in providing services online.

Web standards are important for a number of reasons, including:

They assist you to comply with legal requirements.
They provide improved security for your website and users of your site.
They guarantee consistency between websites in such things as basic user interface (e.g. usability).
They make it simpler for search engines to find information on websites.
They assist with maintaining user confidence in online services and promote further use of the internet.

Usability

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are considering your website design, you shouldn’t forget to look at its usability. Usability is a term that you hear quite often in relation to websites. It is a measure of how easily users manage to do and find what they want on a website and how easy they find it to navigate around the site.

The degree of usability is closely associated to how well the site reaches its goals.

The design of your website must make it easy for first-time users, as very few sites have regular visitors that can be expected to remember complicated site specific procedures. Users of most sites can be separated into two main types:

Those that are simply browsing, or surfing, the site
Those that are using the web for a specific purpose to obtain some important information that they know they want.

Ideally, websites should be designed to enable both groups of users to get what they want from the site.

In general, good usability includes such things as:

Clear navigation
Clear design and layout
Brief, easy-to-read content
Plain, consistent use of forms, buttons and plug-in applications
A technical infrastructure that allows fast download times and works on a wide range of browsers and operating systems

All the various aspects of a website should be designed with usability as a dominant consideration.

Usability Checklist - Architecture and Navigation

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

There is an upward trend of research that evaluates how people use websites and what they find easy and what they find confusing. The following checklist will help you assess the usability of your website design. If your website has good usability, you should be answer yes to many of the following questions:

Architecture and navigation

1. Does the site structure fit the purpose?

2. Is the navigation scheme understandable?

3. Is it easy to locate what you want?

4. Is it clear where to go next?

5. Is information easy to obtain?

6. Are there a reasonable number of choices in the navigation bar?

7. Do link names match page names?

8. Are the links clearly marked?

9. Is there a clearly marked link back to the home page?

10. Is there an option to search for information?

11. Is there a site map?

12. Does every page have standard identification elements?

13. Does the user have control over navigation?

Usability Checklist - Layout & Design and Content

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Layout and design

1. Is the layout consistent on all pages?

2. Is unnecessary scrolling minimised?

3. Is there a main display area on each page?

4. Does the layout work visually?

5. Is there good use of alignment and grouping?

6. Is there proper use of contrast?

7. Does it look clean and organized?

Content

1. Is the text clear and concise?

2. Is there minimal use of jargon or acronyms?

3. Is text organised in small chunks?

4. Is spelling and grammar correct?

Usability Checklist - Forms and Platform & Implementation

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Forms

1. Are dialog methods concise and consistent?

2. Are there clear submit and reset buttons?

Platform and implementation

1. Is download time fast enough?

2. Do all the links work?

3. Are all the images displaying properly?

4. Are pages written to be found by search engines?

5. Does the site work with all supported browsers?

6. Does the site work on all platforms?

7. Are standard rather than non-standard plug-ins used?

Accessibility for People with Disabilities

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you must consider accessibility. In this context, accessibility on the web means making your website usable for people with disabilities.

Web accessibility is an increasing issue and, apart from its moral importance, in many jurisdictions has the force of the law behind it.

Designing a website to be accessible to people with disabilities is not difficult and costs nothing if it is done as you construct your site. It also makes good sense. By designing your site to accommodate the greatest number of users, you will increase the availability and usefulness of those materials and increase your potential audience.

You will also discover that a more accessible site benefits users beyond those with disabilities. Think of wheelchair ramps which were created for people in wheelchairs and how they are also used by people pushing strollers, people with young children, delivery agents and many others.

There is a very clear lesson here: the website design you develop with accessibility in mind will almost certainly provide for a much wider audience.

How a Website Can Affect People with Disabilities

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you must consider accessibility for people with disabilities. Here are some examples of how a website can affect people with disabilities:

1. A blind or sight-impaired person may use a screen ‘reader’ which is software that reads content on a web page out loud. This software can often be confused by image maps, frames, java scripts and other web design elements that have not been properly configured for them. PDFs files which are strictly image rather than text files are also hard for screen readers.

2. A person with poor eyesight is not able to read a web page if the site does not allow them to increase the font size in their web browser.

3. A deaf person will need a text version of audio information that is available on a website to enable them to use the site as it has been intended.

4. Some people cannot distinguish certain colors correctly, and may not be able to see light colored type on colored backgrounds.

5. A person with limited hand movement may not be able to use a mouse or hold down more than one key on their keyboard at once. A well designed web menu provides optional navigation approaches.

In-House or Outside Development

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are considering the options available to you for your website design and development, a question you need to ask is how much of the web development can or should be performed in-house and how much development should be out-sourced?

Even constructing a simple, small website can be a time-consuming business. Whilst it is true that simple sites can be created without a great amount of technical knowledge, they usually don’t look professional and there can be many downsides.

If funding constraints are attracting you to use in-house staff because they have some computer knowledge or because a particular individual has an interest in getting the website up and running, then it may be worth considering instead using them as the in-house manager of the project to choose and work with an outside developer.

It is probably better to keep your staff for the tasks that are better done in-house, like developing and maintaining content. You will more than likely find that there is plenty of work in these two areas alone to keep everyone busy.

Expressions of Interest

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

If you are aware of a few web developers that you think have the ability to create the website you want, then you may decide to send the development brief and draft contract to only those developers.

On the other hand, if you are unsure who is out there that could perform the work, you may need to search for capable and suitable developers. There are a few high-profile development and web design companies that engage in pro bono or deeply discounted non-profit clients, so it is worth asking around. It is a good idea to check with your peers in related businesses or you may wish to go through an ‘Expression of Interest’ (EOI) exercise.

Even though the EOI exercise creates yet another step in the process of building your website, it can discover a group of developers of which you were unaware. This procedure is also fair and transparent to all parties concerned.

An EOI is usually advertised in newspapers and in other applicable media to give you the greatest chance of discovering that unknown to you talent.

What to Look for in a Developer

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The perfect web developer to build your website would rate ‘yes’ against as many as possible of the questions presented in the checklist below.

Checklist

1. Do the web developers have the experience and skills to create the type of site you have specified?

2. Have they developed websites for your type of business previously?

3. Can their proposal for you be viewed on a live website that you can see and investigate?

4. Was their written submission simple to comprehend?

5. Do they have much experience in creating websites similar to the one you’re planning to build?

6. Are they in a financially sound situation?

7. Does their solution represent value for money?

8. Does their plan show they will add value to the project further than simply providing what you asked for?

9. Do they appear to be good listeners?

10. Do they come across as being professional and honest?

11. Do they have a clear understand of the project and its contents?

12. Have you met all the key personnel from the web development team who will be working on the job?

13. Do they agree to sign the contract without modification to any of the terms and conditions you consider to be non-negotiable and without wanting to introduce new terms and conditions that are not acceptable to you?

14. Will their proposal permit you to maintain the website easily and cost-effectively yourself after it has been launched, if you want to?

15. Have you contacted any previous clients and heard good reports about them?

Evaluating the Developers

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

An important part of your website development process is evaluating the developers you are interested in. It can be useful to create a score-sheet for use when assessing responses by web developers to a call for Expressions of Interest or a Request for Proposal. By using a score-sheet you will have an overall score for each developer for ranking purposes and the discipline of using a score-sheet assists your impartiality and helps make certain you compare all replies in the same way.

A score-sheet is also a record of the reasons for choosing the short-listed or the successful tenderer, if you want to provide feedback to the unsuccessful respondents.

What is in the Contract?

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you have chosen a website developer, you should consider the following issues when in the contract:

1. A description of the project and what is to be delivered.

2. The project management procedures, such as who is responsible, meeting schedule, agenda, location and minute taking responsibilities.

3. Project stages, deliverables and exit clauses.

4. Payment schedule, terms and conditions and what comprises acceptance. Timing and how much at each stage, definition of failure to perform and what rights you have to withhold payment in part or in whole if the deliverables at any milestone are not satisfactory.

5. Variations to the agreement, such as procedures for raising, negotiating and amending the agreement.

6. Intellectual property to ensure there is an assignment of copyright to your business, or at least the granting by the developer of a perpetual, world-wide, non-exclusive royalty-free licence over the copyright.

7. Warranties to ensure the website will be error and virus-free and that the web developers have not infringed anyone's rights in creating the solution.

8. Insurance such as professional indemnity, public liability and others if needed.

9. Dispute resolution defining the procedure and who will be the mediator.

10. Termination including the terms and conditions under which the organisation can terminate the agreement. Try to make it general enough to allow you to terminate the project if the need arises and to pay outstanding fees to that point.

Website Construction

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

You have expressed the requirements for your website in the development brief and the developers will have proposed technical solutions in their submissions. When you sit down with your preferred developer to finalise the precise nature of the website you want created and the technical solutions needed to deliver it, the resulting document should detail the technical specifications for your website. It is usual for there to be some changes to your initial idea for the website as you work through your wish list with the developer.

At the technical specifications stage, you should have the following clearly defined:

Technical solutions, such as authoring language, database solution, maintenance solution, web server and hosting requirements and security.
Scope and nature of the content.
Functionality and interactivity on the website.
Graphic and information design and navigation parameters and rules.
Documentation and training deliverables.
Costings of all features of construction and delivery of the website.
Development and payment schedule for the project.

When you have agreed to the technical specifications, the construction of the website can start.

During the course of the construction ensure you have regular project meetings with the developer to discuss the schedule and any issues or problems. It is during these meetings that any changes to the agreed deliverables, schedule, costs or required resources are raised and resolved.

Managing Your Web Developer

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

The following is some advice regarding the managing of your web developers through the construction stage:

1. Maintain regular project meetings and avoid the temptation to put off meetings even when the project is proceeding well.

2. Make sure that records are kept of the meetings, paying particular attention to any changes to the plan.

3. Make sure the developer provides appropriate personnel at relevant meetings, for example the graphic designer when discussing the design of the site.

4. Set up an email list for all members of the team and ensure it is used as the means of communication. Some members of the management team may be irritated at receiving lots of emails that do not always directly relate to them, but it is important to keep all members informed.

5. Steer clear of one-to-one contact with the developer via email or the phone by using the group email address as all members of both teams should be kept informed of the latest developments.

6. Make certain that the agreed testing regime is performed.

7. Make sure you are satisfied with the deliverables and do not rush into signing-off at the milestones.

Content on Your Website

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When considering the development of your website, it is important to pay particular attention to the content of your site. The heart of most websites is the information on them, which is many cases is simply text. This is the area which is least practicable to outsource and where you have to do most of the work.

The development of pages of text for your website is not just a simple matter of taking all your brochures and dumping the text onto the web pages. Web content requires rethinking from scratch.

Do not underestimate the quantity of work and time involved in creating valuable content for the web. It is highly advisable not to leave content development to the end, when your website is almost built!

Writing for the Web

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When considering website development, it is important to understand the issues associated with writing for the web. Many users do not read web pages, instead they scan the pages and pick out individual words or phrases.

Therefore, writing for a website should be different from conventional writing. Website content should:

1. Be concise, using less than half the number of words you would use in a hardcopy publication.

2. Write for scannability and do not make users read long continuous blocks of text.

3. Use links to split up long information into multiple pages. Highlight keywords either as links, or with different fonts or colors.

4. Structure pages with two or three levels of headlines, for example a general page heading plus subheads and sub-sub-heads when applicable.

5. Use clear, meaningful headings and sub-headings.

6. Use bulleted lists.

7. Maintain one idea per paragraph.

8. Use an inverted pyramid style, commencing with a short conclusion providing the main point and then working back over the subject, rather than the other way around. Keep summaries at top level pages and link down to greater detail on other pages. This allows users to quickly browse content and decide if they want to read more.

Process for Reviewing Content

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, you should pay close attention to the review process for your content. The process you apply for reviewing content on your website will depend upon the size of your site and your business. You will need to identify what content needs updating in your website and decide how often it requires reviewing or updating.

It is good practice to make sure that every area of information on your website has a content owner who is responsible for reviewing and updating its contents. In most cases, these content owners will be staff in your business. It may make sense for a small website in a small business to have only one content owner. For larger websites, it may make more sense to delegate the task among a number of personnel.

If you delegate content ownership, it is a good idea to have a staff member whose responsibility includes that of webmaster, or coordinator, to take overall accountability for content maintenance and to make sure there is consistency between the various areas of your website.

Keeping Content Up-to-Date

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

An important consideration in your website design is how you intend to keep your content up-to-date. Visitors to your website will expect correct and timely information. That expectation will need to be fulfilled not just the first time they visit the website, but every single time they visit. If users have one bad experience with inaccurate or out-of-date information and they will think twice about using your website again.

The content owner who reviews and edits the content should confirm the accuracy and quality of any new content. The webmaster of a website can make the task more efficient by implementing a quality assurance program. The program may differ depending on whether you have a content management system (CMS), but you may like to consider the following issues:

the format of the content
how to show requested links
where in the website the new or revised content is to be located
the sign-off procedures
checking for broken links
verify that the content supplied does not violate anyone's copyright or is illegal in any way

Benefits of Having Your Own Website

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Your website and email address are part of another shopfront, helpdesk, outlet, channel, advertisement and contact point, through which you make your information and services available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to the entire world.

The success of your website ultimately depends upon its design, presentation and how easy it is to use and the quality of information it contains.

The promotion, continuing maintenance and how well your business embraces it are also critical to its long term success. The website also depends upon on the imagination of people for providing content and features that will attract users and make it simple and easy for them to conduct their business.

A good place to start is by talking to your staff. A website should extend the reach of a business, which is also an extension of its people. Consult with your staff for ways to use the website to save effort or do more. Ask them how they spend their time. You may find that your receptionist answers lots of calls from school students. Can you divert these to your website and save staff time as well as postage sending out information? When you have talked with staff you can think about using focus groups and surveys to talk direct with representatives of target audiences.

What Can Effective Websites Provide?

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

A well designed and effective website can provide the following:

Easy access 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to information and online services for your customers from anywhere in the world.

Both general introductory information and much greater detail when users click through.

Access to your services for people with a disability who may not have been able to obtain these services when distributed by traditional means, for example advice and information through your office.

Email Gets Them In

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Effective website design incorporates email functionality. Websites are predominately a passive repository of information and services. They are similar to shopfronts where you have to get people to turn up. Some businesses aim to sell one or two essential daily items, for example newsagents sell the paper and then use the opportunity to entice people into purchasing other goods. Other businesses must advertise or promote.

There are many different methods to promote your website to the general public by ensuring a high search engine ranking, your website must also be well integrated with the way your business uses email. Email is one of the most important methods of attracting traffic to your website.

One of the best ways to attract traffic to your website is a well organized email newsletter sent to an email list. This is where you send your customers small pieces of information and redirect them to the longer text on your website.

The secret is to collect those email addresses straight away. It is worth remembering that more people regularly use email than search or browse the web.

Improving Communication

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

A great website design will facilitate a number of internal and external communication processes. Your website can:

display documents, like directories or proposals
make up-to-date information accessible to the public
show employment opportunities
include valuable resources in one area, like related links
offer numerous opportunities for two-way communication
help you create communication and community with your customers and the general public

A current website is also a great resource for your own staff as it can contain a lot of your businesses’ documents and procedures. However, don’t forget that your website is open to the whole world and you need to ensure that you don’t include any documents that are inappropriate on a public site, for privacy or other reasons.

Reducing Costs

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

A well designed, implemented and maintained website can provide significant cost savings for your business. It can also help reduce the time staff spend performing administrative tasks, freeing them up to focus on the things that really matter, like servicing your customers.

The list below can be used to help identify possible cost savings and efficiencies that efficient use of email and a carefully designed website can offer your business:

Providing information

Reduce staff time on the telephone with customers by guiding them to the website. It is also likely that telephone enquirers will be better informed as a result of looking at the website and will therefore require less staff time.

Publishing/printing

Reduce printing costs by placing documents on a website. You can then either reduce the number of documents that are printed, or possibly eliminate printed versions altogether.

Photocopying

Reduce usage and the need for more photocopiers.

Faxing

Reduce the time and cost of sending information by fax. Online forms can also reduce the time and cost involved in re-entering data and reduce errors in transcription of poor quality originals.

Postage and handling

Reduce the time and cost of sending out receipts, brochures etc.

Paper

Reduce the overall consumption paper and cost.

Processing time

Streamline processing of forms.

Online sales

If you are selling services or products online, you will reduce the time and cost involved in processing accounts, reconciliation and banking. The reduction of invoicing can improve your cash-flow.

The cost of not having a well designed website, or using email effectively, can be measured in terms of lost opportunities to cut costs and deliver better services.

Improving Promotion

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

A great benefit of a well deigned website is that it can help expand your customer base for a relatively low cost. As more and more people get access to the internet, the potential to expand customer base will increase proportionally.

A website can be a highly successful promotional tool. This does not mean that promoting your business on the web is better than traditional forms of promotion. But it is another promotional tool that should complement these other forms.

Your website provides exceptional promotional potential because:

it is visible to customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week
it is visible wherever they are in the world
it is able to reach many more people than more traditional forms of promotion
more information can be provided on a website than in a brochure
by setting up a registration procedure on your website you can expand your list of customers

Building Website in Flash - Pros and Cons

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Eye-catching design, highly prestigious look, innovative feel, sophisticated control and interactions – website design in Flash have many advantages over traditional static websites in HTML. Browsing the Flash-based website makes you feel the breathing of tomorrow in Internet technologies. However, as with any other progressive technologies, it is important to remember an ancient wisdom “Quod licet Jovi non licet bovi”, which means that it is not at all necessary that the same thing fits all the situations well enough. There are websites, where Flash is the only way to realize the necessary functionality, but there are also websites, where using Flash may create more harm than benefits.

Pros or Advantages of Flash websites

Animation and video on your web pages. Being originally developed for animation purposes, Flash suits perfectly for creating animation on the website or playing video.

Graphics – with Flash technologies, static images can be turned into really amazing and attractive objects, capable to change dynamically and respond to every mouse move or click.

Compatibility of Flash websites. Flash is now supported by virtually all the available web browsers. The only thing needed is to install a Flash plug-in, which is a matter of only a couple of minutes.

Besides, Flash does not depend on the operating system, installed on the site visitor – it will perform fine on Windows, Linux, Free BSD, and others.

High-interactivity – with Flash technology, you can supply your website with all those eye-catching dynamic drop-down or expending menus, pop-out images, flying objects, and content, which changes in response to user's activity.

Flash provides higher security of your web site content. If someone wants to copy some text or image from your Flash-based site, he will first need to decompile the whole Flash file, which is really a huge headache, and most people will simply give up the idea of stealing your property.

Cons or Disadvantages of Flash websites

Flash technology is much more complicated than simple HTML, thus building a website in Flash is much more cost- and time-consuming. Flash web designers usually charge higher hourly rates, and building a website takes more time, which results in significantly higher cost of Flash website creation.

Flash technology is not at all friendly with search engines, and when it comes to internet marketing and SEO, Flash is not the best option for it. Though these days search engines improved their rendering of the Flash websites, web crawlers may still interpret incorrectly the web pages, where the only content is Flash. So, in order to achieve high page ranking for Flash websites, designers often create a dubbing website, built in HTML, to “tell” the search engines about the content of the Flash web site.

Flash websites requires more time to be downloaded. Flash pages are usually very large, and it is not common that before using a Flash-based website, you will have to contemplate the countdown for certain period of time, which can be pretty boring, if your bandwidth is low.

Usability issues – if you like to hit the Back or Forward buttons in your browser frequently while navigating a website, it won't work out on the Flash websites - instead of getting you back on the previous page, it will bring you to the web page, you visited before Flash website... In other words, for navigation on the Flash website you can only use those controls, which are offered by the site itself rather than the controls of your browser.

Effective Website Copy - Part 1

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When considering the design of your website, writing the copy can be a big challenge and it is usually performed by the website manager rather than the web design company. In many ways this is understandable as the web site developer can’t possibly know everything about of how your business operates. But this does place a great burden on the web site owner to write for a medium unlike anything other. So, here are a few things you may like to consider when writing content for your website.

Don’t patronise

Users of your website want to be informed but they do not want to be patronised. Be cautious when writing copy for your website and do not to take people for fools.

Make it personal

The Internet can be an extremely impersonal environment and computers are not perceived as being friendly. Therefore, it is important to balance this in your writing style. This can be a difficult to achieve, however, you should appear friendly but not overly familiar. It is a good idea to keep your writing style friendly to encourage users to trust you and increase the likelihood they will purchase from you.

Remember the medium

Remember that your visitors are reading your copy on a computer screen. Computer monitors can have a crippling effect on the eyes and it is difficult to view them for a long time. Therefore, it is best to keep your writing concise and to the point.

Effective Website Copy - Part 2

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Make sure you can scan it

As reading on screen can be difficult and the web can provide us with so much information, users rarely stay on a website for long periods of time. It is rare for a visitor to read all the contents on a page. Therefore, it is important to show your content in a way that is easy to scan. This can be achieved by the following:

Place the most important information at the top of the page
Use headings and subheadings
Format text using bold, italics and colour to highlight important content
Use bullet points when applicable

Say what you mean

Most people use the internet as a source for information, with a main objective of gathering information. Therefore, they want copy that is concise and to the point.

Avoid marketing talk

Users of the Internet have become highly aware of marketing hype, so try and steer clear of the heavy sell. Visitors will respond better when you just present the facts and allow them to make up their own mind.

Effective Website Copy - Part 3

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Avoid jargon

It is important to remember that not all your visitors will understand the same terminology as you do. They may not know all the acronyms, abbreviations and industry terms which are used by you every day. Therefore, it is a good idea to have someone unrelated to your industry read over a copy of your content and see if they understand it all.

Keep it short

Users do not want to read large amounts of text on screen and so there is little point in having it there. Whenever you can, keep text to a minimum and ensure you remove any unnecessary words.

Remove instructional text

Generally users are not good at reading instructions and the usually just muddle their way through. If you must have instructions, make sure they are kept to an absolute minimum.

Remove happy talk

Happy talk can be considered as anything that fails to convey useful information. It commonly consists of sentences that begin with the phrases like "welcome to…". Try and avoid these types of phrases as much as possible.

Making Content More Accessible

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at your website design, it is important to consider the concept of accessibility, which can be defined as using the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site’s content. So how do you make content more accessible? Some suggestions include:

Make sure your headings and link text are as clear as possible, even if they are read out of context
Ensure the most important content for both the whole page and individual paragraphs appears first. This helps with people who skim read the pages.
Place a limit of one main thought or notion for each paragraph.
Avoid using slang, jargon and specialized meanings of familiar words, unless you define them in your document.
Use words that are commonly used. For example, use "begin" rather than "originate" or use "try" rather than "undertake."
Use active rather than passive verbs.
Do not use complex sentence structures.

Don’t forget the phrase "content is king" is more true than ever before and you must focus on making sure that your website content is as accessible as possible.

Write and Edit Specifically for the Web

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are developing your website, it is important to remember that you should be writing content specifically for the web. It is not a good idea to take text from a printed brochure and place it straight on your website, particularly if it is meaningless. This is not valuable content because all it does is fill a space and doesn’t provide the user with anything meaningful.

Consider this example from a holiday cottage website:

Lose yourself. Find yourself. Discover who you are again.

What exactly does that mean? It is not clear to the reader. A better sentence may tell the visitor why the location is so relaxing, for example, it is in a National Park and has a spa.

A general approach to writing for the web is to cut the copy in half and remove anything you don’t understand.

Stay Informed About Web Design - RSS Readers

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

If you are a web designer, web developer or website owner there is a large amount of pressure to keep up to date with the latest innovations on the web. With the Internet moving so fast what is best practice one day is out of date the following day. People are so busy creating and running websites that they do not have a lot of time to keep informed. But it is possible and the answer lies in the use of Really Simple Syndication (RSS).

The first thing you need is a RSS reader. The main thing you are looking for is a reader that permits you to identify which content is of most interest to you. There are a couple of ways to achieve this.

The first approach uses folders, where you organize the different feeds into folders that help prioritise the information. The second approach is to use an RSS reader that performs the prioritisation for you. This type of reader takes your feeds and picks out the most frequently talked about links. The great thing about this method is the more feeds you add, the better the reader gets at identifying important content.

Whichever approach you make use of, you should be able to quickly recognize important information and avoid the feeling of being swamped by posts.

Site Structure Mistakes - Confusing Naming Conventions

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

A common mistake when creating your own website, and in particular information architecture, is in the naming of web pages and sections. There are usually three main problems:

Use of jargon

All businesses and industries have their own jargon and web design is no exception with many acronyms in use. The main issue is that you cannot assume that your users will be familiar with all the acronyms. They could be new to the sector or use slightly different variations of your terminology. Therefore, the names of your sections and web pages should be free of jargon. Web page and section titles must describe their content in the plainest language.

Long names

Even though names should be descriptive they should also be short. Menu items should be one or two words in length. This means that users will be able to easily look down the list of pages available and recognize the page most likely to have content they are looking for.

Inconsistent naming

Take care that the way you refer to pages does not change between different sections. All links should be referred to identically. If a page title has to be longer than the menu items wording, ensure it mirrors it closely. Inconsistent naming causes uncertainty and hesitation in users making them unsure if they have previously viewed a particular page.

Site Structure Mistakes - Too Many Options

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When designing your own website, a common problem is that of presenting the user with too many options. Many websites have more than twelve links in a menu bar at any one time and this goes against conventional wisdom that says the optimal number of options to present a user with is between six and eight. Any more options and they quickly become snowed under and struggle to understand the options available.

The solution of having too many options can be quite simple. There is more to site navigation than the sites hierarchy. Any good website has many navigational tools to assist the user find content and to make sure key content clearly visible. These options include:

Search

Search results can provide side links to important content. They can also weight the content more heavily so it shows further up in the search results.

Related links

The addition of a related links box on each web page can highlight related content that the user might be interested in.

Shortcuts

Shortcuts are frequently shown on home pages to draw attention to important content found deeper in the site structure. However, shortcuts can be used on any page of the web site.

Body links

Do not forget body links, they are a powerful way of highlighting a page on the site regardless of how deep in the site it is located.

Tagging

Many sites use tagging as a navigational method. Clicking on a tag connected with an individual page takes the user to a list of other pages that include that tag. Key pages related with a particular tag could also be highlighted to draw further attention to them in the listing.

Non Hierarchical Navigation - Search

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When looking at building your own website, there are many reasons why a normal information architecture might not work. The most common is that your website has merely outgrown the constraints of a hierarchical tree, resulting in your users getting lost deep in the information architecture. So what are some approaches available to you?

The most obvious approach is to use search as your primary navigational method. In reality search is the main method we use to navigate the entire web and so it has the scalability needed. Even though it is possibly the best solution it is often poorly executed.

There are a couple of points to keep in mind. Firstly, the position is very important. A search box can be a relatively small screen element and can easily be lost in a design. If search is to be the main method that a user will find their way around your website you need to make this clear and obvious.

Secondly, if you have a large website, then an advanced search is essential. Users can struggle to build complex search queries as they can find concepts such as using quotation marks or Boolean joins difficult to comprehend.

Non Hierarchical Navigation - Related Links

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When looking at building your own website, there are many reasons why a normal information architecture might not work. The most common problem is that your website has merely outgrown the constraints of a hierarchical tree, resulting in your users getting lost deep in the information architecture. So what are some approaches available to you?

Even though they are not a replacement for traditional navigation, related links can work as a successful adjunct to search. The use of related links allows the establishment of a loose relationship between documents, which is more flexible than the static hierarchy of an information architecture. They are able to provide a context to a document which search by itself cannot offer.

But related links can also have problems. When publishing new web pages it is an easy procedure to link those pages back to previously published pages, to allow context and additional information. However older documents maybe ignored and when a new page is published the older pages are not updated with a link to the new page. In other words old pages waste away. The problem arises as the system depends upon editors remembering that there are older pages which need updating.

Non Hierarchical Navigation - Breadcrumbs

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Usually breadcrumbs are linked with a conventional information architecture, where they show your current position in the hierarchy. But, that is not the only use of breadcrumbs. Another less used approach is to use breadcrumbs to show the path the user has taken through the website. The reason this method is less used is because theoretically the browser back button provides the same functionality. However, many users are not aware that the back button allows them to go back multiple pages. The use of historical breadcrumbs clearly shows the user which pages they have visited and permits them to quickly and easily go back to any of those pages.

Non Hierarchical Navigation - Tagging

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

After search, tagging is the most common ways of organising non hierarchical information. But tagging does have some basic problems which need to be solved. The biggest problem is who does the tagging? The most popular answer to this question is that the user does it. The problem with this method is that it requires the user to be highly motivated to complete the work.

The alternative approach to the user tagging is that the owner of an individual page tags it themselves. The owner is a great deal more motivated to tag the document, however, that does not mean they are the best qualified to do so. The main issue is that an owner’s mental model can be very different to that of a user, resulting in their choice of tag being inappropriate to those navigating the site. Web page owners have a tendency to rely heavily on jargon and can see the world from an institutional viewpoint. Another problem of editorial based tagging is there can be a substantial problem if there is a considerable backlog of web pages that require tagging.

Information Architecture

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

If you are building a large website, there can be unique challenges of coming up with navigational approaches. Large websites don’t sit comfortably under a traditional navigational model with information architectures that become extremely deep and complicated.

A possible solution to this problem is that website owners stop imposing navigational approaches on the users of a site. Rather than building an information architecture for a website, site owners should let go of the control and permit users to create their own paths to the information they need.

This is accomplished through tagging. Rather than web pages being grouped together in sections within a site’s architecture, each page is basically standalone. Users navigate to a page using tags placed by the author of a page and via the search mechanism. By not enforcing an artificial site architecture onto the website you avoid issues like cross linking between sections and navigational problems related with large sites.

This approach has problems also, however, it is something to consider if the information architecture of your site is causing you problems.

How to Build a Website - Step 1 - Hosting

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

How to Build a Website - Step 1 - Hosting

Hosting is where you put your website and all the Web pages. While it's possible to build a website on your personal computer and never move it online, it's somewhat pointless. No one but you will ever be able to see it. So the first thing you'll want to do is find a Web hosting provider.

There are several types of Web hosting options you can choose from:

* Free Web hosts

* Standard Web hosting

* Dedicated, Virtual, and Shared Hosting

* Colocation

Most people gravitate to free Web hosting without too much thought, but there can be drawbacks to free hosting. You don't always get as much space, you might be required to run their ads on your site, or there may be bandwidth limits. Be sure to read all the fine print before you put your website on a free Web host. I recommend using free hosting providers for testing Web pages and for personal pages.

* Find a Web Hosting Provider - links to other sites for help finding a good host

* Web Hosting Reviews - find out what other users think

* Web Hosting Profiles - overviews of several hosting providers

How to Build a Website - Step 2 - Do You Need a Domain Name?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

How to Build a Website - Step 2 - Do You Need a Domain Name?

You don't need a domain name to put up a website. You can put up a site on freehosting or even paid hosting plans without a domain name. A domain name provides extra branding for your site and makes it easier for people to remember the URL. But domain names cost money, typically between $8 and $35 a year.

* Get a URL that People can Find

* How to Buy a Domain Name with Network Solutions

* How to Register a Web Site Domain - Video

How to Build a Website - Step 3 - Plan Your Website

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

How to Build a Website - Step 3 - Plan Your Website

Once you've gotten a domain and decided on your URL, you can start planning your site. You need to decide:

* Type of site - Most websites are either news/information, product, or reference sites. As such they each have a slightly different focus.

* Navigation - The navigation affects the information architecture of your site.

* Content - Content is the actual pages you'll be building.

If you can recognize page types, you'll be able to recognize what types of pages you need for your site. Play the Web Page Types game.

How to Build a Website - Step 4 - Build Your Website Page by Page

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

How to Build a Website - Step 4 - Build Your Website Page by Page

Building a website requires that you work on one page at a time. To build your site you should be familiar with:

* Design Basics - The elements of good design and and how to use it on websites.

* Learning HTML - HTML is the building block of a Web page. While it's not absolutely required, you'll do better if you learn HTML than if you don't.

* Learning CSS - CSS is the building block of how pages look. And learning CSS will make it easier for you to change your site's look when you need to.

* Web Page Editors - Finding the perfect editor for your needs will help you learn design, HTML, and CSS.

How to Build a Website - Step 5 - Publish Your Website

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

How to Build a Website - Step 5 - Publish Your Website

Publishing your website is a matter of getting the pages you created in step 4 up to the hosting provider you set up in step 1. You can do this with either the tools that come with your hosting service or with FTP clients. Knowing which you can use depends upon your hosting provider. Contact them if you are not sure.

* How to Upload

* Best FTP Clients for Windows

* Best FTP Clients for Macintosh

How to Build a Website - Step 6 - Promote Your Website

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

How to Build a Website - Step 6 - Promote Your Website

The easiest way to promote your website is through search engine optimization or SEO. You build your Web content so that it ranks well in search engines. This can be very difficult, but it is inexpensive and can result in good results if you work at it.

Other ways to promote your site include: word of mouth, email, and advertising. You should include your URL on all professional correspondence and whenever it makes sense in personal messages.

How to Build a Website - Step 7 - Maintain Your Website

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

How to Build a Website - Step 7 - Maintain Your Website

Maintenance can be the most boring part of website design, but in order to keep your site going well and looking good, you need to do it. Testing your site as you're building it and then after it's been live for a while is important. And you should also work on content development on a regular basis.

Navigation Design

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Navigation Design

Once you have an idea of the architecture and organization, you're ready to think about the design of the navigation. There are several things you should consider in deciding on your navigation design:

1. Accessible

The navigation of your site is possibly the most important part of any given page. So it should be as accessible as you can make it. This means avoiding special effects like Flash, Java, or JavaScript as your only navigation method.

2. Meaningful

Keep your navigation meaningful. Make the links clear - don't try to get cute or use terms that are internal to your organization. Someone who has never been to your site before should know immediately where the link will take them.

3. Understandable

If you want to use images for your navigation, make sure that there is some text associated with them. " Mystery Meat Navigation" is the use of non-descriptive images as navigation, and it's much more common than you might think.

4. Prevalent

Your navigation should appear on every page of your site. While you don't need to have identical navigation, the basic structure should be the same throughout the site, with changes used only to indicate location within the hierarchy.

Website Owner Role - Visionary

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Any good website design agency will be able to assist their clients shape a vision for their business website, but it is still the responsibility of the website owner to “own” that vision and continue to develop it into the future. The person looking after the website must have a clear picture of what role the site plays within their organization and how that role may expand into the future.

Vision can be grouped into two main categories. Firstly, there is the core vision for the website which is the main objective of the website, and does not change substantially over time. The second category of vision is the website roadmap which is a vision of how the website will develop into the future. This is where you consider what kind of functionality will be added and how the user base may change.

If the website owner does not have a good understanding regarding these two areas, a website can easily diverge from its initial course and loose its sense of focus and function.

Website Owner Role - Advocate

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When developing a website, the owner must have a clear vision for the site but they also must be the websites advocate. That means the owner needs to defend the website against other people within the business that may look to weaken its focus. This can be more of a problem in larger organisations where people think more departmentally than corporately. This will more than likely lead to individual departments forcing their own agendas on the website with the risk the site will become the victim of internal politics. It is quite common for departments to fight over places on the home page or top level sections in the information architecture.

The website owner’s role is to ensure the integrity of their website is defended and that it does not suffer as a result of internal quarrels.

Website Owner Role - Evangelist

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

The job of a website owner is not just defensive and protecting the site from suffering due to internal quarrels. A good website owner must also be offensive, enthusiastically promoting the website within their own organisation. They should show enthusiasm regarding the potential of the web and energetically liaise with other departments and personnel within the company, identifying ways the website can serve their needs better. A website owner must be passionate about their website and encourage other people to share their passion.

Website Owner Role - Content Guardian

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When considering a website design, one of the most time consuming and challenging responsibilities of the website owner is to manage the content of the website. It is the owner’s responsibility to dictate the content which appears on the site and to ensure that the added content communicates a consistent message and tone.

The website owner must encourage and take care of content contributors, making sure their content is up to date and relevant. The largest workload is in the initial development of a website, when it is the client’s responsibility to plan what must be communicated on the website and develop the content using various contributors from within the organization. Be careful not to underestimate the level of work involved with this process. It is a good idea for the website design agency and the client to agree on content delivery milestones at the beginning of the project, so as to avoid delays in the website delivery.

Website Owner Role - Project Coordinator

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

The development of a website involves a lot of different people such as designers, developers, usability experts, content contributors, hosting companies, etc. On many occasions a website owner may turn to a web design agency to look after the management of many of these roles, it is still usual for the client to be involved with some management.

It is common for website owners to obtain internal sign off on the designs, budget, content and many other components of the project. Website owners also need to look after content contributors and may even have to manage multiple suppliers such as the design agency, development house or hosting company. So, even if an owner outsources their project to a website design agency, they are still going to require some level management by the client.

Website Owner Role - Referee

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When considering website design, it is unfortunately the case a role the website owner often has to perform is that of an unofficial referee. It is unavoidable that website development projects are a series of compromises. Accessibility may be traded off against design, design against marketing, marketing against usability and so on. It will be more than likely that the different contributors to a website will have different perspectives on what they consider to be important, so it will be the responsibility of the website owner to broker compromises and find the middle ground. At the end of the day, the website owner has to be the decision maker.

Outsourcing Your Web Project

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

There are two main options to consider when looking at the development of your website: in-house and outsourcing. One of the big disadvantages of in-house development is the ongoing financial commitment.

One of the huge advantages of going with an external website development agency is that they can have the advantage when it comes to complicated and cutting edge websites. External agencies are usually bigger than in-house teams and include more specialists in specific fields like accessibility, usability etc. As a result of the competitive nature of external agencies there is more pressure on them to keep up-to-date with the latest innovations and developments. Therefore, they are more likely to be better placed for dealing with more demanding websites.

There is a danger that in some organizations the in-house web development team may become "institutionalized" whereas an external website design agency will have a fresh perspective that can confront internal notions.

When to Outsource Web Design

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Outsourcing your website design project can bring some substantial benefits including:

1. Outsourcing can be more cost effective for short projects because the expenses of hiring, salary, training and equipment would be excessive for an in-house team.

2. An external agency provides a fresh perspective that in-house teams, which can become institutionalized, cannot offer.

3. External agencies have a wider perspective of all aspects of the industry, and not what is just happening within a single company.

4. To stay competitive, an external agency needs to constantly make sure it is at the cutting-edge. This leads to a quality of work that is constantly high.

5. As external agencies tend to be bigger than in house teams, they have more specialized and highly skilled staff.

Defining the Scope

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

The planning phase of a web development project can require a considerable amount of time and commitment from the client. In many circumstances they have not yet taken on a web design agency and even if they have, they will probably still have to go through the planning stage with that agency.

The client needs to establish a number of things before the web design project can begin, including:

The business objectives that strengthen the project.
The success criteria which will be used to judge the project.
The pros and cons of any existing site (if there is one).
Any lessons to be learnt from reviewing competitor’s websites.
A clear understanding of the target audience and what they need from the website.

It is quite common for these basic building blocks not to be in place because of lack of time or resources. The unfortunate reality is that skimping on these areas can seriously jeopardize the success of a website.

Driving the Build

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

The client workload does not stop when the website starts to be built and if anything the workload actually increases. Even though the web designer is performing the technical and design functions that still leaves all the content to be sourced. It is nearly always the website owner who is responsible for:

Coordinating the content from different parts of the organisation.
Editing the content so that it has a consistent tone.
Making sure that any existing content is written in such a way that is suitable for the web.
Developing the content from scratch if it does not already exist.

As well as responsibilities for content, the client is often involved with:

Creating the information architecture for the site with help from the agency.
Authorizing templates and designs throughout the development cycle.
Looking after external suppliers, such as hosting agencies or third party content providers.

Maintaining the Momentum

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Even after the website build is completed there often remains much for the client to do. Ideally the website design agency should be working with a client on a continual basis, however, the reality is that sometimes the client is left to fend for themselves. This can make the post launch phase very difficult for the client. This is often made worse as the project is considered “over” and they are expected to concentrate on other responsibilities apart from the website.

The post launch stage of a website project can often be the most critical and during this phase the client should be:

Searching for ways to promote the site.
Developing a community of regular site visitors.
Maintaining fresh and up-to-date content.
Thinking about future directions for the website.

In the absence of ongoing attention, the website will quickly decline and perish. Many websites go through a continual redesign cycle where everything is thrown out every couple of years, when in actual fact a website should be developing continuously over time.

Rinse and Repeat

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

In reality a web design project never finishes and a website is never completed. Even though a client may have defined the scope, driven the build and maintained momentum, they are still not finished. This is because they should be commencing the entire process all over again. They should be continuously redefining and altering the scope and role of the website. They should be adding new content, establishing new functionality and they should always be promoting the website and developing relationships with their users.

In summary, a client’s work is never done.

Decisions Made Without the Website Designer

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Even before a web design agency sees a brief, a large number of decisions have already been made. It is common for clients to have decided on their target audience, the type of functionality they require, the likely costs involved, the delivery schedule, etc. However, quite often the client alone is not the best person to make these kinds of decisions. The web design agency and client should be working together to define the scope of the project.

For cases where the client is fairly well informed it is still advisable that the website designer should be sitting down beside them when they are working through this definition stage. To produce the best website possible, the designer must understand all of the background information and the best way to achieve this to be involved right from the start.

In summary, it is a great idea that whenever possible the website designer should be involved in the writing of a site development outline.

Why Speculative Design is Wrong

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

You may think that asking a web design agency to create some design concepts before you sign on the dotted line is a good idea as it allows you to assess the quality of their design work and see whether they have understood your brief. However, this is not always a good idea and here are some reasons why:

1. It costs everyone money

To remain in business every company needs to recoup their cost of sale. As speculative work is part of the sales process, they will charge you for it in the end. But it is even worse than that. The web designer must also recover the cost of speculative design done for jobs they did not win. This means that if you choose to work with an agency that produces speculative design, you are paying for their unsuccessful sales pitches.

2. It is about selling not delivering

Speculative design is all about impressing the client and creating the ‘wow factor’. The target audience is the client and not the end user, which is not what you want.

3. It is wasteful

Even worse than actually using a piece of speculative design is throwing it away. Ultimately you the client are paying for the design, so why would you want to throw it away?

4. It is uninformed

It does not matter how good the brief is that you provide to the agencies, they are still not going to have all the information. Good design comes from being well informed.

5. It ignores the collaborative nature of design

A good design is not just about a designer having a moment of inspiration and producing a master piece. Design is a joint process between the designer and the client. The designer may be the expert in design aesthetics and usability, however the client knows their business and target audience. A designer working in isolation cannot hope to create a well rounded design.

How to make your own website without programming

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

How to make your own website without programming

Ajiboye website builder is an online application that allows anyone to create a website or to build an online store just by using a browser. If you can point and click you can make your own website, there is no programming involved. Our application will automatically create your website from a professionally designed template of your choice. All you have to do is add content. Ajiboye's website manager will let you customize colors, fonts, you can add images, links, Flash, build chat rooms, message boards, and much more just by using the tools we provide. Want to create an ecommerce store? No problem, just click and add our integrated ecommerce shopping cart and your website is now ready for business. Easily set up your catalog, shipping calculator, inventory, and everything else you need to start selling online.

Easy way to make a website

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Easy way to make a website

Do you still go to hosting companies negotiating the price for your server space? Are you tired of talking to programmers, looking for a new designer and not getting there for weeks? Are you still fighting with Photoshop and tons of other software to update your site? You want to create a website, set it up and maintain it without having to go through this process all over again, do not you? Make your own website easy with all the services included. One site in one place! Ajiboye gives you a chance to build a website, host it, and get your domain name registered, with unlimited e-mails, pages, contact forms, polls and many other features included. Website builder is not just the set of editing tools; it is an all-in solution for business people like you. Do not invest thousands of dollars in one day, spend $24.95 a month and use your funds for ad’s. Give it a shot! Make a website today!

Build your website - a few different options

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Build your website - a few different options

* Get a website-building program and do it yourself. While this might work for your dried bug page, if you are unsure of your design eye and ability, then it's probably not the best choice if you're trying to make a sharp, professional impression (especially if you're trying to get people to part with their money).

* Learn a programming language (or two, or three) and build a website from scratch.

HTML is incredibly easy to learn, and if you are up to it, you will be able to tweak your web design any way you want, and you would not have to pay anybody else to update or change your site.
XHTML is the new web language set by W3C's standards. Almost identical to HTML, it follows a stricter set of rules for marking up information - what this means, for the most part, is minor changes to the way you write code.
CSS, which stands for "Cascading Style Sheets", gives more flexibility for styling the HTML.
A browser sided scripting language, such as JavaScript, allows you to make your page interactive.
A server sided scripting language (PHP, ASP with JavaScript or VB Script or Python) can be used to change the way web pages appear to different people and edit or create forums. They can also help store information about people who visit your site, like their username, settings, and even temporary "shopping carts" for commercial sites.
Wordpress is another great option for building website. Wordpress is a free application that can be installed on your web server and make updating and organizing content very easy.
AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a technique of using a browser sided language and a server sided language to make the page get new information from the server without refreshing the page, often greatly reducing user wait time and vastly improving the user's experience but increasing bandwidth usage. Think of the possibilities: you could probably make a web based instant messaging service!

Why you should build and operate a website

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Why you should build and operate a website

For a business

More and more people use the Internet to find information and to purchase (almost) anything, and you can be certain that if they don’t find it on your site they will quickly find what they are looking for somewhere else - and that could mean lost opportunities and sales for you.

Turn on the light and be seen!When you have a business website your information and your goods are “on display” 24 hours a day - every day!

If you sell digital items like software, eBooks, instruction manuals etc. you can easily set up your website so that people can purchase your items no matter what the time - day or night - and your system can then instantly and automatically deliver the purchased item to your customers without you lifting a finger.

How is that for easy sales and great customer service!

For a club or an association

Let you members be up-to-date on coming events, and send newsletters to the members.

Show pictures from the last meeting or outing, and encourage interested people to sign up for membership.

For private individuals

Share your ideas and thoughts with others, start your very own weblog (called a blog), and let friends and family in other parts of the world know how you and your family is doing.

How to build a Web Site?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

How to build a Web Site?

It actually is quite easy to build a website from scratch nowadays. In the past, you had to be a total expert in HTML, but now there are robotic editors online that will do all the hard work for you. Plus, you don't have to spend a lot of money to set up your first website. I will outline the steps that you should follow to build your very first website.

1. Purchase a domain name:

There are many sites online that will allow you to register a domain name for literally just dollars per year. It is always best to start setting up your own websites with your own domain names so that you'll start to own your own internet real estate.

2. Pay for hosting at a cheap web hosting site:

Since this is your first try at making a website, there is no need to spend a huge amount of money on some wonderful type of hosting. For around $4-$5 a month you will be able to find hosting that will allow you to host an unlimited number of domains.

3. Use a free online web creation tool:

You can either download software that is designed to help you create a website, or you can use an online service that's embedded within a website. All that you will need to do is to be able to view the HTML once the code has been set up and then to save it to your computer. Then you just will have to upload these files via FTP onto your hosting space.

In conclusion, try to make your own website today.

Planning an Effective Website

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Planning an Effective Website

Building your website correctly the first time, will save you a lot of time, money and energy and it all starts with a good plan.

So, what do you need to think about when planning your new site, or a site reconstruction?

Here are few thoughts:

1. What is my message? - This is critical. If you are not clear on the message your site needs to convey, it will not be clear to your visitors either.

2. Who is my target audience? - Knowing your target audience will give you a huge advantage as you begin to create content for your site, and plan the structure and features of it.

3. What is/are the main goal/goals of my website? - The goal of your website will determine how it is built. Is your website strictly a lead generation tool? Is the goal to sell something directly from the site? Maybe the main goal of your site is just to give you a place to post your personal thoughts and experiences. Whatever it is, figure it out and write it down. You will want to refer to the main goals throughout the entire process of your websites creation to make sure you are staying in line with your goals.

4. What action(s) must a visitor to my site take for me to consider their visit a success? - This could be a purchase, a subscription to a newsletter, filling out an information request form, viewing an online demo, downloading a free report, etc. This will be tracked so that you know if your site is performing.

5. How will we generate traffic to my site? - This is something many people don't think about. They want to get their site up thinking that all of a sudden they will be selling online. Without a clear plan of how you will get visitors to your site, you may be in for disappointing surprise. Will you pay for traffic (PPC/Ads)? Will you blog? Will you write articles for other sites, submit press releases, host a podcast? All of these are pieces of a larger picture.

6. What special features do I want on my site? - Websites can do amazing things. Do you want a blog, a forum, live help for your clients, knowledge base, crm, podcast, analytics, etc.

7. What resources do I currently have for maintaining my site once it is built? - Many people do not realize that once a website is built, it still takes time and energy to maintain the site. Unfortunately, there are people out there who make a game of hacking websites, you need to make sure that you are backing up your files and data, and that you have recovery procedures in place just in case. You need someone who understands the Internet and web hosting to make sure things keep running smoothly.

8. What is our budget for a website? - I included this question, because you can spend anywhere from $199 - $199,000 on a website. Most of our clients can't afford (and do not need) a website that costs a fortune. figure out what you need and what will be effective for your business, and then do the best you can with what you have.

9. Who will create the content? - Will you be creating all of your sites content yourself. Believe it or not, this is not as easy as you think. Creating compelling content that will sell is an art. We have professional writers who know how to write specifically for the web.

10. What will having a website do for us? (What will it give us that we don't already have?) - And finally, what is the point of having a website just to have a website. List some reasons why having a website is important to you. What will it help you do or achieve that you couldn't do (at least not as easily) without it.

Building Web Sites Using Web Templates

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Building Web Sites Using Web Templates

Gone are the days when you had to rely on a web-designer to design your websites. New technologies with innovative ideas have brought out a new variant to this trend in the form of ready to use website templates.

So what are web templates?

Well, to put it in a simple way, web templates are nothing but readymade web-pages that can be used to create websites in seconds! How you ask? Web templates act as html coded dummy web pages that contain model content. Now these templates can be edited with ease (to add content, graphics, logo, pictures etc) to create professional web pages in less time.

How to edit web templates

Now the next possible question that arises is as how to edit the web templates; isn’t it? That’s simple! Most web templates are editable and can be edited using popular html editors like FrontPage, DreamWeaver, GoLive and Photoshop. These html editors are easy to use and have a friendly interface. You need not be a pro to use them. Anyway in case anyone finds the editing part difficult they can always go for template customization services that are provided by most web template providers.

Are web templates really that green?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Are web templates really that green?

As a matter of fact, web templates can really help you save up lots of money and time and best of all help you do professional work. Just imagine hiring a web designer to design your website. As most of you must be aware, a web designer can charge you anything between $50 to $200 for designing a single web-page! And then there is the time factor. Usually web-designers take a minimum of 10 -15 days to complete a website. Here’s where web templates come to the rescue.

Using a web template to create a website would cost you anything around $20 - $40 and that’s not all; websites designed using web templates could be over within a day after editing and pasting graphics and will look professional too! So now it doesn’t take an extraordinary mind to figure out which is more lucrative.

Flash Websites

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Flash Websites

Designing a flash website is a real pain and might take lots of time and money. But in case you believe in playing it smart your best bet would be to go for flash website templates. There are many template websites that offer flash website templates of high quality at low costs. All you need to do is insert content and you are ready to go!

Hey wait a minute I need to create a copyrighted website!

No problem! Almost all website template providers offer an option of copyrighted to non-copyrighted templates. The major different between a copyrighted and a non copyrighted template is the fact that copyrighted templates are sold only once and the purchaser of the copyrighted template gets all user rights over it whereas in a non copyrighted template the rights of usage stays with the template ownership company and can be sold again and again. So in case you need to create a copyrighted website that is unique be sure to go for copyrighted website templates.

How do I find out a quality template from an inferior one?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

How do I find out a quality template from an inferior one?

Quality web templates have the following features;

1. Web-templates should be editable

2. Web templates should be compatible with popular html editors

3. The coding should be such that there is no alteration in the structure of the template on content/graphic insertion

4. The web template should be easy to upload

5. A webpage generated by a web template should download with ease in any browser

So in case your templates don’t comply with the above, you can be sure they are of inferior quality. Website templates are a great and easy way to host your website.

How to Build a Website without Pragramming?

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

If you would like to build a website but you do not know HTML or any other programming language for creating web pages, do not give up the idea of building a website. With the help of Web Page Builder, one can easily build a web page without any specific programming and technical skills.

Web Page Builder is a specific website application, which allows creating web pages with the help of so-called WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) web page editor. Here you just drag the elements you want to add to your webpage, such as tables, text, images, multimedia, forms and others, and simply drop them to the place on the web page you want them to reside. Working with Web Page Builder is as simple as working with any common software, like Word or Paint.

As a matter of fact, our Web Page Builder is included into all the standard website CMS solutions or content management systems, which provide all the necessary tools and website applications to build a professional website. Along with Web Page Builder, our CMS solutions contain many other helpful tools to build forums, web forms and polls, create FAQs and many other useful resources on your website.

Website Lifecycle

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Website Lifecycle

The life of a website should always be cyclical in nature.

The cycle consists of analysis, updates and promotion. If any part of the cycle is left to flounder the success of your website is in jeopardy.

Analysis involves:

Reviewing your website and your web stats

Conjuring up new ideas content, and features

Updating involves:

Adding your new content, design, or modules to the site

Promotion involves:

Search engine optimization campaigns

An eNewsletter highlighting the launch of the site modifications

Value of a website

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Values of a website

Your website can be used as a marketing hub

A website can achieve many different goals for your business. Goals may vary, but every company will want to take into consideration all or some of the below mentioned values your website can bring to your company.

The 24/7 Salesperson

The web is a 24/7 operation so even when you are closed for the day your web site keeps working for you. It does not ask for commissions, holidays, or leaves of absence, and it will never talk back to you. The best way to figure out how your website can be the best salesperson it can be is to start with your underlying business objectives.

Step 1

What do you want to offer to your customer?

Step 2

What is the sales process?

Step 3

How can your web site effectively fit into this process?

Step 4

Build a website that does what you need it to do to fulfill its role in the process.

Lead Generation

A properly developed website should obtain many unique visitors, but not all visitors will become customers at first glance. Your website can be an effective at capturing information on visitors for future follow ups. This can be done in many ways a few examples are news letter sign ups, online questionnaires, and online draws. This will give you warm leads to follow as they have already viewed your product and have become familiar with your company.

Branding

Some people distinguish the psychological aspect of a brand from the experiential aspect. The experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is known as the brand experience. The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the brand image, is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people and consists of all the information and expectations associated with a product or service. Most companies spend big dollars on developing a good product and creating a positive brand experience. This positive brand experience normally evolves in a positive brand image which needs to be carried over into a company's website. If your website maintains the positive brand image associated with your product site visitors will get the same warm fuzzy from viewing your site that they do if they come to your location, or see your product on a store shelf somewhere. This will translate into sales.

Distribution of Information

A website can be effectively used to give your customers easy access to information that they normally have to obtain by contacting your company, and waiting for the information to be sent out to them. A positive customer experience can be created simply by giving quick and easy access to information such as manuals, shareholder information, brochures, policy and procedures. Having this information readily available on your website will also free up some time of the person who is usually tasked with sending out the information.

Referrals Generation

Never underestimate the power of the referral, some businesses thrive on referrals alone. A properly developed website should be informative, if your site is built with the right information then people who visit your site may refer it to other people. Social media such as delicious allow individuals to bookmark useful sites and can make your site a click away from thousands of users. If your company has a referral/affiliate program it should be included on your website for people to learn about. A site with good case studies and portfolios will stand out in a visitors mind. Even if they are not someone who would ever become a customer they may refer others who will.

Your Website as a Marketing Hub

Your website can be used as a marketing hub, with all other forms of marketing pointing to the website. Your website needs to have as much attention paid to it as any other form of marketing, if your marketing hub is lacking it can negatively impact other marketing efforts. Your website should be the titanium link in your marketing chain, as no other marketing media can be as informative, interactive, and cost effective as your website.

Website Redesign

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Website Redesign

As the Internet grows and changes, your website needs to grow and change as well. New technologies and marketing techniques have transformed the landscape of modern business, and an old or stale-looking website can actually scare away potential customers. The experts at Ajiboye can help you create a new and dynamic website that will increase your web traffic—and your sales.

Ajiboye can add several features to your existing website that will turn website visitors into loyal, long-term customers. Our dynamic database driven sites allow you to collect large amounts of information about your customer base, allowing you to respond to your customer’s needs and buying habits. Our ecommerce digital storefronts feature the latest in credit card processing so that online purchases are easier than ever. Finally, our 128-bit encryption technology ensures that all sensitive information is protected.

Best of all, our experts use search engine optimization techniques to ensure your website ranks consistently high in search engine results. We constantly monitor your web content so that your business will constantly be “in front” of your customers.

At Ajiboye, our processes create a unique and memorable experience for everyone who visits your website. We’ll listen to your goals and objectives, examine your existing site and show you our strategy for growing your business.

The Benefits of an Ajiboye Website Maintenance Plan

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

The Benefits of an Ajiboye Website Maintenance Plan:

* A local web expert available when needed

* Personal care from a dedicated programmer

* Guaranteed availability of service when needed

* Fast Turnaround – most requests completed the same day

* Discounts on our normal pricing

* More Bang for Your Marketing Buck – Search Engines look at how often websites are updated, and tend to ignore ones that are out of date

* Professional Quality Updates – we work to maintain and improve the quality of your website thru proper image and text formatting

* Economical and convenient

* No Money Wasted – Any unused time can be rolled over to the next month or spent on Search Engine Optimization. Your choice!

Legal and Contract Issues

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

If your web site design job is going to be more than, say a thousand dollars, you may want to hire the services of a lawyer. A contract may prove an excellent investment if it protects you, spells out intellectual property ownership, and details the milestones and penalties for non-delivery.

One of the most important issues is the ownership of materials. For example, your designer needs to state that all artwork is royalty and license free, it is not good form to steal photos from other web sites and use them on your own. You also need to agree who owns any code or graphics produced especially for your project. If a great new logo is created just for you, is it your property at the end of the contract for you to use as desired, or does the graphic remain the property of the designer? What about any Java code or CGI programs, who has the rights to use them?

It is very wise to detail the exact working arrangements in writing. This is even important if you are dealing with a friend or associate. Getting the details on paper removes any ambiguity, and can save you from lots of problems and headaches in the future.

Milestones can also be incorporated into a contract. These are where you detail the specific goals along the development route, thus ensuring that progress is being made and the quality of the end product is what you expected.

Web Site Programming Languages

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking at building your own web site, it may be beneficial to have an awareness of some programming languages. Here are a few of the more common programming languages that you may hear mentioned.

HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is one of the main markup languages for web pages. HTML provides the ability to make structured documents using headings, paragraphs, lists, etc. You can also embed images and objects. It is also quite easy to learn, so you may be able to tweak your web design any way you want, when you want to update or change your site.

XHTML (Extensible Hyper Text Markup Language) is a new web language set by the W3C's standards. It is very similar to HTML, it is far more strict when following the set of rules for marking up information. This results in small changes to the way the code is written.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) gives more flexibility for styling the HTML. It is a styling sheet language which describes the look and formatting of a document which is written in a markup language.

JavaScript is a browser sided scripting language that allows you to make your page interactive.

PHP, ASP with JavaScript or VB Script or Python are server sided scripting languages and can be used to edit or create forums or make things on your site move.

Wordpress is a popular option for building website. Wordpress is a free application that can be installed on your web server and is primarily a blog publishing application. It can be good for basic content management.

AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a method of using a browser sided language and a server sided language to make the page obtain new information from the server without refreshing the page. This often greatly reduces the user wait time and improves the user's experience without an increase in bandwidth.

What Do You Want Your Web Site Visitors To Do?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are thinking about building your own web site, you may want to ask yourself the question “What do you want your web site visitors to do?"

All Internet marketing should be focused on obtaining a measurable result. Whether this be a sale, a download, a subscriber, a competition entry, an enquiry, a product information request, or a phone call. These are all sought after and measurable actions.

To achieve this, you need to be aware that when you design your web site, and place calls to action on various pages, that...

1. Every visitor to your web site chose to visit on their own accord.

2. These people came to your site because you have something that interested them.

3. You must make it absolutely clear exactly what you would like your web visitor to do and provide them a compelling reason to do it.

If you don’t have any calls to action on your web pages, your visitors will not be sure what they need to do and will remain indecisive with the great information you have presented to them. By not placing clear, well placed and convincing calls to action on your web site you are leaving your Internet marketing to chance and run the risk of losing a great deal of business.

Web Site Navigation

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When designing your web site it is very important to consider navigation. Navigation is both the representation of the structure of a web site, and the means by which users move around the site. Good navigation allows users to easily answer the following questions for every page of the site:

What web site am I on?
Where am I on the web site?
What can I do on this page?
Where can I go to from this page?
Where is the information I am looking for?

Some important points to remember regarding good navigation on your web site are:

Ensure that users can establish what web site they visiting
Ensure that users can determine where they are on the web site
Ensure that users can determine where they can go next
Provide multiple options for finding information
Make sure there is a consistent navigation scheme throughout the web site
Employ text rather than graphics for navigation elements
Describe text links effectively
Avoid the use of pop-up windows or browsers opening in new windows

What are Cookies?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are thinking of the design of your web site, an important aspect to consider is the use of cookies. So what are cookies are why are they used? Cookies are small bits of data that are placed on the user's computer hard drive by some web sites. Cookies can help these web sites to recognize returning users, track online purchases, provide customized web pages, provide access to specific resources, or even work interactively.

When cookies are used properly they can greatly enhance the user's experiences of your web site and can increase convenience. However, there are some cookies that can be used to track the activities of users over a period of time and across various different websites. If cookies are linked to personal identification data, they can be used to track the browsing habits of individual users. It is also possible to use stolen cookies to gain access to resources. The misuse of cookies has clear privacy and security concerns, and some users may be discouraged from visiting web sites that use cookies.

When considering the use of cookies on your web site, you may like to think about the following:

Make a distinction between “persistent” and “session” cookies
Does your web site really need to use persistent cookies?
Consider providing users with the alternative of accessing resources with or without persistent cookies
If persistent cookies are used, make sure that they contain only essential information and minimize the risk of any exploitation
It is not good practice to use persistent cookies to authentically and automatically log onto a restricted area of your web site
Look into using cookie rings or cookie sharing
When cookies are used, make sure users are properly informed of their use
When cookies are used, make sure that the information collected is appropriately protected
Make certain that your web site's privacy policy covers the appropriate use of cookies
Verify and evaluate any third-party cookies that may be on your web site

What is Metadata?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Metadata is ordered information that is produced specially to describe another resource. Metadata supplies basic information such as the author, the subject of the item described and the creation date. When you are looking at the design of your web site, you should not overlook the use of quality metadata.

You may like to think of metadata as a library catalogue record that assists the discovery of a particular work by providing information such as title, author, subject, description of the work, location, publisher, etc. Similarly, metadata allows the discovery and use of web site resources, by providing information that helps to find easily the metadata information that search engines can index.

One way of finding web site resources easily is by using metadata. Quality metadata makes available reliable, comprehensive descriptions of the key concepts of a document or string of text. By using the same metadata standard, all similar items in different resources can be described in a similar manner. This makes it more probable that search results will be sufficiently distinguished and at the same time will eliminate material that is not necessary.

Even though you may need to invest a bit of time in creating quality metadata, the returns on this investment can be substantial, in terms of access to resources for users and increased manageability of these resources by you.

Monitoring Web Site Usage

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

One way of assessing how effective your web site design is, is by monitoring and evaluating the web site usage. Usage monitoring of a web site involves the compilation of information about how a web site is being used. The usage data is evaluated by the analysis of the usage monitoring data to assess the success of an online service in satisfying your needs or goals. There are a number of key tools or methods in usage monitoring and evaluation which include surveys, usability testing, focus groups and web site statistics.

The process of web site monitoring and evaluation is an important way of making sure your web site meets your business needs, as well as the needs of users.

The monitoring and evaluation process has many potential advantages, including reducing the risk of budget or scope blow-out by helping to target and distill the extent of web site activities, such as redevelopment and site marketing, to ensure that the web site delivers the maximum benefit at an satisfactory price.

Analysis of the monitoring results can also expose changes in patterns of usage, such as reduced or increased number of visitors.

How To Create a Web Site

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Many web site hosting companies offer web site building software and templates. They are usually available for a fee in addition to the normal hosting fee. The software or templates are designed to make the job of creating a web site quick and easy. There are commercially available web site building programs such as Microsoft Front Page, Web Studio and Macromedia Dreamweaver.

You can create your web pages in programs like Word or Excel. The pages can then be uploaded to your web site. You can even use a drag and drop template or program. Web pages can even be created as a PDF. You will notice that under your “file” function in Word and on PDFs, you have the option to “publish to web.” This option is as easy as a click, but there are limitations when using it. If you use a web site building program, there will be more creative options.

Web pages can be created in many other ways also. You could write your pages using html codes, where you can create the pages using scripts and programs. You can also hire someone to build your web sites for you, if you are not interested in doing it. When going with the hiring option, you either need to plan to budget for maintenance of that site or have them give you step by step instructions so that you any changes as required in the future.

What is HTML?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is the language, or code, behind every computer. HTML code is the brain of the computer, telling it what color to display, what size to display the text, how the text is formatted, where the images are located, etc.

Many schools today teach basic HTML writing. It is kept simple because most people will never have to use it in a daily application. Many people are only interested in learning HTML if they play to develop web sites as a career. However, there is no reason to panic if you need to build a web site as it is not necessary to know HTML to build your own web site. This is because there are web site builders available like Macromedia Dreamweaver or Web Studio.

When you are creating your own web page with the user friendly web site builder software of your choice, you can see what the HTML code looks like. In general, these programs include a “View HTML” tab so you can see what the HTML code looks like. The HTML code will simply look like lines of plain text and will not look anything like the formatted website you have created.

What is a Web Site Builder?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

A web site builder program is user friendly software that takes all the need for HTML, script and other programming knowledge out of web page building. So there is no need to panic if you want to build a web site and do not know the HTML language. Website builder software aims to make web page building easy and can often be completed by users with little or no experience in a short amount of time.

Many different types of website builders are available. Some examples are Microsoft’s Front Page or Macromedia’s Dream Weaver. These programs can help the beginner web page designer to quickly see great results. This software is available online or through retail stores.

Other programs like Web Studio can be downloaded right away if purchased on the Internet. This program is a drag and drop method of page building and offers a fast and easy way to create web pages.

It is quite common for web hosting companies and domain sellers to offer web site building programs and templates in their hosting packages. When using a website builder provided by your web host, make sure you try out the different templates on offer so you can more effectively display your web site to your customers.

Regardless of which type of web site builder program you choose, you are not removing the use of HTML and scripts, you are simply removing the need to know it yourself. The HTML and script computer languages are written into the software itself and that is the reason why they are much easier for the beginner web site builder to use.

Putting Your Web Site on the World Wide Web

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

So you have created some fantastic web pages for your new web site and you want to publish them to the World Wide Web. But how do your web pages get from your computer to the Internet?

In order to publish a web site on the Internet, you must have a web site host. When you choose a host and make payment arrangements, you will get a user name and password. The user name and password will allow you to upload your web site files onto your web hosts’ server.

More than likely your web host will provide you with the file transfer protocol (FTP) link you will need to upload your web site files. The only people who can make changes to your web site are those who you choose to give your username and password information to.

You may have a program on your computer that allows you an option under your “file” command that says “publish to web”. You can use that option, as long as your web host recognizes and supports the program you used to create the web page. Let your web host know the software you plan to use to create your web pages and they can advise you on the easiest uploading options. Although Microsoft’s Front Page is a popular design program, not all web hosts offer the extensions required for its proper operation.

Aims of Web Design

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Set out your aims

Before you start searching for a web designer, it is a good idea to spend some time considering what you hope to achieve with your web site. This is extremely important information that any web designer will need to know before starting work on your site. One way to establish your aims is to consider the questions below:

What are the reasons you are creating a web site?
Are you trying to sell a product or a service?
Are your products likely to change regularly?
Who are your targets?
Do you have a brand?
What industry are you involved in?
Are you aware of your competition?
Have you looked at competitors web sites?
How will you accept payments? Can you take credit card transactions online?
When do you need your website completed?
What are the implications if you don't have a website?

Spend some time and go through each of these questions and write down your thoughts on each one. These are typical questions most web designers will want you to answer before they even begin creating your web site.

Spending some time now considering your aims and objectives, will give you a better idea of what exactly it is you want from a web design company. This in turn will make the selection process that much easier. For example, if you own a furniture business, you may want to choose a web designer who knows about the industry and has created web sites for furniture retailers previously.

Build versus Design

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Building a web site requires expert technical knowledge whereas designing a web site requires a very creative mind. Therefore, depending upon the type and size of web site you would like, it might be advantageous to choose two separate companies to create your site, with a different provider for each area.

There are some specialist web design companies that do not offer any developing process at all. Consider the analogy of building a new home. You would not expect the construction team to offer an interior design service also. They require two entirely different areas of expertise. A similar principle is valid for creating a web site. The web site developer is the construction worker and the web designer is akin to the interior designer.

The problem can be that in the IT world, you will come across many builders who also claim to be interior designers. Always check out other web sites created by the company and determine the process they have for build versus design. If they show no understanding of the difference in concept, then it may be advisable to look elsewhere. Using the house building analogy again, it would be like asking the builder to decorate and furnish your home.

Make sure you have a detailed concept of exactly what you want, as this will help in determining a more accurate price before work starts. Without a good plan, you could easily end up spending a lot more than you had originally thought.

It is a Good Idea to Compare Costs

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

The costs associated with designing a website can vary greatly between different companies. There are normally three ways a web designer can charge for their services.

1. Per Hour. This amount is calculated based upon the actual time spent creating your web site. The web designer will have a fixed hourly rate and this is multiplied by the time spent to give a final fee for the design. For example, if the designer charges $100 per hour and it takes 20 hours to design your web site, the total amount due will be $2000.

2. Fixed Price. Certain web designers will charge a set fee depending on your individual web site requirements. When you have established exactly what you want, the web designer will provide you with a fixed price quote to design your site.

3. Component Pricing. Generally this refers to charging by the page, therefore, the bigger the site, the more you it will cost. Some web designers will charge additional fees for features such as animation or graphics, so make sure you are clear on your exact requirements prior to contract agreement.

It is extremely important that you obtain a complete estimate for all the work that needs to be done prior to going ahead. Make sure all related prices are included and everything is put down in writing. Confirm the prices are understood by both parties before signing any agreements. You may want to consider a structured payment plan, where you release percentages of the total amount in stages as the work progresses, with a percentage held back until the work is complete and you are satisfied with the final result. Define milestones with agreed dates for each percentage completed and also define terms for the situation when milestones are missed.

Obtain quotes from as many web designers as you can and compare the fees, paying particular attention to price calculation methodology.

Examine Their Portfolio

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When you are looking for a web site designer, it is extremely important to examine their web site portfolio. An experienced web site designer should have a good portfolio of sites they have created for other clients and you should always ask to have a look at their portfolio. Make sure you spend a reasonable amount of time looking through their portfolio. Attempt to evaluate the web sites they have developed, asking questions like; Are the sites designed well? Do they appear professional? Does a particular style appeal to you?

Along with examining the portfolio check with the designer for references from previous clients and importantly follow these up. When you contact the customers, ask about their overall experience with the web designer. Were they happy with the results? Was the site completed in the quoted timeframe? How did the designer act in response to their input? Was the website expensive and did they get value for money? Did they have any concerns about the company? Would they recommend the designer? The answers to these questions will help you determine whether a particular web designer is going to be right for your project.

Keeping the Cost Down

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

So you have found a great web site designer you like, their bid was within your budget and you are satisfied with their references. Here are a few tips ideas to help keep your web site development costs down:

1. Try and negotiate a fee reduction in return for letting the web designer 'brand' your site with their logo at the bottom of each page. A good designer should view their logo on well-designed sites as important advertising for them.

2. Achieve as much as you can in-house. For any printed material, you may like to hire someone to type it into the computer, as delivering material on a disk will ease the designers' job and save you money.

3. Provide the designer with any artwork you already have. This will save them from having to search for the exact flower or chair you would like on your design and can result in a price reduction.

4. Provide the designer with complete access to your computer systems. If they are required to write a database interface system or translate a large body of documents, let them have full access to the original material and any documentation you have available.

5. Ensure you are available for any questions. What slows down a designer most is waiting for customer feedback. If they put up a test page, visit it as soon as you can and provide feedback quickly, so they can continue to work on your project.

Step#1 Create your own Web page

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Step # 1 Create your own Web page

First you need to create a text document containing the words that you want to appear on your Web page. Most word processing programs will work fine, as long as you give your document a name ending in .html (or .htm if you're working on a PC) and save the document as "Text Only." Type out your story, book review, fascinating facts about Jupiter, or whatever it is you want to publish. Here are some tips for organizing your text:

* Begin with a title and an attention-grabbing greeting or introduction, so people will know immediately what your page is about and will want to read more.

* Think about logical places to insert breaks in your text. No one wants to scroll down a long, uninterrupted block of text. Your page will be a lot more readable if you put in frequent paragraph breaks and horizontal rules (more about these later).

* Think about where you might want to insert pictures, if you have them in electronic files. (More about downloading images in Step #4.) A lot of pages start off with an eye-catching image right at the top, next to the title.

* If your word processing program has an option for "smart" or "curly" quotes, turn it off! Curly quotes will show up on a browser as strange little icons rather than quotation marks. The straight quotes may not look as nice, but they're the ones you have to use for Web authoring.

Step# 2 Learn Basic HTML Tags

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Step# 2 Learn Basic HTML Tags

Now you need to insert some formatting tags in your document that will tell an Internet browser (such as Safari, Firefox, or Internet Explorer) how to arrange your words and pictures on the screen. These tags make up a language called HyperText Markup Language, or HTML. The basic skeleton for an HTML document looks like this:

<html>

<head>

<title>Title of Page</title>

</head>

<body>

Text of page...

</body>

</html>

Notice that (1) each formatting tag appears between "less than" (<) and "greater than" (>) signs, and (2) the tags often appear in pairs, with the second tag in the pair beginning with a "slash" (/).

Here's a list of some of the basic formatting tags in HTML:

header, level 1 (the largest size type for a header, usually used at the beginning of a page or the start of a new section). Smaller headers are tagged with <h2>...</h2>, <h3>...</h3>, etc.

boldface text

italic text

centered text

<p>

paragraph return (inserts an extra line space between paragraphs)

Note: Any paragraph returns that you insert in your document by simply hitting the Return key on your keyboard will be ignored by a Web browser. You must use the tag <p> to create a paragraph break on the screen.

<br>

line break (no extra space)

<hr>

horizontal rule (a line running left-to-right across the page, to separate one section from the next)

ordered, or numbered, list. Each list item begins with the tag <li> and falls somewhere between the <ol>...</ol> tags.

unordered, or bulleted, list. Again, each list item begins with the tag <li>.

a hotlink to another file in the same folder

a hotlink to another site. You will have to know the Uniform Resource Locator (URL), or Web address, of any site to which you want to link your page.

This tag would insert an image with the filename "image.gif" on the far left side of your page.

Step#3 View a sample Web page

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Step# 3 View a sample web page

You may feel somewhat baffled after reading that long list of formatting tags in Step #2. It's easier just to look at a real HTML document and then see how it gets translated into a Web page. You can view the "source document" behind any Web page by going to the "View" menu (in Safari -- other browsers may be slightly different) and selecting "View Source." When you do this, you'll see the document with HTML tags that creates the page currently in the window of your browser.

We've created a Sample Web Page for you to study. (Link: Ajiboye.com)Go to the Sample Web Page and look at how the text and image appear on your screen. Then use "View Source" to call up the document we used to create the sample page. If possible, print this document. Compare it line-by-line with the page in your browser window. Do you see how all the formatting tags work?

Step# 4 Get Electronic Images

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Step# 4 Get Electronic Images

If you don't already have image files for your page, you can download some from other Web pages. Use your common sense to decide which images you're allowed to use and which ones you shouldn't. Images provided by NASA, for example, are for the public's use. A corporate logo is private property. If you're looking for some astronomical images, you might try NASA’s list of Astronomy Pictures of the Day.

Depending on what kind of computer and browser you're using, you'll have to use a slightly different procedure to download an image onto your hard drive. Here's how you would do it on a Macintosh computer, using a Safari browser:

1. Use your mouse to position the pointer over the image.

2. Hold down the button on the mouse and drag the image to your computer’s desktop.

3. Let go of the button, and you'll see a small icon. The image has now been downloaded onto your hard drive. If you decide to change the name of the file, make sure your new name ends in .gif or .jpg (This will be important if you use the image in your own Web page).

4. Click on the icon to view the image as it would appear on your Web page.

While you're searching for images, don't download every one you see. You'll take up a lot of space on your hard drive if you grab dozens of images. Select just a few -- perhaps your own "Top Five" list -- that you think are the best for your page.

Step# 5 Insert HTML Tags

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Step# 5 Insert HTML Tags

Now you're ready to insert the formatting tags in your own document. Remember to start your document with <html> and end it with </html>. The "title" that you type between the tags <title>...</title> will appear at the very top of the browser window when your page is being viewed. This title might be, but doesn't have to be, the same as the header at the top of your page.

Step#6 View and Edit your page

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Step#6 View and Edit your page

Now it's time to see how well your formatting has worked. Save your text document (Remember: "Text Only," and the file name should end in .html or .htm) and go back to the browser. Under the File menu, select "Open File..." or "Open Local...". From there you should be able to find your document's name and click on "Open". Your document will appear in your window, looking like a real live Web page!

Don't be discouraged if there are some problems at first. HTML formatting requires a lot of attention to tiny details. If something doesn't look the way you expected, make a note of it and go back to your text document to adjust it. Then save the document again, go back to the browser, and click on "Reload". You'll probably have to go back and forth like this many times before your page looks perfect to you.

Step#7 Go Public!

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Step# 7 Go Public!

Your school may or may not have an account with an Internet provider that allows you to put your Web page on a server so that other people can read it. If not, you can just keep practicing with documents on your computer's hard drive. Or, you might look into getting some free Web space for yourself or your school. Some sites that provide this service are listed in the Idea Bank ( try on www.ajiboye.com) at the bottom of this page.

If you are able to put your page up on a server, how will anyone find it? Unless they know about your page already -- and know the exact URL! -- they won't be able to visit it. Here are three ways you can give people a roadmap to your location on the information superhighway:

* Find some other Web sites that are related to your page in some way. They might be sites that deal with the same topic or are published by students your age. Write to the people who maintain these pages and ask them to check out your site. If they like it, they might add a link to your page on theirs.

* Register your site with a search engine such as Google or Yahoo. Once you've added your URL to one of these databases, people who are interested in the general topic of your page will get a listing of your site when they do a search. For example, in Yahoo, navigate through their categories until you get to the one that best suits your page, and then click on "Add URL." You'll be asked to provide the title of your page, its URL, and a comment or short sentence that describes what's on the page. In your comment, try to include words that you think an interested person might type in as key words when doing a Yahoo search. "Jupiter facts and images" or "Book reviews by middle school students" are examples of good comments.

How do I put a Google Search Bar on my Website?

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

How do I put a Google Search Bar on my Website?

As a website owner, you may decide that you wish to add a Google Search Bar to your website.

Firstly, you need to SIGN-UP to Quick on the Net and SIGN-UP to Google AdSense.

Now, log into the AdSense toolkit and go to 'AdSense Setup' and then select 'AdSense for Search'.

As a starting point, select your options from:

# Google WebSearch

...Allows users to search the web directly from your site.

Or (even better)

# Google WebSearch + SiteSearch

...Allows users to search the web or the specific site(s) of your choice.

# 'Search box style' will allow you to control the appearance of the search box on your site.

# In the 'More options' section, pick your 'Site language' and tick the box to 'Open results in a new window'.

# Now click the 'Continue' button.

# Next, customise the logo and style of your search results pages to match the colours and style of your site.

# Select an 'AdSense Palette', or create one of your own (optional).

# Pick your 'Country' or territory for the Google domain.

# Check the 'Use SafeSearch' option to exclude adult themed websites and sites with explicit sexual content.

Now, log into your toolkit at Quick on the Net and go to:

# 'Pages'

# Edit the web page which where you intend to 'paste' in the code

# Click on <>

# Paste in the Google Search Box Code

# Save the page

# Simple!

How to Create a Video Website?

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Are you ready to build your own video website?

This is quick and easy! In fact, we believe it cannot be made any quicker, easier or cheaper than this...

How?

This is a website builder and we offer two main methods for you to create a video site:

1) Video Web Design Template

This option is ideal if you are just getting started and you need an internet video solution with the minimum amount of fuss. Just tell us the name of your video site - and using our unique web templates, you can be up and running on the internet in no time at all. To get started, you can buy this video web template.www.ajiboye.com

The cost is very cheap, but the end result looks slick and highly professional. You can actually turn off the link to ajiboye.com and hide the fact that this is a low-cost solution.

2) Create your own Website Design

You can take it a stage further and use our site builder for building your own website from scratch. This option is perfect if you have your own business logo and branded design scheme.

Either way, it doesn't matter which option you choose, because you still get full access to our web builder toolkit, whether or not you choose to purchase one of our creative 'click and buy' templates, or build your own site from scratch.

Video Search

Your website is supplied with a video search bar. So, this means that the videos you add to your website are completely searchable, based on the keywords you add to each video (each gallery item). What's more, they can also be indexed and searched on external search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and Live (MSN).

How to Add Videos

Start by uploading your own video movies to a free video host like YouTube.com, Yahoo! Video or MetaCafe.com. Then, simply embed video in your ajiboye.com web galleries. And remember, your videos are totally searchable, based on the search keywords (or tags) you add to each gallery item film clip.

How to create a Music website?

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

How to Create a Music Store with PayPal Shopping Cart

Are you ready to build your own PayPal Music Shop? This is fast and simple! In fact, we believe it cannot be made any quicker, easier or cheaper than this...

How?

This is a website builder and we offer two main methods for you to create a music shop:

1) Music Store Web Design Template

This option is ideal if you are just getting started and you need an internet shop solution with the minimum amount of fuss. Just tell us the name of your online music shop - and using our unique web templates, you can be up and running on the internet in no time at all.

To get started, you can buy this music shop web template from us at very reasonable price.

The cost is very cheap, but the end result looks slick and highly professional.

2) Create your own Music Shop Design

You can take it a stage further and use our site builder for building your own website from scratch. This option is perfect if you have your own business logo and branded design scheme.

Music Search

Your website is supplied with a music search bar. So, this means that the tracks or songs you add to your website are completely searchable, based on the keywords you add to each description (each gallery item). What's more, the tracks or songs can also be indexed and searched on external search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and Bing (Live / MSN).

Add Music

Upload your own music to a free player site like Houndbite.com or Odeo.com. These sites are rather like YouTube, but they are for music and audio clips - and not videos.

Then simply embed the sound track clips on your ajiboye.com web pages. It's an absolute doddle! We suggest that your uploaded tracks are samples and not the full-length versions of your music.

Add Videos

You can also add videos to your shop. For example, if your videos contain live demos or gigs, then you can present your video film clips alongside your PayPal payment buttons.

Start by uploading your music video movies to a free video host like YouTube.com, Yahoo! Video or MetaCafe.com. Then, simply embed video in your Ajiboye.com web galleries.

PayPal Buttons

Broadly speaking, there are 3 different types of PayPal button you can consider:

# Buy now buttons for a single-item purchase.

# Add to cart buttons for multiple-item purchase (also known as 'Add to basket' or 'Add to trolley').

# Subscription buttons for recurring payments e.g. weekly, monthly, yearly.

An online Shopping Cart is also known as a:

# PayPal Shopping Basket

# PayPal Shopping Trolley

How do I sign-up?

Sign-up and open your own PayPal account. During the registration process at PayPal, you will need to sign-up for a Business Account or Premier Account (not a Personal Account).

How to develop a multilingual web site

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

How to develop a multilingual web site

If you want to exploit the potential of online industry to its fullest extent, you need to make sure that you are on the right track. Just running a website in English language would not be enough any longer because billions of people are out there whose mother tongue is not English. Though English has almost become an International language, you should not ignore the fact that a considerable percentage of people are also there who are unable to speak or read English and therefore, if your website is strictly designed and developed for English speaking people, you might end up ignoring these people who are surfing Internet in other languages. Do not let the language be a barrier in the expansion of your organization. Lets develop a website in such a way that will enable you and your organization to make the most of the online business.

Quest For An Ultimate Solution

If you are in no mood to let the opportunity of online industry being exploited by your rivals, you should make sure that you have started designing and developing a multilingual website that will definitely give you a competitive edge over your competitors. But before making the final leap, you should check out some of the popular tips of developing a multilingual website that are described in detail below:

* The Code Page

Unicode is the probably the best code page that is used by almost website developer for this purpose. It can show up 65535 charters. Here in this code, characters are rendered into a numeric value. All the characters of any language can be represented by using Unicode and this is reason why it is being used universally. You need to add this line of code in the header section of your web page if you want to represent your webpage as a Unicode page:

* Development Tools

There are a number of web development tools available that you can try for making your website multilingual. If you want to develop your website in Unicode format, you can try Microsoft Front Page which is pretty simple to handle. FrontPage comes with WISYWIG tool, which allows a user to choose the language he wants to be put in the option of the page. It offers a graphical interface as well. User can make changes in the graphical interface that will automatically converted into HTML codes.

* Type of the Language

While developing a multilingual website, you should not forget the fact that there are some languages exist which starts from right to left as oppose to the common left to right. Therefore, you should make sure the fact that the operating system that you are using can be able to deal with this issue. Those who are working in MS Windows should configure their respective system in such a way so that it can tune with the changing requirements without generating any technical problem.

* Font Face: A Matter of Consideration

Do not use any font type that will ask other language users to download the font for viewing the content. Try to use preinstalled fonts that have the capability to generate multilingual characters. Tahoma is one of those few fonts that can show multilingual characters whenever needed.

These are some of the vital issues that you should consider with due care and consideration if you want to develop a multilingual website.

Managing your Web Images

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Unless you plan to hire a designer to take care of all the photos and other graphics on your Web site, you’ll need a tool to do it yourself.

Basic digital photo and graphics editors are available for free whereas sophisticated top-end programs like Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Digital Image Suite, pretty well recognised as the professional gold standard, can cost into the hundreds of dollars.

What you’re looking for is editing software that can resize and crop images; repair problems with colour and contrast; set their resolution, which controls how sharp your graphics are on the Web page; and save them using colour modes and formats specifically for the Web.

The photo organiser built into your operating system might even take care of your needs. Unless you really want to get into graphics editing and creating your own unique images and photo illustrations, you don’t need to understand the technical ins and outs. But you should be sure that your choice of software supports all standard graphics formats for the Web, mainly JPEG (jpg), GIF, Bitmap (bmp and others) and Ping (png).

Some more types of websites

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

There are many varieties of websites, each specializing in a particular type of content or use, and they may be arbitrarily classified in any number of ways. A few such classifications might include:

· Affiliate: enabled portal that renders not only its custom CMS but also syndicated content from other content providers for an agreed fee. There are usually three relationship tiers. Affiliate Agencies (e.g., Commission Junction), Advertisers (e.g., eBay) and consumer (e.g., Yahoo!).

Archive site: used to preserve valuable electronic content threatened with extinction. Two examples are: Internet Archive, which since 1996 has preserved billions of old (and new) web pages; and Google Groups, which in early 2005 was archiving over 845,000,000 messages posted to Usenet news/discussion groups.
Blog (web log): sites generally used to post online diaries which may include discussion forums (e.g., blogger, Xanga).
Brand building site: a site with the purpose of creating an experience of a brand online. These sites usually do not sell anything, but focus on building the brand. Brand building sites are most common for low-value, high-volume fast moving consumer goods (FMCG).
Content site: sites whose business is the creation and distribution of original content (e.g., Slate, About.com).
Corporate website: used to provide background information about a business, organization, or service.
Electronic commerce (e-commerce) site: a site offering goods and services for online sale and enabling online transactions for such sales.
- Community site: a site where persons with similar interests communicate with each other, usually by chat or message boards, such as MySpace or Facebook.
- City Site: A site that shows information about a certain city or town and events that takes place in that town. Usually created by the city council or other "movers and shakers".
- Forum: a site where people discuss various topics.
- Humor site: satirizes, parodies or otherwise exists solely to amuse.
- Information site: contains content that is intended to inform visitors, but not necessarily for commercial purposes, such as: RateMyProfessors.com, Free Internet Lexicon and Encyclopedia. Most government, educational and non-profit institutions have an informational site.
- News site: similar to an information site, but dedicated to dispensing news and commentary.
- Personal homepage: run by an individual or a small group (such as a family) that contains information or any content that the individual wishes to include. These are usually uploaded using a web hosting service such as Geocities.
- Political site: A site on which people may voice political views.
- Porn site: A site that shows sexually explicit content for enjoyment and relaxation, most likely in the form of an Internet gallery, dating site, blog, social networking, or video sharing.
- Rating site: A site on which people can praise or disparage what is featured.
- Review site: A site on which people can post reviews for products or services.
- School site: a site on which teachers, students, or administrators can post information about current events at or involving their school. U.S. elementary-high school websites generally use k12 in the URL, such as kearney.k12.mo.us.
- Social networking site: a site where users could communicate with one another and share media, such as pictures, videos, music, blogs, etc. with other users. These may include games and web applications.
- Video sharing: A site that enables user to upload videos, such as YouTube and Google Video.
- Search engine site: a site that provides general information and is intended as a gateway or lookup for other sites. A pure example is Google, and the most widely known extended type is Yahoo!.

Domain Name Registration

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

What is domain name?

Surfing the borderless space of the Internet, we visit hundreds of websites, each having its unique name or domain name to be more exact.

Each of these top level domains has its own meaning, and if you are considering domain name registration for yourself or for your business, it is important to understand the meaning of different domains. You can check the following list:

.aero – websites related to air-transport industry

.arpa –reserved only to support operationally-critical infrastructural identifier spaces as advised by the Internet Architecture Board

.asia – websites from Pan-Asia and Asia Pacific territories

.au – for Australian websites

.biz – business websites

.cat – websites of Catalan linguistic and cultural community

.com – commercial websites

.coop – this is reserved for cooperative associations

.de – websites from Germany

.edu – websites of post-secondary educational institutions

.gov – this domain is reserved for U.S. Government only

.info – this is a generic top-level domain name

.int – only for websites of organizations established by international treaties between governments

.jobs – for websites, dealing with human resources

.mil – websites related to the USA Military

.mobi – websites related to mobile products and services

.museum – websites of museums

.name – this domain name is reserved for individuals

.net – generic top-level domain name

.org – generic top-level domain name

.pro – domains restricted to credentialed professionals and related entities

.tel – these domains are reserved for publishing contact data of individuals and businesses

.travel – websites dealing with travel business

.uk – websites from the UK

Navigation

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Navigation

Easy navigation through your site is absolutely essential to a successful design. If the path you lay out for your customers to follow is long, twisted and forks off without reason, they’ll get lost – and you’ll lose the sale.

You should check that every page should be linked directly to the home page. That can work, but it requires your customers to go back to the home page every time they want find more information, more page links. Do you have patience with that kind of back-and-forth?

: Menus in website

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Every Web user is familiar with menus and how they work. Often found on the left side of Web pages in vertical format, they may include clickable buttons linked to products or categories, blog pages or glossaries, size charts or shipping tables – anything that appears on the site’s other Web pages. So, an easy access to menus would helps a user to visit your site again and again.

Tabs in websites

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Amazon.com was the first to use a horizontal row of “file folder tabs” at the top of its Web pages to give users an easier way to find popular content on the massive Web site. The fact that you now see tab-navigation everywhere on the Web is proof of its usability. It helps a user an easy and fast access to a particular site

Site maps in websites

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Site map: These can a simple text list or a more visually appealing diagram that shows where everything lives on your site. But if you have a large site, the diagram can become unwieldy. Just be sure your site map includes everything on your Web site with links to each page. You don’t need to put the map itself on every page; just link to it from your menu. This can also help you with your SEO efforts.

High points in your website

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Audio and video: If you intend to use either to assist your customers – instructional videos, product tutorials, testimonials – be sure transcripts, captions and video descriptions are also available.
Clarity: Pay attention to contrast and sharpness, not only in your images, but throughout your Web site.
Colour: Important for “décor,” but don’t use it to convey your message. A portion of your potential customers may be visually impaired and will miss the point.

· Flicker: It amazes us that so many big, professional and otherwise good Web sites intentionally assault their users with flashing, flickering, strobe-speed graphics as “attention-getters.” Not only is flicker extremely annoying, it can touch off seizures in some people with epilepsy.

Some HTML buttons

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Add a PayPal Button: You can insert simple HTML code to display PayPal “BuyNow” buttons directly into our Web pages. To offer credit card or direct PayPal payments, you must sign up for PayPal Express.

Add an embedded video player to your site: You can embed one of several different video players in your Web page including Mydeo, YouTube, or Google video.

Add a slide show to your site: Use a slide show to emphasize new products, to highlight products on sale, or even to display products that your customers might not usually find. You can create your own slide show with our tool or leverage your photos that you may already have on Flickr.

Let site visitors open a new browser window from a link: By adding a link on your Web site that opens another browser window, you can point your site visitors to other Web content without having them leave your Web site.

Add maps and directions to your site: Want to make it easy for customers to find your business? Add a map or driving directions to your business or other location on your Web site using the Map & Directions module.

Add a hit counter to your Web page: Hit counters keep a running total of the number of times that your page is viewed. They don't distinguish between the number of times that you look at your page and when a customer looks at your page. However, they do give a visual clue about the pages most used pages on your site.

Add a scrolling marquee to your Web page: Use scrolling marquees to highlight new products, post breaking news about an award that your company received, or let customers know that a special offer is about to end.

Understanding HTML Tools

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As we mentioned earlier, you really don’t need any special software or programs to work with HTML. Plenty of Web designers use nothing more than Microsoft Word to create HTML content.

Let’s decipher one more techie acronym here in case you run across it:

ASCII –– stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, the most common standard for handling text on computers. ASCII documents are basically text files, easily viewed and managed.

Because HTML works with any operating system – Windows, Mac, Linux – saving your HTML files in ASCII text format is the easiest and most effective way to go. In Microsoft Word, just choose “Simple Text,” “Text” or “Text Only” when it’s time to close and save your file.

Text editors are simpler than word processing programs, but cover your same needs for writing HTML. On PCs running the Windows or Vista operating system (or OS), you’ll find Notepad or WordPad built into all but the oldest versions; on Macs, it’s SimpleText.

There’s a big advantage, however, to getting an inexpensive program like the CoffeeCup HTML Editor, because it lets you easily switch between a text screen and a visual editor so you can see how your HTML looks on a Web page.

Important features

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Besides flexibility in design and function, these are some other important features to look for:

Growth Potential. Can the software grow with your business? Does it limit the number of products you can add to your Web site?
Special Offers. Just like brick-and-mortar stores, will it allow you to offer easy-to-use coupons, gift certificates, gift wrapping and other customer incentives?
Cross-selling. Does it include an option to automatically show products that are related to those already in your customer’s cart, and make it easy to add them to their purchase? This can be a significant boost to your sales.
Marketing. Does it include newsletter, e-mail, guestbook, blogging, affiliates linking and other marketing tools?
Top Sellers. Is it easy to highlight top-selling products on the home page, and allow shoppers to buy from there?
Track Sales. The best storefront and shopping cart designs include analytics for tracking sales, customer behaviour and other vital data.
Volumes Sales/Wholesale. Does it allow you to offer volume pricing and/or wholesaling?

Be sure it can optimize your site for search engines. The best packages include a function that generates search keywords and meta tags based on your content.

• Feedback. Encouraging customers to write reviews and comments is good for business, as are their testimonials about your excellent service, prices and quality.

Monitor Page Hits

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It is very important to statistically track visitors to your website. Web tracking software provides a wealth of information about website visitors that can help you improve your web content, navigational structure and "stickiness". Good information will help you formulate great strategies that will ultimately lower your costs and increase your revenues.

A good hit tracker provides answers to the following types of questions:

1. From which countries did my website visitors come from?

2. Which search engine did they use to find my site?

3. Which words or phrases did they search on?

4. Which sites and URLs are sending me traffic?

5. How did my visitors navigate through my site?

6. Which of my pages are the most and least popular?

Download Editor

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Unless you want to learn how to program, you will need to download a good HTML editor from the net. An HTML editor is tool that generates a computer program in HTML using a sophisticated word processor. There are many good HTML editors available and many are free.

For a more professional website, consider purchasing Microsoft Expression Web or Dreamweaver MX.

These feature rich products are inexpensive and can help you create very attractive and easy-to-maintain websites.

Once you have downloaded the program file, you'll need to install the HTML Editor on your machine.

Download Editor

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

For a more professional website, consider purchasing Microsoft Expression Web or Dreamweaver MX.

These feature rich products are inexpensive and can help you create very attractive and easy-to-maintain websites.

Once you have downloaded the program file, you'll need to install the HTML Editor on your machine.

What is SEO

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Search Engine Optimization is the process of making your Web site as easy to find as possible for search engines and, through them, your clients and customers.

For that to happen, your Web pages have to contain the keywords and phrases most likely to be used when a customer enters search requests in an engine, and your pages must be organized in way that’s most “friendly” to those high-tech seek-and-find services.

As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. Optimizing a website primarily involves editing its content and HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines.

Types of search engines

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There are two dominant types of search engines:

Crawler-Based - Google, Yahoo, MSN, Live.com and other top search engines operate automatically, coming up with their rankings by sending “spiders” out to “crawl” Web sites, analyze their contents and rank them according to how likely they are to have what users want.
Human-Powered Directories - These depend on Web site owners or someone working on their behalf to manually enter their listings, or enough information for directory editors to look over the site and write their own reviews. If you don’t submit your site to these directories, it won’t show up when they’re searched.

Search engine optimization methods

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Search engine optimization methods are techniques used by webmasters to get more visibility for their sites in search engine results pages.

· Getting indexed: The leading search engines, such as Google and Yahoo!, use crawlers to find pages for their algorithmic search results. Pages that are linked from other search engine indexed pages do not need to be submitted because they are found automatically. Some search engines, notably Yahoo!, operate a paid submission service that guarantee crawling for either a set fee or cost per click. Such programs usually guarantee inclusion in the database, but do not guarantee specific ranking within the search results. Two major directories, the Yahoo Directory and the Open Directory Project both require manual submission and human editorial review. Google offers Google Webmaster Tools, for which an XML Sitemap feed can be created and submitted for free to ensure that all pages are found, especially pages that aren't discoverable by automatically following links.

· Search engine crawlers may look at a number of different factors when crawling a site. Not every page is indexed by the search engines. Distance of pages from the root directory of a site may also be a factor in whether or not pages get crawled.

Cross linking between pages of the same website. Giving more links to main pages of the website, to increase PageRank used by search engines. Linking from other websites, including link farming and comment spam.
Keyword rich text in the webpage and key phrases, so as to match all search queries. Adding relevant keywords to a web page meta tags, including keyword stuffing.
URL normalization for web pages with multiple urls, using "canonical" meta tag.

Small Business SEO Checklist

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Small Business SEO Checklist

Commit yourself to the process

Be patient

Ask a lot of questions when hiring an SEO company

Have web analytics in place at the start

Include a site map page

Make SEO-friendly URLs

Do keyword research at the start of the project

Use a unique and relevant title and meta description on every page

Write for users first

Create great, unique content

Use your keywords as anchor text when linking internally

Build links intelligently

Use press releases and social media marketing wisely

Start a blog and participate with other related blogs

Take advantage of local search opportunities.

Take advantage of the tools the search engines give you

Diversify your traffic sources

Cloaking

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Cloaking is having two separate pages, one optimized for the search engines and a different one optimized for the viewer. In other words the search engine sees one page but the user is redirected to a different page when the link is clicked. Cloaking is a big no-no with Google.

Cloaking is a black hat search engine optimization (SEO) technique in which the content presented to the search engine spider is different to that presented to the user's browser. This is done by delivering content based on the IP addresses or the User-Agent HTTP header of the user requesting the page. When a user is identified as a search engine spider, a server-side script delivers a different version of the web page, one that contains content not present on the visible page. The purpose of cloaking is to deceive search engines so they display the page when it would not otherwise be displayed.

Black hat search engine optimization

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Black Hat search engine optimization is customarily defined as techniques that are used to get higher search rankings in an unethical manner. These black hat SEO techniques usually include one or more of the following characteristics:

· breaks search engine rules and regulations

· creates a poor user experience directly because of the black hat SEO techniques utilized on the Web site

· unethically presents content in a different visual or non-visual way to search engine spiders and search engine users.

Mistakes in Web Site Optimization

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Web site optimization is the practice of making your site search-friendly both to search engines and searchers. There are five common mistakes that people tend to make when beginning to optimize their sites for search engines.

1) Lack of Targeted Keywords and Phrases: A lack of targeted keywords and phrases can make or break your site. When a searcher goes to a search engine or directory and types in a keyword or keyword phrase that you would like to be found for - but you don't have these particular keywords and phrases on your site - then that searcher will most likely not be able to find you.

2) Poorly Written Content: Site content is the absolute number one draw for both search engine spiders and search engine/directory users. If your content is badly written, is never updated, or is not relevant to what you want to be found for, than your site is neither search engine friendly or user-friendly. In addition, your content absolutely must have targeted keywords and phrases (see mistake number 1). Well-written content is what search engine spiders feed on, and content is the key to high rankings.

3) Black Hat SEO Techniques: Black Hat web site optimization includes techniques that are unethical and frowned upon by search engine spiders. These techniques include keyword stuffing, doorway pages, invisible text, and more. These practices actually do raise your site ranking. However, search engine spiders have become very aware of Black Hat seo techniques and can spot them pretty easily (and ban your site). Don't go for the quick fix; learn how to optimize your site for the long haul.

4) Using Meta Tags Improperly or Not At All: Meta tags include title tags, keyword tags, and description tags. While not the absolute most important component in Web site optimization (that spot is reserved for keywords and content), they do have an important part to play. Make sure to include all these tags in every page of your site, and target them for each individual page.

5) A Badly Designed Site: Ineffective site design includes lack of clear navigation, poorly designed frames, and large, load-intensive graphics. Search engine spiders can actually be blocked from crawling sites that are not well-designed, so it's a major part of Web site optimization; plus, if users can't find what they want on your site quickly, they'll find another site.

Website Optimization Myths

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Website optimization is too difficult to understand for regular people.
There’s too much for me to learn about optimizing my site. I’ll never catch up.
Once I submit my Web site to search engines, I've got it made.
Website optimization just takes up too much time.

White hat versus black hat

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SEO techniques can be classified into two broad categories: techniques that search engines recommend as part of good design, and those techniques of which search engines do not approve. The search engines attempt to minimize the effect of the latter, among them spamdexing. Some industry commentators have classified these methods, and the practitioners who employ them, as either white hat SEO, or black hat SEO. White hats tend to produce results that last a long time, whereas black hats anticipate that their sites may eventually be banned either temporarily or permanently once the search engines discover what they are doing.

An SEO technique is considered white hat if it conforms to the search engines' guidelines and involves no deception. As the search engine guidelines are not written as a series of rules or commandments, this is an important distinction to note. White hat SEO is not just about following guidelines, but is about ensuring that the content a search engine indexes and subsequently ranks is the same content a user will see. White hat advice is generally summed up as creating content for users, not for search engines, and then making that content easily accessible to the spiders, rather than attempting to trick the algorithm from its intended purpose. White hat SEO is in many ways similar to web development that promotes accessibility, although the two are not identical.

Black hat SEO attempts to improve rankings in ways that are disapproved of by the search engines, or involve deception. One black hat technique uses text that is hidden, either as text colored similar to the background, in an invisible div, or positioned off screen. Another method gives a different page depending on whether the page is being requested by a human visitor or a search engine, a technique known as cloaking

Grey hat techniques

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Grey hat techniques are those that are neither really white nor black hat. Some of these gray hat techniques may be argued either way. These techniques might have some risk associated with them. A very good example of such a technique is purchasing links.

While Google is against sale and purchase of links there are people who subscribe to online magazines, memberships and other resources for the purpose of getting a link back to their website.

Cloaking versus IP Delivery

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IP delivery can be considered a more benign variation of cloaking, where different content is served based upon the requester's IP address. With cloaking, search engines and people never see the other's pages, whereas, with other uses of IP delivery, both search engines and people can see the same pages. This technique is sometimes used by graphics-heavy sites that have little textual content for spiders to analyze.

One use of IP delivery is to determine the requestor's location, and deliver content specifically written for that country. This isn't necessarily cloaking. For instance, Google uses IP delivery for AdWords and AdSense advertising programs to target users in different geographic locations.

IP delivery is a crude and unreliable method of determining the language in which to provide content. Many countries and regions are multi-lingual, or the requestor may be a foreign national. A better method of content negotiation is to examine the client's Accept-Language HTTP header.

Doorway pages

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In order to get a good listing in the search engines, some webmasters will load the home page with keywords. But a page filled with keywords comes across as nonsense to a human viewing the page. Therefore the webmaster will do a redirect to another page that is much easier to read (or have the user click a link to get to that page). This is basically cloaking. And as we now know, cloaking is a no-no.
Doorway pages are web pages that are created for spamdexing, this is, for spamming the index of a search engine by inserting results for particular phrases with the purpose of sending visitors to a different page. They are also known as bridge pages, portal pages, jump pages, gateway pages, entry pages and by other names. Doorway pages that redirect visitors without their knowledge use some form of cloaking.

Doorway construction

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A content rich doorway page must be constructed in a Search engine friendly (SEF) manner, otherwise it may be construed as search engine spam possibly resulting in the page being banned from the index for an undisclosed amount of time.

These types of doorways utilize (but are not limited to) the following:

Content Vs. Keyword density strategies in order to rank higher in the index
SEF navigation for easy spidering
Alt - Title Attributed images for key word support
Title Attributed links for key word support

Keep in mind that doorway pages are normally used for targeted product recognition and or primary site viability support.

What's Wrong With Doorway Pages?

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Doorway pages are, in a nutshell, bad SEO. The basic philosophy of search engine optimization is very simple, and it does not include building invisible (at least to users) pages full of keyword gobbledygook in the hopes of getting ranked just a bit higher in the search results. Plus, search engines spiders are becoming more intuitive, and doorway pages can be ignored, or even banned altogether.

Most, if not all search engines, have guidelines prohibiting the use of doorway pages, or at least the general idea of them. Doorway pages are considered "spammy", and spammy SEO practices might work in the short-term but in the long run they can get your site flagged for review and censure. Plus, using these kind of techniques tends to bring down the general trustworthiness of your site.

Unfortunately, many, many pseudo-SEO consultants will tell you that doorway pages are the “only” way to get your site to the top of the heap; and will recommend you buy costly software that will churn these pages out, and fast.

However, all these doorway pages just create useless clutter in the search engine results, making the search process even less effective. In addition, these magical software packages expect a lot of work from you, the user. You have to come up with keywords, key phrases, keyword density, fill out templates, Meta tags, etc. It makes me tired just thinking about it. Honestly, if you’re willing to do that for doorway pages, an unethical and short-sighted way to approach search engine optimization, then you might as well optimize your site for search the right way.

Perhaps you are facing the unique dilemma of a site that does not have any keyword-dense content or effective Meta tags. You might be thinking that the only way for your site to get ranked is to buy that nifty software and start cranking out the doorway pages. To this particular situation I would say this: Fix Your Site. Don’t settle for the so-called “easy” solution. Every page of your site needs to be optimized for search.

Search Engines and Doorway Pages

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Search engines all are looking for the same basic thing, which are good sites filled with good content. Simple. It’s not rocket science. There’s really no need for fancy doorway pages that redirect users to the “real” site, or other such clever tricks. If you have a site with thoughtfully placed keywords and key phrases, well-written content, and effective Meta tags, then you don’t need a doorway page

Good SEO and Doorway Pages Don't Mix

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If you have a site, and this site is on the Web, and you’re done your SEO homework, it eventually will be found. Every well-optimized site already has a natural entryway; which is just the main page. And, of course, (if you have more than one page) you will have an efficient navigation system that users can use to get to the rest of your site. If you have these elements, guess what? You already have a doorway page (but without all the unethical-ness).

Search engines vs. directories

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Many people think of search engines and directories as the same thing. In reality there is a big difference between them. While the difference between them is pretty much un-noticeable to a person who is searching the web, understanding the difference is critical to getting your site displayed highly in the search results.

A directory is a searchable database of web pages that are reviewed, selected, and categorised by humans. A search engine "crawls the web" by following links from web page to web page and website to website. You don't even have to submit your site to a search engine in order for it to "find" your site and place it in the index for searching.

Making Your Own Web Site

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Making your own web site is easier than you think. It is also very inexpensive. This article will show you what to expect and how to start making your own web site in just two steps.

First of all, why should you make a website? There are a number of good reasons . First, you will have a central place to organize your favorite things and communicate with people with similar interests. There will be no limitations like there are with free sites and personal pages on Facebook or MySpace. Another reason is that it is extremely rewarding as a hobby or pastime. Making your own web site may also be rewarding financially. Having your own professional site may just earn you income and possibly end up being a successful career. So lets get started.

To have a professional website, you need a web host. This is very easy to set up, and its very inexpensive. A top of the line web host will only cost you less than $4.00 a month or less than $48. a year. Your host will provide the domain name of your choice, there is no reason to purchase your domain name separately.

The host will provide all the tools you need to create a great site. Tools include unlimited space, unlimited emails, autoresponder, and great applications to create your site like WordPress and Joomla.You do not need to know HTML to create your site. The host will also provide tutorials and around the clock support to help you create your website. Even if you've never created a site before, your web host will make it easy.

The second step is to actually create the site using the software the host provides. Ajiboye is a good choice if you are just starting out. Ajiboye makes making your own web site easy and fun. You start out by choosing a theme and then adding your posts in a small word processor. You can start out with just a couple of posts and add to it as you go along. You don't need to have a finished product to have your website online. Many of the best websites have started like this, with just a post or two. You can add content a little at a time. Soon your website will be full of content.

That is the two main steps to making your own web site. You will find it rewarding to get your host and start creating your website. You will feel a sense of accomplishment as the site takes form. It will become fun to interact with others who have come to your site. The icing on the cake is if your site starts to make money. So whats holding you back? Less than four dollars.

How To Get Started On Your First Successful E-business

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How To Get Started On Your First Successful E-business

If you have already tried to build a site and failed because it did not become a business, I applaud your determination. Persistence is important, as long as you eventually find the right way to succeed online. If this is your first attempt, I'm happy you're here!

I'm going to boil down my seven years of learning into a small number of points that you simply must understand and do to build an e-business. (I apologize for sounding so insistent, but it's a shame to see most people fail for all the wrong reasons.) Here are the keys to building your first successful e-business:

Point #1) It All Boils Down To Process And Tools

If you use the wrong process, you doom yourself before you even start. I could take pages to explain this, but I'll send you to that company, sitesell.com, for an excellent explanation of Content-Traffic-PREsell-Monetize. (Don't go any deeper into their site. It has so much superb information, but I have more to tell you. So please come back.)

Once you understand the process, your entire approach changes. But you need the right tools to execute the process. These tools help you choose the right niche (and to avoid the wrong ones), to eliminate all the technical barriers that will stop you and allow you to focus on business, to do so much more for you that I can't even being to explain them all.

Now, I use my own tools. They cost thousands of dollars and took me years to master. I lost thousands more on the wrong tools (but that sounded good at the time). If I was starting over today, I would skip that learning curve and just use Site Build It! (the "It!" is the independence that comes from building a successful Web business).

This product has come so far over the years that I've followed it. It covers all the basics and is always on the cutting edge. They continuously add new tools, eliminating your need to follow all the latest trends, avoiding wasting your time on things that don't work.

They integrate every major trend, from blogging to social media marketing, into their product. Their customers benefit, often just by clicking a button to add the new functionality to their businesses.

Here's a list of the tools that they provide. Please review the list and explanations so you get a better idea of what's involved in building a successful Web business. Then come right back, please.

Point #2) Understand How Process And Tools Fit Together

This video shows how every small e-business should be built. It gives you the basics of what I've learned myself over the last 7 years. Instead of years, all it will take you to watch it is 30 minutes!

Point #3) Don't Just Start. Research and Choose The Right Product For You

Do you remember when I asked if the goal was to earn money? The answer was always "yes". Well, that means that those people want to be in business.

And that means you do research to be sure you choose a good home for your business. You look for proof of success. Real success. Not just a host that shows you pretty sites with nice stories, but no traffic. Look for real, documented success that grows.

Anyone (who is willing to work) can build a successful e-business, from a teenager like Nori, a 15-year old who makes enough to support herself through college to Claude a 64 year old "accidental" business man, who is having a blast building several income generating web sites.

Spend some time on that Web page with Nori's and Claude's stories. There are many other inspiring case studies there, too. None of them had ever built a successful Web business before. And notice how they even update their stories, some of them over many years.

That is success. First-time successful e-businesses.

Point #4 Choose An All-In-One Business Builder

You can waste a lot of time trying to keep up with all the Internet Marketing news out there. You can waste a lot of time (and money) on all kinds of tools. Unless you want to be a professional Webmaster like me, you don't need to do any of that.

Instead, choose a business-building product that...

* Delivers process and tools, all tied together to enable you to make step-by-step progress.

* Provides tons of proof of success with data you can verify.

* Helps with both the technical and "human side" of a website. These programs are ideal for beginners. They are also perfect for those with much "Internet marketing" experience but who have yet to succeed online.

* Has a helpful community and staff who act as great guides. They provide suggestions and practical help.

* Has a solid money-back guarantee -- if something happens which by circumstance won't allow you to continue, you get your money back.

There are very few all-in-one e-business creation and marketing programs. Of those few, only one has a 10 year proven track record that I highly recommend. In case you have not guessed yet, it is Site Build It.

Why Make Web Sites Universally Accessible

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Introduction

The issue of accessibility of Graphic Interfaces is by no means recent. Software developers have been dealing with it even before the Internet appeared. Because operating systems like Windows are so popular with home and business computer users, it has become necessary to address accessibility as a real issue.

With the birth of the World Wide Web it has become obvious that transmitting and sharing information was suddenly much easier. However, with its extraordinary development the accessibility issues became more and more obvious. New tools, new technology that change rapidly year after year, can make the web less accessible.

What is 'Accessibility'

When talking about the web (although the concept applies to other domains as well), we talk about how information in web sites can be accessed by people with physical disabilities, but also those with limitations such as the ones mentioned below.

People who have physical disabilities:

* May be visually impaired - colour blind

* May have disabilities preventing them from reading or comprehending the text properly - dyslexia

* May not have or are unable to use a keyboard or mouse.

Other limitations:

* May have a text screen only, or a small sized screen

* May have their hands, eyes or ears otherwise engaged (such as in driving etc).

* May have older browsers, other browsers or voice browsers or other operating systems

* May not speak or understand the language the information is written in

While people with limitations find certain web sites inaccessible only at times, people suffering from permanent physical disabilities must be aided into enjoying and using the Internet like everyone else. Access to information should not be restricted to anyone, especially when they are not at fault but the technology and software used. People with disabilities of any form have the right and should be aided into reaching the information they seek quickly and easily.

Still not clear. Why design universally accessible web sites?

Leaving aside the ethical issue, if web sites were accessible to everyone, you would be enabling more Internet users to visit your website. This reason alone can have a lot of benefits for any type of website including the commercial ones. The more people visit your website the more people are likely to become customers.

Voice browsers and users with disabilities

Visualy impared users may use a voice browser. A voice browser interprets the source code of web page and renders the content of the page in audio output. Voice browsers, unlike other standard browsers bring up a lot of web design issues that make surfing the Internet very difficult. The current accessibility guidelines are designed in order to address and solve these issues and help web designers come up with universal (or as close to it as possible) design solution for all users.

General Design Principles

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Don’t showoff. Of course you want photos and other graphic images to tell your company’s story in the best way. And without some eye candy, any Web page won’t work. But use only what’s needed to enhance your central message and tell it quickly and clearly in an attractive setting.
Never make your customers work to get the information they need.
Keep it clean. Empty white space on your Web pages is itself a design element. Use enough to keep each page uncluttered. Do the same if you decide to use a dark background.
Never use dark text on dark backgrounds, or for that matter, light colored text on a white background. Black-on-white is a safe bet.
Make your text as concise and straightforward as possible. Don’t waste words – they waste your customers’ time. And break up long paragraphs.
Choose colors carefully.
Use successful models.

Pages every Website should have

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Contact us. Every small-business site should have a Contact Us page and it should offer visitors a complete list of ways they can contact you – from e-mail addresses to toll-free numbers to a physical address.
Testimonials. Having a page like this may seem self-promotional, people will look for it. And when they don’t find it, they might begin to make assumptions.
FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are frequently forgotten, too. Mostly, they’ll ensure you won’t have to answer the same questions over and over. But it also is a convenience for site visitors.
A "gimme" page: Add a section where users can be persuaded to give up some of their personal information such as their names and e-mail addresses in exchange for … well, something else
About Us. But just because you can do business with people you might never meet doesn’t mean they don’t want to know about who they’re doing business with. The most effective About Us pages are succinct and use no jargon.

What are browser cookies?

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In computing, a cookie (also tracking cookie, browser cookie, and HTTP cookie) is a small piece of text stored on a user's computer by a web browser. A cookie consists of one or more name-value pairs containing bits of information such as user preferences, shopping cart contents, the identifier for a server-based session, or other data used by websites.

You can say, cookies are small files created by some websites and stored on your computer's hard disk. It's the job of the web browser to handle the cookies information it receives from different websites.

In fact, in all modern web browsers, cookies can be managed via the options and settings section and you can even choose to disable this feature altogether.

Information stored in cookies

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Cookies can store any kind of information though there is generally a limit to the length to the data and file size. But cookies cannot pick up and store your personal details such as name or email address on their own unless you provide it on the website. Having said that, even if you do submit your personal details, it is up to the web developer and the "cookie-creating" program he wrote which will determine whether this information is kept in the cookie.

Home page:

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The index page of a website with menu options or links to other resources on the site. Usually denoted as index.htm.

This is the starting point or front page of a website. This page usually has some sort of table of contents on it and often describes the purpose of the site.

When you type in a basic URL, you are typically directed to the home page of the Website.

Many people have a "personal home page," which is another way the term "home page" can be used.

FTP

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The File Transfer Protocol is a method to transfer (download and send) files from one computer to the other over the Internet. The objectives of FTP are to:

· promote file (programs or data) sharing

· efficiently transfer data from one computer to another

· encourage indirect or implicit use of remote computers

· provide a common platform for file storages among different hosts

The File Transfer Protocol is generally used by web developers to upload websites to the host - the computer that stores the website

HTML

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HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the "mother tongue" of your browser. HTML was invented in 1990 by a scientist called Tim Berners-Lee. The purpose was to make it easier for scientists at different universities to gain access to each other's research documents. The project became a bigger success than Tim Berners-Lee had ever imagined.

By inventing HTML he laid the foundation for the web as we know it today.

HTML is a language, which makes it possible to present information (e.g. scientific research) on the Internet. What you see when you view a page on the Internet is your browser's interpretation of HTML.

To see the HTML code of a page on the Internet, simply click "View" in the top menu of your browser and choose "Source". HTML is used to make websites.

It’s as user-friendly as code gets, and you don’t need anything more than a word processor or simple text editor – like Notepad – to write or manipulate it. And it works on any kind of computer with any operating system.

What is HyperText?

Hypertext means that some text in the HTML document carries a link to a different location. Such links can be present either on the same page or some other page located on another computer page. On clicking this 'hot spot', the viewer is transferred to that location.

What is Markup?

Markup means that specific portions of a document are marked up to indicate how they should be displayed in the browser.

Characteristics of the HTML

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The main characteristics of the HTML are:

HTML is a computer language used to create Web pages
HTML was developed from a more powerful and elaborate computer language called Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)
A Web page consists of only text and special instructions called tags < >
Most tags have an opening tag and a closing tag. They come in pair. The closing tag has a forward slash </...>. Some tags have only an opening tag
Some tags can have attributes to offer options for the tag
An HTML document usually has the .htm or .html extension
A Web browser interprets the tags in an HTML document and displays the document on the computer screen
HTML documents transfer quickly over the Internet since they only contain text, however, accompanying graphic files might slow down the transfer process
An HTML document can be displayed on any type of computer (Macintosh, IBM compatible, UNIX)

Elements in HTML

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Elements give structure to a HTML document and tell the browser how you want your website to be presented. Generally elements consist of a start tag, some content, and an end tag. HTML is all about elements

In an HTML document, HTML elements are tags, as well as text, which act as indicators to a web browser as to how the document is to be interpreted by the browser and ultimately presented on the user's computer screen.

HTML elements may be either containers or empty.

Container elements are constructed with:

a start tag (<tag>) marking the beginning of an element, which may incorporate:
- any number of attributes (including their values);
- some amount of content (text, other elements);
an end tag, in which the element name is prepended with a forward slash: </tag>. (note: In some forms of HTML the end tag is optional for some container elements.)

Empty elements consist of only a single tag, with any attributes. (The tag may have a slash appended: <tag /> – in XHTML this is required.)

What is an attribute?

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Attributes define desired behavior or indicate additional element properties.

As you probably remember, elements give structure to a HTML document and tells the browser how you want your website to be presented (for example, <br /> informs the browser to make a line break). In some elements you can add more information. Such additional information is called an attribute.

<h2 style="background-color:#ff0000;">My friendship with HTML</h2>

Attributes are always written within a start tag and are followed by an equals sign and the attribute details written between inverted commas. The semicolon after the attribute is for separating different style commands. This is the colour code for red using so called hexadecimal numbers (HEX). Each colour has its own hexadecimal number.

Here are some examples:

White: #ffffff

Black: #000000 (zeros)

Red: #ff0000

Blue: #0000ff

Green: #00ff00

Yellow: #ffff00

A hexadecimal colour code consists of # and six digits or letters. There are more than 1000 HEX codes and it is not easy to figure out which HEX code is tied to a specific colour

With the style attribute you can add layout to your website.

Forms in HTML

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A form in XHTML or HTML is one of the most common ways used by the developers.

A form is an area that can contain form elements.
Form elements are elements that allow the user to enter information (like text fields, textarea fields, drop-down menus, radio buttons, checkboxes, etc.) in a form.
A form is defined with the <form> tag.

The following elements can make up the user-inputting portion of a form:

input field
- text – a simple text box that allows input of a single line of text
- checkbox – a check box
- radio – a radio button
- file – a file select control for uploading a file
- reset – a reset button that, when activated, tells the browser to restore the values to their initial values.
- submit – a button that tells the browser to take action on the form (typically to send it to a server)
textarea – much like the text input field except a textarea allows for multiple rows of data to be shown and entered
select – a drop-down list that displays a list of items a user can select from

Save and view the Web page

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Save your Web page in HTML editor
You need to save your Web page in order to be able to reuse it. Your web page should be displayed onscreen.

Choose File from the Menu bar, and click on Save.

Select the name you wish to give to that file, and add an .htm extension. If you want to change the file name click on Save as and give it another name.

View your Web page using Netscape Navigator

In order to see what your Web page looks like, you need to load it into Netscape. Open Netscape (if not already open), click on Menu bar, select File, click on Open File in Browser and select the name of you Web page file.

Lists HTML support

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There are two main types of lists supported by HTML:

Unordered lists: Makes an HTML collection of related items with no special order or sequence. An unordered list is a list of items. The list items are marked with bullets (typically small black circles).

An unordered list starts with the <ul> tag. Each list item starts with the <li> tag.

Syntax: Syntax:

<UL>

<LI>

...

</UL>

Ordered lists: An ordered list is also a list of items. The list items are marked with numbers. Makes an HTML collection of related items in specific order or sequence.

An ordered list starts with the <ol> tag. Each list item starts with the <li> tag.

Syntax:

<OL>

<LI>

...

</OL>

Mistakes every website should avoid

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1. A confusing or counterintuitive site structure: Nothing drives users away faster than a site that forces them to click around aimlessly until they stumble upon the right page. An expert user should be able to get where she wants to be in no more than three clicks.

2. Making the menu too complicated: Menus are the rough equivalent of a Website’s spine. You want to keep them clear, straight, and strong. Navigation is normally found running horizontally across the top of a page in a tab-like orientation or stacked vertically along the left side of the page. No funny coding. No funny scripts.

3. Lapsing into industry jargon: An overabundance of marketing-speak and technical or industry jargon is a very common mistake. Your goal should be striking that balance between efficient search engine optimization and easy-to-read copy.

4. Overpromising, or even under-promising: A website becomes unusable, and thus irrelevant, when it tells users that it will do something and then does not do it. That will drive those visitors away. Permanently.

Web Hosting

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Unless you own or plan to invest in a server you need to find and hire a reliable Web host. It is like someone who accepts you into their home and tends to your needs, a web host accepts your site into its computers, securely stores all of your files and data, and ensures that it will be available every day, around the clock, to you and your customers.

The host handles most of your other technical needs, including up-to-date backups of your entire site, properly tuning the software and giving you enough bandwidth to keep from slowing down your site’s functions and how fast the pages load.

Just remember, you will be placing your entire Website and all its functions in the host’s safekeeping, so don’t be tempted to use anything but a well-established outfit with a proven track record. There’s plenty of comparative information, user reviews and other critical material online to provide this confidence.

Upload Web Page

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Copying files from your hard drive to the server is a simple process. The host site will prompt you for the name of the directory on your hard drive where your files are stored and the names of the specific files to be uploaded. To avoid confusion, make certain that all files are saved on the server using the same file names that were used on your hard drive. The only software that you require to upload files is a web browser such as Netscape or Internet Explorer. Alternatively, free FTP software (File Transfer Protocol) can be used.

Once you have uploaded all your files, you should test your page on the web server and make certain that it functions properly and that all files have uploaded correctly. It is also a good idea to test your page using a different computer to ensure that graphic files are being read from the server and not from your hard drive.

It is now time to congratulate yourself. You have published your very first page!

Define links

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Links are buttons or jumps, to other WWW documents. They may also take you to another section in the current WWW document.

WWW documents may contain both textual and graphical links. Textual links are text, which are emphasized by being a different color than the rest of the text, and may be underlined. Once a textual link is used, it will become another color, indicating it was used.

It basically enables linking within your Web page, or from your Web page to other Websites and page.

Graphical links are graphics which serve as links, or buttons, to other sections or documents. For example, the buttons on the left are graphical links. You can determine a graphical links two different ways. First, the mouse arrow will turn into a hand with a finger pointing towards the top of the screen. Graphical links may also contain a colored "boxed" border around it, which should be the same color as the textual links.

Syntax:

<A HREF="..."> ...some text... </A> ("some text" could be text or an image)

HTML -- paragraphs

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The <p> tag defines a paragraph. Using this tag places a blank line above and below the text of the paragraph. These automated blank lines are examples of how a tag "marks" a paragraph and the web browser automatically understands how to display the paragraph text because of the paragraph tag.

HTML Code:

<p>For instance, let's say you had a HUGE school...</p>

Paragraph Justification

Paragraphs can be formatted in HTML much the same as you would expect to find in a word processing program. Here the align attribute is used to "justify" our paragraph.

<p align="justify">For instance, let's say you had a HUGE school or work...</p>

Paragraph Centering

<p align="center">For instance, let's say you had a HUGE school or work...</p>

Align Right

<p align="right">For instance, let's say you had a HUGE school or work...</p>

HTML -- headings

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A heading in HTML is just what you might expect, a title or subtitle. By placing text inside of <h1> (heading) tags, the text displays bold and the size of the text depends on the number of heading (1-6). Headings are numbered 1-6, with 1 being the largest heading and 6 being the smallest.

<body>

</body>

HTML: Line Breaks

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Line breaks are different then most of the tags we have seen so far. A line break ends the line you are currently on and resumes on the next line. Placing <br /> within the code is the same as pressing the return key in a word processor. Use the <br /> tag within the <p> (paragraph) tag.

<p>

To<br />

The principal<br />

Anand School<br />

</p>

HTML: Formatting Elements

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As you begin to place more and more elements onto your web site, it will become necessary to make minor changes to the formatting of those elements. In our HTML Attributes lesson we discussed ways to add some flavor with attributes and align elements within other elements. Several tags exist to further amplify text elements. These formatting tags can make text bold, italic, sub/superscripted, and more.

HTML Code:

<p>An example of <b>Bold Text</b></p>

<p>An example of <em>Emphasized Text</em></p>

<p>An example of <strong>Strong Text</strong></p>

<p>An example of <i>Italic Text</i></p>

<p>An example of <sup>superscripted Text</sup></p>

<p>An example of <sub>subscripted Text</sub></p>

<p>An example of <del>struckthrough Text</del></p>

<p>An example of <code>Computer Code Text</code></p>

HTML - Font and Basefont

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The <font> tag is used to add style, size, and color to the text on your site. Use the size, color, and face attributes to customize your fonts. Use a <basefont> tag to set all of your text to the same size, face, and color.

The font and basefont tags are deprecated and should not be used. Instead, use css styles to manipulate your font. See our CSS Tutorial for more information.

Font Size

Set the size of your font with size. The range of accepted values is from 1(smallest) to 7(largest).The default size of a font is 3.

HTML Code:

<p>

</p>

Font Color:

Set the color of your font with color.

HTML Code:

<font color="#990000">This text is hexcolor #990000</font>

<br />

Font Face

Choose a different font face using any font you have installed. Be aware that if the user viewing the page doesn't have the font installed, they will not be able to see it. Instead they will default to Times New Roman. An option is to choose a few that are similar in appearance.

HTML Code:

<p>

<font face="Bookman Old Style, Book Antiqua, Garamond">This paragraph

has had its font...</font>

</p>

Basefont - Set a Solid Base

With the basefont tag you will be able to set the default font for your web page. We highly recommend specifying a basefont if you plan on using any font with HTML. Below is the correct way to set your basefont.

HTML Code:

<html>

<body>

<p>This paragraph has had its font...</p>

</basefont>

</body>

</html>

First Letter Style

Customize your fonts to achieve any of your desired looks.

HTML Code:

<p><font size="7" face="Georgia, Arial" color="maroon">C</font>ustomize

your font to achieve a desired look.</p>

HTML - Hypertext Reference (href)

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The href attribute defines reference that the link refers to. Basically this is where the user will be taken if they wish to click this link.

Hypertext references can be Internal, Local, or Global.

•Internal - Links to anchors on the current page

•Local - Links to other pages within your domain

•Global - Links to other domains outside of your site

HTML Code:

Internal - href="#anchorname"

Local - href="../pics/picturefile.jpg"

Global - href=http://www.tizag.com/

HTML - Links

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HTML - Text Links

Use the <a></a> tags to define the start and ending of an anchor. Decide what type of href attribute you need and place this attribute into the opening tag. The text you place between the opening and closing tags will be shown as the link on a page. Use the demonstration below as a reference.

HTML Code:

<a href="http://www.tizag.com/" target="_blank" >Tizag Home</a>

<a href="http://www.yahoo.com/" target="_blank" >Yahoo Home</a>

HTML - Link Targets

The target attribute defines whether to open the page in a separate window, or to open the link in the current browser window.

HTML Code:

target=" _blank" Opens new page in a new browser window _self" Loads the new page in current window _parent" Loads new page into a frame that is superior to

where the link lies _top" Loads new page into the current browser window,

cancelling all frames

HTML â�� entities

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An entity is a fancy term for a symbol. Several symbols such as copyright, trademark, or foreign cash symbols exist outside of the ones you see on your keyboard. In order to display them. In order to display these characters, you need to know 4 parts.

There's three parts to every entity.

HTML Code:

•Each begins with a ampersand - &

•Then the entities name - copy

•And finally a semicolon - ;

Expect complications if you forget to include all three parts of an entity.

Additional Spaces and <>.

As you have may have learned within paragraph and heading tags, browsers will only recognize and format 1 space between words reguardless of how many you may actually type in your coded HTML. An entity exists for placing additional spaces.

Here's an example.

HTML Code:

<p>Everything that goes up, must come     down!</p>

Spaces:

Everything that goes up, must come down!

In HTML we use less than and greater than characters to create tags, so to use them on your web site you will need entities.

HTML Code:

<p>

Less than - < <br />

Greater than - > <br />

Body tag - <body>

</p>

Create HTML Email

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Making an HTML email link on your page is quick and simple. However, you should know that when you place your email on your website, it is very easy for computer experts to run programs to harvest these types of emails for spamming.

HTML Email Tag

There actually is not a separate HTML tag for creating an HTML email link. Instead you use a standard HTML anchor tag <a> and set the href property equal to the email adddress, rather than specifying a web URL. This is probably confusing and may take a little while to get used to.

HTML Code:

<a href= "mailto:abc@mail.com" >Email Example</a>

Additional HTML Email Code

By adding a couple extra goodies onto the email address in href you can have both the SUBJECT and the BODY of the email automatically populated for your visitors. This is great when receiving emails from a website to an email account that handles more mail than just from that one link on your site.

By defining a uniform subject that people will automatically have when clicking the link you will be able to tell right away whether or not an email came from the website or from another source (as long as your visitors don't mess with the subject that you give them).

•Subject - Populates the subject of the email with the information that you provide.

•Body - Populates the body of the email with the information that you provide.

HTML Code:

<a href= "mailto: a@b.com?subject=Web Page Email&body=This email

is from your website" >

2nd Email Example</a>

HTML tables

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Tables may seem difficult at first, but after working through this lesson you'll see how they aren't too bad. The <table> tag is used to begin a table. Within a table element are the <tr> (table rows) and <td> (table columns) tags. Tables are a handy way to create a site's layout, but it does take some getting used to. Here's how to make a table.

HTML Code:

</table>

Basic Table:

Row 1 Cell 1 Row 1 Cell 2

Row 2 Cell 1 Row 2 Cell 2

Content is placed within tables cells. A table cell is defined by <td> and </td>.The border attribute defines how wide the table's border will be.

Spanning Multiple Rows and Cells

Use rowspan to span multiple rows and colspan to span multiple columns.

Note: if you would like to place headers at the top of your columns, use the <th> tag as shown below. By default these headers are bold to set them apart from the rest of your table's content.

HTML Code:

<tr>

<th>Column 1</th>

<th>Column 2</th>

<th>Column 3</th>

</tr>

</table>

Colspan and Rowspan:

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3

Row 1 Cell 1 Row 1 Cell 2 Row 1 Cell 3

Row 2 Cell 2 Row 2 Cell 3

Row 3 Cell 1

Cell Padding and Spacing

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With the cellpadding and cellspacing attributes you will be able to adjust the white space on your tables. Spacing defines the width of the border, while padding represents the distance between cell borders and the content within. Color has been added to the table to emphasize these attributes.

HTML Code:

<table border="1" cellspacing="10"

bgcolor="rgb(0,255,0)">

<tr>

<th>Column 1</th>

<th>Column 2</th>

</tr>

</table>

Cellspacing and Padding:

Column 1 Column 2

Row 1 Cell 1 Row 1 Cell 2

Row 2 Cell 1 Row 2 Cell 2

And now we will change the cellpadding of the table and remove the cellspacing from the previous example.

HTML Code:

<tr>

<th>Column 1</th>

<th>Column 2</th>

</tr>

</table>

Cell Pads:

Column 1 Column 2

Row 1 Cell 1 Row 1 Cell 2

Row 2 Cell 1 Row 2 Cell 2

The value you specify for padding and spacing is interpreted by the browser as a pixel value you. So a value of 10 is simply 10 pixels wide. Most attributes that use numeric values for their measurements use pixels.

HTML - Comments

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A comment is a way for you as the web page developer to control what lines of code are to be ignored by the web browser.

There are three main reasons you may want your code to be ignored.

•Writing notes or reminders to yourself inside your actual HTML documents.

•Scripting languages such as Javascript require some commenting.

•Temporarily commenting out elements especially if the element has been left unfinished.

Use the last example place text inside your code and documents that the web browser will ignore. This is a great way to place little notes to yourself or to remind yourself what pieces of code are doing what.

As you can see comment syntax may be a little complicated, there is an opening and a closing much like tags.

•<!-- Opening Comment

•-- > Closing Comment

Placing notes and reminders to yourself is a great way to remember your thoughts and to keep track elements embedded in your webpages. Also, your code may exist for many years, these notes to yourself are a great way to remember what was going on as you may not remember 5 or more years down the road.

All combinations of text placed within the comment tags will be ignored by the web browser, this includes any HTML tags, scripting language(s), etc.

PLAN YOUR WEB SITE

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The tools for planning your web site can be as simple as paper and pencil or as complicated as mind-mapping applications. Whatever you use, the important thing to do is plan. Planning helps you avoid those "Under Construction" pages that many web builders insert as placeholders. But when you get a picture of your site right before your eyes, you don't need those placeholders. You can plan future expansion and navigation to it.

Before you start drawing your Web site, write down the type of content you plan to offer. Don't worry about how it will get into the page. You can use a content management system (CMS) to do that. Focus on how to break down the content for your audience. For example, let's plan a Web site for your kitchen. You have the sink, its functions, and all the items you use to maintain it. Then there's your refrigerator, so think about how it is used several times a day, how it does what it does, and the kinds of problems you might have with it. Also, there's your cooktop, your oven, your microwave, and on and on. Each would have its own section, probably with several pages. Whatever your subject matter, plot it out.

Drawing a diagram or picture of your planned Web site helps you determine the appropriate design, most efficient navigation, and best possible layout to accommodate expansion. After the plan is set, your next move is to settle on a CMS.

A CMS helps you keep the Web site layout focused on the plan. You can set up templates and of course, easily maintain current content as well as incorporate new material. A CMS automates numerous activities, such as publishing, storing, and retrieving, not to mention creating and editing. With CMS, you have the ability to control versions of a Web page. You can monitor activity with status reports.

Making your plan gives you a good start on building a Web site through a content management system and making the best use of its capabilities. It helps you identify problems before you attempt the solution.

Tips on Building a Commercial Website

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When building a commercial website, it is important to think globally. Not all your visitors will be proficient in the English language. They also might not share your culture, or your taste. Ask yourself, how your website can be different from your competitors? What are the different products or services you can offer them?

When developing a commercial website, you may be in need of many different skill sets. You may need someone to help define your goals and objectives. You might need a researcher, a writer, a programmer. It is not likely you yourself will have all the skills needed to develop a commercial website. When you find yourself needing these different skills, you may need professional web services.

When choosing a professional web service, inexpensive is not always best. Often times cheap also refers to the type of service and products you will receive. If you are looking for reliable, professional web services, take your time to find the right one that will fit your needs, as well as your budget.

What Is a Domain Name?

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Every website needs a domain name. It is a unique string of letters or numbers or a combination of both that identifies a Web site. They are used in a diverse array of networking contexts and for application specific naming and addressing purposes. Essentially, a domain name identifies one or more IP addresses.

Domain names can be registered for a minimum of 1 and maximum of 10 years. During that time you have the right to do whatever you want with your domain. Domain registering services are available through many different avenues.

The registration of domain names is usually administered by domain name registrars who sell their services to the public. A few companies offer low-cost, below-cost or even free domain registrations.

With services that are free, there are a variety of ways used to recover the costs to the provider. This may mean they would require that the domains be hosted on their website, within a framework or portal that most probably will hold advertising. This creates revenue to recoup the cost of the domain. If you do not wish to have advertising on your domain that profits others, you may wish to consider a low cost domain registration service.

How Do I Choose a Domain Name?

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There are many things to consider when choosing a domain name. Choose carefully as the domain name is ultimately what will represent you and the products or services you wish to offer.

A good domain name should be relatively short. It is important for several reasons. It will be more easy to fit in to logos, is more easily recognizably, harder to misspell, and most importantly memorable.

To make your domain name memorable it should be unique. It also helps if it rhymes or repeats sounds. Say your domain name out loud to listen to its sounds. If your tongue gets twisted, it may not be the right domain name for you. Whatever domain name you choose, you should be able to easily remember it.

A good domain name also is not easily confused with others. Make sure your name is not already used in another domain name by doing a search first. Simply adding hyphens to your domain is unwise since it can be easily confused in a search with another domain.

Lastly, your domain name should relate to your business name or core business. Don’t give up if you can’t find the exact domain name for your business name. Find a functional name that describes your business, services, or main products.

Choosing a Website Designer

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When choosing a professional website designer, first take a look at their business website. Is it professional? Does their website have unique design characteristics that required custom work, or does it look like it was just slapped together?

Look for a portfolio of work you like from your prospective website designer. It is also helpful if they have a “Contact Us” page and a “Live Chat” to reach them at.

Identify a product or service that you require and that the company provides. Contact the company via “Live Chat” or email. Calling the prospective web design company is not recommended as a phone can literally be answered anytime, anywhere. To be effective, your web designer should be at their computer and ready to complete work. This also allows you to observe how quickly they will respond to your needs, as well as how available they will be to you.

Don’t be shy about asking questions. Be sure to ask how their process works. Lay out all your plans and explain your needs clearly. Do they provide a creative brief or questionnaire? This will make it easier for both parties to map a plan and create a website with all your intentions in mind.

Once you have screened the process by reviewing provider’s sites and contacting them for you questions, the next step is to look at prices. If you are comfortable with both the web designer’s offer of services and their price, you are ready to begin!

Writing an effective copy

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Writing an effective web copy is a special skill and you need to edit and rewrite your draft along some specific guidelines. The broader ones:

· Don’t make your website look or read like an ad.

· Keep your copy concise and use bullets, if possible.

· Engage users in personal experience.

· Keep it simple and kill jargon.

· Make your customers feel welcome, at home and included and write like you’re talking face-to-face, using contractions if it sounds natural.

· You’re not done until you spell-check your copy, then print it out and proofread, proofread again, and do it a few more times.

· Bad grammar, misspellings, especially names, and other basic errors will make you look like an amateur, not the world-beating pro you really are.

· Invite others to read over your text and point out errors, or hire a freelance copy editor.

· If you don’t think you can handle the copywriting yourself, you’re probably right. Hire a professional with Web experience.

Graphic Content

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Graphics Content: Your only task now is to decide what photos, charts and graphs, illustrations and other visuals you need to help tell your message and show who you are.

Note what they are on each of your web page diagrams, but not necessarily where they’ll go. We’ll get to that later. And keep these rules in mind:

· Use only as many images or other graphics as you need to bolster your text and make your pages attractive.

· Don’t visually assault your visitors.

Good pictures can speak a thousand words. If a photo or other image will save a lot of explaining, use it instead of text

Ways to stand out online

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Online marketing now offers so many cost-effective options that it’s hard to know where to focus.

Plus, recent studies estimated that about six million documents are posted to the web every day. You can’t simply launch a site and sit back. You must take action to get noticed and you can follow the following steps:

Make it easier to find your site. This can be done by using right key words and affiliate links. Try to exchange links with the company that provides other accessories.
User-friendly navigation: This will help in maintaining your customers.

Reward customer error. Sometimes users input a wrong address or misspell the name of the company when searching. Make sure they end up on your site anyway.

Offer e-learning. By investing in online e-learning, you can reach out to remote and large groups of prospects.

Dynamic website

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

A dynamic website is one that changes or customizes itself frequently and automatically, based on certain criteria.

Thus, a dynamic website is any website that is connected to some form of data source that allows content to change based on the information in that data.

Dynamic websites can have two types of dynamic activity:

· Code

· Content

Dynamic code

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Dynamic code: The lines of code are constructed dynamically on the fly using active programming language instead of plain, static HTML. A website with dynamic code refers to its construction or how it is built and more specifically refers to the code used to create a single web page.

A dynamically-generated web page would call various bits of information from a database and put them together in a pre-defined format to present the reader with a coherent page.

It interacts with users in a variety of ways, including by reading cookies recognizing users' previous history, session variables, server side variables, or by using direct interaction (form elements, mouseovers).

A site can also display the current state of a dialogue between users, monitor a changing situation, or provide information in some way personalized to the requirements of the individual user.

Dynamic content

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Dynamic content: Variable content is displayed dynamically on the fly based on certain criteria, usually by retrieving content stored in a database.

A website with dynamic content refers to how its messages, text, images and other information are displayed on the web page and more specifically, how its content changes at any given moment.

The web page content varies based on certain criteria, either pre-defined rules or variable user input.

For example, a website with a database of news articles can use a pre-defined rule which tells it to display all news articles for today's date.

This type of dynamic website will automatically show the most current news articles on any given date.

Purpose of dynamic website

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The main purpose of a dynamic website is automation. A dynamic website can operate more effectively, be built more efficiently and is easier to maintain, update and expand.

It is much simpler to build a template and a database than to build hundreds or thousands of individual, static HTML web pages.

Advantages and disadvantages of static website

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Advantages of static websites

Quick to develop

Cheap to develop

Cheap to host

Disadvantages of static websites

Requires web development expertise to update site

Site not as useful for the user

Content can get stagnant

Advantages and disadvantages of dynaminc website

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Advantages of dynamic websites

Much more functional website
Much easier to update
New content brings people back to the site and helps in the search engines
Can work as a system to allow staff or users to collaborate
User-friendly

Disadvantages of dynamic websites

Slower to develop
more expensive to develop
Hosting costs a little more

Dynamic vs static websites

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Comparison between dynamic and static websites

1. Once a static website has been published it too will not change until the next edition; whenever the webmaster or someone familiar with HTML, or flash edits the content. A dynamic website on the other hand uses programming in addition to the layout to not only allow the flow of data in and out of the site but to make meaningful relationships with the data.

2. The dynamic content is created using client site programming (javascript for example) or server side programming (ASP, PHP). Static websites are made only from HTML files.

3. While a dynamic website typically cost more because of its complexity, it can be a more cost effective solution in the long run.

4. A dynamic website is the most effective solution for sites with content requiring frequent updates and/or interaction with the visitors.

5. Dynamic sites are easy to update and maintain.

6. The disadvantages of dynamic website over static websites (formed only by HTML pages): low pages loading speed on client side due to multiple database requests and the SEO (search engine optimization) process is not always optimal due to the web addresses format, because the pages address names are dynamically generated.

7. Dynamic websites empower their owners with the ability to upload information on their own, preferably through password protected administrative interfaces. One does not require knowledge about HTML or websites design to update or maintain such a site.

8. Dynamic sites can reduce ongoing maintenance costs if you don't want to change things yourself with a webpage editor or with the HTML. They cost more to develop, as they require more complex coding and a content management utility need to be developed to help you manage your website information.

9. Another benefit of dynamic sites is that they allow you to change only the content of the site and not the design, so you will not be able to accidentally break the visual style of the site.

Software systems to generate dynamic sites

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

There are a wide range of software systems that are available to generate dynamic web systems and dynamic sites, such as:

· Java Server Pages (JSP),

· The PHP and Perl programming languages

· Active Server Pages (ASP),

· YUMA

· Cold Fusion (CFM)

Sites may also include content that is retrieved from one or more databases or by using XML-based technologies such as RSS.

Static content may also be dynamically generated either periodically, or if certain conditions for regeneration occur (cached) in order to avoid the performance loss of initiating the dynamic engine on a per-user or per-connection basis.

Plug ins are available to expand the features and abilities of web browsers, which use them to show active content, such as Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flash, Adobe Shockwave or applets written in Java.

Dynamic HTML also provides for user interactivity and real-time element updating within web pages (i.e., pages don't have to be loaded or reloaded to effect any changes), mainly using the Document Object Model (DOM) and JavaScript, support which is built-in to most modern web browsers.

Methods to create a website business

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

There are several methods for creating a website business which fall into following categories:

· Content-based sites: Some websites derive revenue by selling advertising space on the site.

· Product- or service-based sites: Some websites derive revenue by offering products or services for sale. In the case of e-commerce websites, the products or services may be purchased at the website itself, by entering credit card or other payment information into a payment form on the site. While most business websites serve as a shop window for existing brick and mortar businesses, it is increasingly the case that some websites are businesses in their own right; that is, the products they offer are only available for purchase on the web.

· Combination of two: Websites occasionally derive income from a combination of above two practices. For example, a website such as an online auctions website may charge the users of its auction service to list an auction, but also display third-party advertisements on the site, from which it derives further income.

Testing Your Website

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Testing should be done throughout your web design cycle. As a website designer you have the ability to create an attractive and functional design. Unfortunately, you do not have the ability to control which internet browsers will be using to view your site. Because each browser behaves differently you will need to test your projects in multiple browsers.

You will need to test your web pages as you design them in the major browsers: Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 6, Firefox, Opera and Safari.

Since all these browsers are free anyway, it should not be any hardship to get them and install them.

The trick, however, is testing with more than one version of Internet Explorer since the later version will overwrite the earlier.

In most cases the variation from one browser to another will be minor, and probably will not even be noticeable to the average visitor.

However, sometimes your site will have major problems in a particular browser that can prevent visitors from being able to use the site. The best way to be sure that your site is usable in different browsers is sufficient testing.

How can you check your website with multiple browsers

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

For starters, you should be familiar with which browsers are most commonly used by your visitors. After all, you’ll want to make those browsers the biggest priority.

Once you know which browsers are most commonly used by your visitors you should focus your testing efforts on those browsers. You can easily install several different browsers like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Netscape, but with the huge amount of browsers available you’ll never be able to have them all. This is where you will need the help of a few specific tools.

BrowserShots –BrowserShots creates screenshots of your pages in a wide variety of browsers and displays them for you to see. It also has several additional options.

BrowserCam – A paid service that lets you test multiple URLs in a huge number of browsers.

NetMechanic Browser Photo – Another paid service. Choose between one-time use or pay for an entire year.

Litmus – Another paid service. Also provides resources for testing email.

AnyBrowser – A variety of tools for creating and testing websites.

Why test your website in different browsers

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

It's a good idea to test your site with multiple versions of multiple browsers, particularly if you plan to do anything fancy with style sheets on your site.

However, when you are able to test your pages this way, you can at least reduce the number of problems your pages have with the different browsers.

Testing is important if your primary browser is something other than Internet Explorer for Windows.

Internet Explorer has a tendency to wreck a lot of layouts, especially if you rely on CSS (cascading style sheets) for much of your styling and to compound the problem.

It helps in controlling the quality of your website.

One thing to consider is your audience. If you have a site with an audience that uses a particular browser, then maybe you can ignore the others, but its always good to take preview your site in various browsers to make sure the navigation, style and site structure remain intact. This not only applies to various browsers but also various versions of browsers. Not everyone will have the newest, most up to date browser that you, as a web designer or creative professional, are using.

Web Site Development Process

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

There are numerous steps in website development process.

The exact process may vary from designer to designer, but basics are generally the same.

Gather information
Plan for your website
Design
Development
Testing and Delivery
Maintenance

Planning your web presence

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

In this step we’ll cover:

· Defining your Customers and Mission

· Choosing and Buying your Domain Name

· Text, Images and other Graphic Elements

· Budgets, and Who Does What

Defining your Customers and Mission

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Here, your primary purpose is to know your customers and your product.

You should have an answer of following questions:

Who are your customers
What do you know about them
What they want
What they need
What they don’t know they need
What gives them the willies on the Web?
How old are they? Are they men, women, kids?
What do they expect when they come to a company like yours?
How smart are they and what specific talents or skills do they have?
Where do they live? What are those places like?
Are they Web savvy or are they just beginning to use it? In either case, what are their concerns about doing business on the Web – what scares them off?

The Web and Accessibility

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The Web that rides on the Internet backbone has become an integral part of how many people socialize, make purchases, conduct business, play, work, and learn. It is critical that a Web site be accessible to all users, including those who require special tools and software to use it.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act was put into place to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. It was to ensure that all government Web sites would be accessible by all users. Most businesses have taken notice of Section 508 and have applied its principles and adopted its guidelines to accommodate their own customers and employees.

If you plan to develop a Web site, consider making it compliant with Section 508.

For more information on Section 508 compliance, visit http://www.section508.gov/ and http://www.w3.org/WAI/.

Build a Web Page for Users

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

When you create a Web page, ask if you are creating it to showcase your interests or to attract and sustain users. Determine your audience. What's the attention span? What's the technical skill level? Why would a user visit the Web page? What do you expect to provide? Answers to these questions will tell you what features and functions are most useful and interesting for your audience.

For example, you are building a Web site for physicians who wish to read their medical transcription reports. They want to get in, reach their information, read it, and get out. Don't burden them with anything fun or fancy. No spinning logos. No fancy Flash introduction pages. No drill-down menus that require multiple clicks before the target page is reached. Build something straightforward, streamlined, consistent, and efficient.

A content management system (CMS) makes a great deal of sense for such a Web site. The page elements are consistent. The information can be geared for the user. CMS possibilities are vast.

Most Significant/Least Significant

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Not all elements on a Web page hold the same significance. Some are more important than others. Thus, building a Web site means considering the layout, one that gives the most significant elements prominence.

Most systems, equipment, and software are designed to stress the most significant elements, putting the least significant elements as far as possible from the most significant. On a Web page, the most significant elements are at the top left, and the least significant elements are bottom right. Anything along the top is more significant than anything along the middle or bottom. Anything to the left is more significant than anything on the right. The next time you come to a traffic light, notice this principle. Red lights are more significant. Green lights are least significant. When lights are stacked vertically, red is at the top and green is at the bottom. When they are aligned horizontally, red is at the left and green is at the right.

In publishing, anything "below the crease" is less important than anything "above the crease." Newspaper headlines are at the top, above the crease where the paper is folded. This same principle has been carried to Web content layout with "below the crease" being the bottom of the screen, forcing the user to scroll. In laying out your Web page, ensure that your most important elements are "above the crease."

The user perceives any element along the top left as having the most significance because it is one of the first elements the eye catches. It would not be wise to place the Quit or Log Out button in a position more significant than where the Purchase button is. The user perceives anything "below the crease" as having less importance.

Place the most significant elements in a logical place of prominence on your Web page.

Make a Plan

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

A Web site shouldn't just come together. It deserves a plan.

Determine your goals and what you hope to achieve. Establish your target audience and gauge its tolerance for what you hope to add to the page. Are they willing to sit through wait times as gobs of images load? Do they want to push through some fancy Flash intro pages? Less is good.

Create a design that is intuitive. Are the elements placed logically? Does your message really count? Or is it just words to take up space and something, anything?

Do the thinking for your users. Don't make them work at figuring things out. Can they readily reach the content they came for? Or are you going to make them work at it? Design a Web site that is easy to use and clean to navigate. Don't let your users get lost. Don't create obscurities and elaborations that add nothing.

Keep your content brief and direct. If you have to pepper it with adjectives, you probably aren't saying very much. Avoid being wordy and flamboyant. Get to the point and be clear about it.

If you want your users to take some action, then give them the opportunity to do so. Do you want them to sign a petition? Give them a button. Do you want them to browse your products? Give them a button. Make sure that every page on your Web site invites the user to take some kind of action, even if it's just to make a comment about some information they just read.

Plan your layout, navigation, actions, and content with the user in mind.

Understanding and Using HTML: How to Create Tables

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

In modern web design tables are widely used these days: they help not only to present multiple data in a reader-friendly format, but they are very helpful to create the layout of the web page. Tables offer the way to create a structure of web page: for example, three columns table may be used to implement the simplest web page structure, where the left column contains the navigation menu, center column contains all the basic content, and the right column may be used for some additional gadgets, like web counters or pay-per-click advertising.

In order to build a table with the help of HTML, we will need the following tags:

<TABLE> </TABLE> - These tags define the table. The content of the table should be included between these two tags.

<TR> </TR> - These tags mean “table row” and are used to build a row inside of a table.

<TD> </TD> - These tags mean “table data” and are used to create a cell within each table row. The amount of cells will define the amount of columns in the table.

<TH> </TH> - These tags are used in the same way as <TD> tags with the only difference that data contained in such cell are displayed in bold and center-aligned. That is why <TH> means “table header”.

Now, let us build a simple table to illustrate the above mentioned tags use in practice:

<TABLE>

<TR>

<TH>Winter</TH>

<TH>Spring</TH>

<TH>Summer</TH>

<TH>Autumn</TH>

</TR>

<TR>

<TD>December </TD>

<TD>March</TD>

<TD>September</TD>

</TR>

<TR>

<TD>January</TD>

<TD>April</TD>

<TD>October</TD>

</TR>

<TR>

<TD>February</TD>

<TD>August</TD>

<TD>November</TD>

</TR>

</TABLE>

In web browser such HTML code will result in the following:

Winter	Spring	Summer	Autumn
December	March	June	September
January	April	July	October
February	May	August	November

Steps to create a website

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

What is a domain name?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Get Your Domain Name

The first thing you need to do when building your own website is to get yourself a domain name.

What is domain name?

A domain name is the internet address you want to give to your website.

The domain name identifies one or more IP addresses. Domain names are used in URLs to identify particular Web pages.

Every domain name has a suffix that indicates which top level domain (TLD) it belongs to. There are only a limited number of such domains.

For example:

· gov - Government agencies

· edu - Educational institutions

· org - Organizations (nonprofit)

· mil - Military

· com - commercial business

· net - Network organizations

· ca - Canada

· th - Thailand

Because the Internet is based on IP addresses, not domain names, every Web server requires a Domain Name System (DNS) server to translate domain names into IP addresses.

Characteristics of a good domain name

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Remember that the domain name should be:

· Short

· Easy-to-remember

· Easy to type

· Easy to say.

Domains ending with ".com" are the best, but ".net" and ".org" are also good options if your first choice is taken.

Also try that it should relate to your business and try to avoid similarities

Importance of having your own Domain Name

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

There are a number of good reasons for having your own domain name

You can maintain your users: A domain name is your own unique identity and always will be as long has you continue to use that name. If you had your own domain name you could change hosts as often as you like and people would still be able to find you simply by typing in your domain name.

Gives you credibility: The only way to make money online is to build up credibility among your customers. If you are running a business, a domain name gives you credibility.

Can easily approach you: If you get a domain name that describes your company's business or name, people can remember the name easily and can return to your site without having to consult their documents.

Can help in promoting other brands: You can promote your website and other brands on your website to gain more business.

You can use custom error pages: Another advantage of having your own domain name is that you can use custom error pages to prevent people from leaving your site because of broken links and other errors.

History of World Wide Web

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The World Wide Web was created in 1990 by CERN engineer Tim Berners-Lee.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, is the world's largest particle physics laboratory, situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border, established in 1954.

CERN's main function is to provide the particle accelerators and other infrastructure needed for high-energy physics research.

It is also noted for being the birthplace of the World Wide Web. The main site at Meyrin also has a large computer centre containing very powerful data processing facilities primarily for experimental data analysis, and because of the need to make them available to researchers elsewhere, has historically been (and continues to be) a major wide area networking hub.

As an international facility, the CERN sites are officially under neither Swiss nor French jurisdiction.

On 30 April 1993, CERN announced that the World Wide Web would be free to use for anyone.

In brief

1945: Vannevar Bush writes an article in Atlantic Monthly about a photo-electrical-mechanical device called a Memex, for memory extension, which could make and follow links between documents on microfiche

1960s: Doug Engelbart prototypes an "oNLine System" (NLS) that does hypertext browsing editing, email, and so on. He invents the mouse for this purpose. Ted Nelson coins the word Hypertext in ‘A File Structure for the Complex, the Changing, and the Indeterminate’. 20th National Conference, New York, Association for Computing Machinery, 1965. Andy van Dam and others build the Hypertext Editing System and FRESS in 1967.

1980: While consulting for CERN June-December of 1980, Tim Berners-Lee writes a notebook program, "Enquire-Within-Upon-Everything", which allows links between arbitrary nodes. Each node had a title, a type, and a list of bidirectional typed links. "ENQUIRE" ran on Norsk Data machines under SINTRAN-III.

March, 1989: "Information Management: A Proposal" written by Tim BL and circulated for comments at CERN (TBL). Paper "HyperText and CERN" produced as background (text or WriteNow format).

May, 1990: Same proposal re-circulated

September, 1990: Mike Sendall, Tim's boss, Oks the purchase of a NeXT cube, and allows Tim to go ahead and write a global hypertext system.

October, 1990: Tim starts work on a hypertext GUI browser + editor using the NeXTStep development environment. He makes up "WorldWideWeb" as a name for the program. (See the first browser screenshot) "World Wide Web" as a name for the project (over Information Mesh, Mine of Information, and Information Mine). Project original proposal reformulated with encouragement from CN and ECP divisional management. Robert Cailliau (ECP) joins and is co-author of new version.

November, 1990: Initial WorldWideWeb program development continues on the NeXT (TBL) . This was a "what you see is what you get" (wysiwyg) browser/editor with direct inline creation of links. The first web server was nxoc01.cern.ch, later called info.cern.ch, and the first web page http://nxoc01.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html Unfortunately CERN no longer supports the historical site. Note from this era too, the least recently modified web page we know of, last changed Tue, 13 Nov 1990 15:17:00 GMT (though the URI changed.)

Technical Student Nicola Pellow (CN) joins and starts work on the line-mode browser. Bernd Pollermann (CN) helps get interface to CERNVM "FIND" index running. TBL gives a colloquium on hypertext in general.

Types of websites based on function

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Organized by function, a website may be

A personal website:

Personal web pages are pages created by an individual to contain content of a personal nature. The content can be about that person or about something he or she is interested in. e.g. a student's website. They can contain biographical information, résumés, and blogs, sample works, author's hobbies and pastimes, and information of interest to friends and family of the author.

A commercial website:

Any site that buys, sells, or provides a service

A government website:

Any site used to display various policies, to provide and improve government services, transactions and interactions with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government.

A non-profit organization website:

The websites used by various NPOs to gather more funds or to inform people about a social issue.

Remember any website can contain a hyperlink to any other website, so the distinction between individual sites, as perceived by the user, may sometimes be blurred.

What is a static website?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

A static website is one that has web pages stored on the server in the format that is sent to a client web browser. It is primarily coded in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). This may include information about a company and its products and services via text, photos, animations, audio/video and interactive menus and navigation.

Features of a static website

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Static websites are works well only for very small websites. Most websites should use a CMS to manage content.

Features of a static website include:

Content of each page does not change unless it is manually updated by the webmaster.
This type of website usually displays the same information to all visitors.
Static sites that contain a lot of pages are very hard to maintain.

How static websites are edited

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

They are edited using four broad categories of software:

Text editors, including Notepad or TextEdit: Here content and HTML markup are manipulated directly within the editor program.

WYSIWYG offline editors, including Microsoft FrontPage and Adobe Dreamweaver (previously

Macromedia Dreamweaver): With these the site is edited using a graphical user interface interface and the final HTML markup is generated automatically by the editor software

WYSIWYG online editors: such as Web Page Builder. These create media rich online presentation like web pages, widgets, intro, blogs, and other documents.

Template-based editors, such as Web Page Builder: Allow users to quickly create and upload web pages to a web server without detailed HTML knowledge, as they pick a suitable template from a palette and add pictures and text to it in a desktop publishing fashion without direct manipulation of HTML code.

The Importance of Developing Your Website Quickly

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Have you ever visited a website, intending to find useful information, then you encounter “website under construction”? It is not only frustrating, but likely; the visitor won’t be back again.

Almost all websites are constantly under construction, however, when you first establish a site, it is important to get your material published swiftly. You can always make as many corrections as you wish, but until the published material exists for crawlers and robots to visit and index, you will not receive any visitors at all.

It can take months, sometimes even years to build large volumes of traffic, even if you have an excellent site that is registered with all the major search engines. Knowing this, it is imperative that your pages are published quickly, even though they may be imperfect.

The more quickly you establish your presence, obviously the more quickly your site will receive traffic, and in turn become profitable. There are several billion pages published on the internet today, get yours out there with help from a professional website service.

Understanding and Using HTML: HTML Document Structure

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

HTML or hypertext markup language was originally developed for building web sites. Now many other programming languages and techniques, such as PHP, Java, Flash, and others are widely used to build dynamic websites. However, HTML still remains the core of site building, and even if you are using website content management system or CMS, it is useful to know how the things work at the very basic level. So, let us get familiar with some basics of HTML.

Any web document contains two major parts: HEAD and BODY. Both parts are defined by corresponding tags:

<HTML>

<HEAD>

Here we put the so called metatags to define title, description of the web site, keywords and other parameters.

</HEAD>

<BODY>

Here we are going to put everything what we are going to have on the website: text, graphics, tables, etc.

</BODY>

</HTML>

This is the basic scheme of the html document. You can create one in any text editor, save it as HTML file (with .html extension) and start experimenting with site building.

As you have noticed, HTML tags are usually used in pairs: the first one is called “opening” and the second with “/” is called “closing” tag. Besides, HTML tags usually have parameters or attributes, which are specified inside of the basic tag. For example, <BODY> may be supplied with such parameters, as BGCOLOR to define the background color or BACKGROUND to define the image, used as a background, and others. For example:

<BODY BGCOLOR=”blue”> - this will create a web page with a blue background color

Note that syntax is very important for HTML as for any other programming language, so when building your own website, be careful with syntax.

Understanding and Using HTML: How to Format Text

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Any webpage contains some text, and naturally we need to use some formatting to make our text look more attractive to visitors. Below are some of the HTML tags to help you format your text, when you are mastering the basics of website design.

</I>This tag will make the text italic</I>

<U>This tag will make the text underlined</U>

However, most frequently webmasters use the tag <FONT> to define the characteristics of the text, for example, font face, size and color.

Here is an example of <FONT> tag use:

<FONT FACE=”Arial” COLOR=”green” SIZE=”3”>This tag will define the color, size and font face of the text</FONT>

Remember, that sizing in HTML is a bit different than in Word. In HTML font size can be defined on a scale from 1 to 7, where 3 means the “normal” text size.

When formatting the text on your web page, it is also necessary to create paragraphs, which can be done with the following tag:

<P> This tag creates a paragraph.

It is not necessary to use the closing tag, just start all your paragraphs with this tag, and your text will look properly in website browser. By the way, you may use ALIGN parameter inside of <P> tag. Aligning can be either “left”, “right”, “center” or “justify”.

For example:

<P ALIGN=”left”> This will align your text to the left.

Understanding and Using HTML: How to Create Hyperlinks

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The whole Internet concept is about hyperlinks, isn’t it? In order to build a website, you will need to create hyperlinks to interconnect the web pages of your website as well as to provide links to some external resources.

Speaking about hyperlinks, it is necessary to understand that a hyperlink contains two components: anchor (this can be either text or image), and URL address of the page, you want a browser to display when a user clicks your anchor text.

Here is how to create a hyperlink in HTML:

<A HREF=”example.html”>Anchor text here</A>

Here it is important to note that if you need to create a hyperlink to the webpage of your own website, you can specify only a name of the file. However, if you need to create a hyperlink to some external website or webpage, you will have to specify the full address (copy it from your web browser address line).

Sometimes it is also necessary to create a hyperlink to your email address:

<A HREF=”mailto:contact@mywebsite.com”>Contact us</A>

However, creating email hyperlinks is not very popular these days, in view of spammers, which can easily find your email and use it for their own purposes. That is why many people prefer using contact forms, built with programming languages as PHP, for example, rather than creating direct email hyperlinks.

Understanding and Using HTML: How to Create Lists

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Lists offer a useful method of text formatting. Either you need to enumerate something on the web page, for example, to build a list with your favorite website hosting providers, or create a simple navigation menu, lists offer the easiest way to do that.

There are two basic types of lists: ordered list (every next list item is marked with the consecutive number) and unordered list, where all the list items are marked with circle or square markers.

In order to build an ordered list on your web page, use the following tags:

<OL>

<LI>List item 1

<LI>List item 2

<LI>List item 3

</OL>

If it is an unordered list you need to create, use the following tags:

<UL>

<LI>List item 1

<LI>List item 2

<LI>List item 3

</UL>

By the way, inside of <UL> tag you may want to use a parameter, called TYPE, in order to define the exact type of a marker used for your list. For example <UL TYPE=”disc”> will create a list, where each item will be marked with round disc; <UL TYPE=”circle”> will result in markers as circles, and <UL TYPE=”square”> will make markers square.

Understanding and Using HTML: How to Insert Images

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Successful web design is impossible without the use of graphics or images on the web pages. As a matter of fact, it is hardly to imagine a website without graphics used on it. Nowadays, professional web designers use images to build dynamic and interactive websites. However, everything starts with the basics, and here is a simple way to insert images to your web page.

As you see, it is pretty easy to supply a web page with the image. Just do not forget to create an image file and upload it to the directory, where you website is located (or copy it to the local folder if you are building a web site offline).

As with text, you may wish to align your image. To do that, just supply your <IMG> tag with ALIGN parameter and choose one of the values for it among the following:

- TOP

- MIDDLE

- BOTTOM

- LEFT

- RIGHT

Just experiment a little with these parameter values and you will learn how to ensure the most appropriate positioning of the image.

If you will need to display image in some particular size, use WIDTH and HEIGHT parameters. For example:

Finally, do not forget to supply you <IMG> tag with ALT parameter (e.g. <IMG SRC=”image.jpg” ALT=”The most reliable notebook ever”>), which is used by search engines. The latter are actually machines and cannot see what is displayed on the picture, but they can read ALT parameter and understand what is on the picture and thus to understand what is your website about. In fact, using ALT tag is a common practice in search engine optimization.

HTML Basics: Using Images

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

HTML Basics: Using Images

Well-used graphic images make a site more interesting, add information, and help with navigation. With a little forethought, you can use images that download quickly, display quickly, look good, and add value to your site. On the flip side, too many images used badly can also make your site a big, unwieldy bandwidth pig. You add images with the image tag. The image tag tells the browser to display a specific image at this point in the page.

Using the Image Tag

You add images with the image tag. The image tag tells the browser to display a specific image at this point in the page.

The location of the image is described by its URL. For example, this code tells the browser to insert an image called "earth.gif" into the file. The other attributes in the image tag describe how to place the image on the page and describe what text to display if the image doesn't load or the reader has turned off images in the browser. The image tag is highlighted in color to make it stand out:

<img src="http://projectcool.com/images/earth.gif" align=left width=50 height=50 alt="world logo">Hello World!<br>

How Are You?

Image Tag Attributes The image tag has six often-used attributes:

1. src. Source. This is the location and name of the image you are using. As with anchors and links, use the full URL if the image is on another server. Use relative URLs if it is within your own site. Remember that the URL must begin and end with quotes.

2. align. Alignment. You can align the image to the right or left side of the page. You cannot center it. (If you want to center it try this trick: put the image between start and end center-aligned paragraph tags.)

3. width. Width of the image in pixels.

4. height. Height of the image in pixels.

5. border. Thickness of the border. in pixels, around the image. Use the border command only when the image is also the anchor for a link.

6. alt. Alternate text. This is the text that appears in a reader's browser if the reader has his or her image loading turned off or if the browser doesn't display graphics. You should always include some brief alternate text. Remember that the text must be surrounded with quotation marks.

HTML Basics- The Importance of Width and Height

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The Importance of Width and Height

Do you need to include the width and height of your images in the image tag? No, technically you don't -- but you should. Specifying image width and height lets the browser layout the page and begin displaying the text while it is still downloading the image. The reader can start using the page immediately instead of waiting for all the images. This increases perceived speed and makes your readers feel like your site is fast.

Specify image size in pixels. You can use your graphics program to see the size of the image in pixels. Additionally, some editing programs, such as BBEdit, will automatically measure your image and insert the height and width in the tag.

Save the image file at the exact size you want to use it in your page. Although most browsers will scale the image if the image file and your specified size are different, rescaling consumes computer processing time. Picture the poor reader out there with an older PC and too-little RAM watching the computer go chug-a-chug-a-chug-a as your image rescales on his or her screen. It is not a pretty sight.

HTML Basics- Using an Images as a Link

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Using an Image as a Link

In addition to using them as visual addition to your page, you can use your images as links to other information.

This is easy to do. Instead of a using a piece of text as the linked item within the anchor tags, you just use the image.

The following example shows how to link to the file "06a-gofrogs.html" using both a text link and an image link. First, we'll create a text link, like this:

<a href="06a-gofrogs.html">Frogs are your friends.<br>

Look at the frog!<br>

Ribbet. Ribbet.<br></a>

which displays like this in a Web browser:

Frogs are your friends.

Look at the frog!

Ribbet. Ribbet.

In the next example, the link tag is exactly the same, but it surrounds the image tag instead of a line of text (the image tag is highlighted in color to make it stand out here):

Frogs are your friends.<br>

</a><br>

Look at the frog!<br>

Ribbet. Ribbet.<br>

In the first example clicking on the text "look at the frog!" brings up the frog page. In the second example clicking on the frog picture brings up the frog page.

Optimizing Your Graphics

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Optimizing Your Graphics

Optimizing your graphics reduces the time it takes your page to load into your reader's browser. There are a number of ways you can use an image, maintain its quality, and trim your bandwidth—all at the same time.

Tip #1: 72-dpi Is Plenty

If you come from the print world, you probably save your image files at 300 dpi resolution—at the bare minimum. But the web isn't print and the computer screen isn't a printed page, so toss away those habits. The first way to trim file size is to save the file at 72 or 100 dpi. This is more than ample for web viewing.

Tip #2: File to Size

To get the fastest display results, you'll want the image file you insert into your Web page to be the exact height and width you are using in the web page. Don't let your reader's computer have to do the painful resizing calculations.

Oh, and don't go into overkill mode when it comes to display size—use images at a height and width that works on your page, not the hugest size you can cram onto a computer monitor. Larger display sizes make larger file sizes—and longer download times.

Tip #3: Select the Best Graphic File Format

Different types of graphics work best with different file formats. Here are a few rules of thumb to make your graphics more web-friendly:

* If the image is photo-realistic, use a .jpeg format.

* If it has large areas of solid color, .gif format is best.

* If it's a combination, try both alternatives and see which gives you the best fit in terms of size vs. quality.

JPEG Images

JPEG format was created for photorealistic images, images that have a great many variations of color. Its compression technology analyzes the pixels and drops out some of them in order to simplify and reduce the file size. JPEG images are 24-bit color; you won't need to select a palette type for them.

The Quality Setting option in Photoshop gives you several ways to save a .jpg formatted file. You can select "poor", "medium", or "highest". The highest setting gives you the most quality, but also the largest file size. We've found that medium is usually fine for most images destined to be viewed on a computer screen. However, avoid the poor setting. It does produces the smallest file, but the final images loses too much quality.

GIF Images

GIF format was uses something called the LZW compression algorithm. This process looks at the pixels in a row and counts how many are the same color. Instead of mapping each individual pixel, it converts the pixel information into a mathematical notation, dramatically reducing file sizes for graphics that contain large amounts of the same color.

The GIF format saves color in a maximum of 8-bit mode, which means a GIF file can contain only 256 different colors. When you save a GIF file, you are asked to select the palette to use when mapping and displaying the colors.

When creating a .gif file, your final image size and quality are determined by how intelligently you make your indexed conversion choices. Indexed conversion is the process of changing the image from 24-bit color into a indexed palette, which is the table of colors used by GIF images.

With indexed conversion, the first thing to worry about is the image's bit depth. This determines how many colors are used in your final image as well as how much storage and display space the file's color index uses. Play with this setting using the undo feature of Photoshop to determine the lowest number of colors you can use with without sacrificing image quality. We find that most images can be easily brought down to six or seven bits.

The next important factor is the type of palette you use. Ok, we'll admit that we're image snobs. We are looking at the web on truecolor displays and therefore want as accurate a color representation as possible. An adaptive color palette seems to work best for us. This give the greatest possible final image across the widest range of platforms. Other palette choices are not are flexible across platforms. Other people advocate using the web palette, which is the set of colors all platforms can display.

Your next decision is whether or not to use dithering. Dithering is a way of simulating a color by using alternating pixels of different colors. For example, dithering might simulate purple by putting a blue and red pixel next to each other. Dithering makes a smoother image, with fewer color bands. Experiment with either diffusion dithering or none to determine which works best with your particular image. Remember, though, that dithering increases file size.

There is no single solution for all images. The best way to learn how to balance file size and image quality is to play with your images in PhotoShop (or in whichever image editing program you use); try saving them in different ways and compare the results. By doing this, you'll start to get a feel for which combinations work for your set of images.

Tip #4: Reality Check

One more important factor for designers, especially, to remember is that your eye is much more critical of your final product than your reader's is. Sometimes you can spend too much time trying to make things absolutely perfect. Try to find the best compromise of quality versus file size.

HTML Basics- Using the Break Tag with Images

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Using the Break Tag with Images

When working with images, you sometimes want the text to follow below the image rather than run alongside the image. The break tag <br> lets you do this.

Usually the break tag stands on its own without any attributes. However, the tag does offer one attribute, clear.

Clear tells the browser to display the content which follows it below the lowest part of the image. By following an image tag with a break tag that has a value in the clear attribute, you ensure that the text that follows the graphic appears underneath the graphic rather than beside it.

The clear attribute has three possible values:

1. clear=left tells the browser to look to the leftmost side of the page and drop the text below the item there.

2. clear=right tells the browser to look to the rightmost side of the page and drop the text below the item there.

3. clear=all tells the browser to look to all across the page and drop the text below the lowest item on either side.

Web Design for Beginners. Make your Own Website

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Web Design for Beginners. Make your Own Website

Web design for beginners starts with basics such as HTML tutorials, registering a domain name, and finding web hosting. We also give you our recommendations on many other issues, which you can see on our GETTING STARTED page. If you prefer, you can skip around the site by the navigation bar on the left. The main sections each have an introductory page to orient you on what is in that section of the site, but you can skip directly to the pages that interest you.

We feature weekly articles on Internet Marketing/Promotion Web Design and Development, and Web Design Tips. We hope you enjoy them.

We have received a lot of emails asking about how to make a website for free. That's pretty much what this site is all about, but here's a quick and dirty list. You can see the expanded version on our Getting Started Page.

1. Learn HTML -- yeah, sure, there are free graphic editors embedded in your browser, or for download. But then what will you do when there is a problem with your page and you don't know HTML? Just learn the basics, and be on your way! Two steps:

1. Make A Page Tutorial for basics.

2. Tables Tutor to learn basic table tags.

Skip the frames, you don't need them, and they ruin search engine listings. Skip the forms tutorial until you need it.

2. Get a free HTML editor -- Yup, you don't have to lay out hundreds of dollars. If you have a few bucks around, get a slightly fancier one for $30-$60 and feel like a web king or queen. See our HTML Editors Page.

3. Get a free FTP client -- Believe me, once you use FTP, you will not want to go back up to web-based uploading and all the extra time it takes. It's easy, it's free, it's all spelled out on our FTP Program Page.

4. Get a free hosting account -- Don't pay for hosting while you're just experimenting. There are plenty of free hosting sites still left. Find the one that's right for you on our Free Hosting Page.

5. Okay, now put it together! Make your page (your home page will need to be named index.html or default.html depending on your host), upload it via FTP to your free host. Whalla, you just made your own website for free.

We were just given a neat little new toolkit to distribute. The toolkit is free and contains 6 different web making tools including a Mini Site Builder, Drop Down Menu builder, Advanced Meta Tag builder, and an HTML Encryptor tool. This little toolkit might help you out if you're new to HTML. Get our free download today. Click here for free Web Toolbox download. The file is a zip file of a .exe ebook, which is only PC compatible (sorry Mac users!). Unzip it with your favorite unzip utility by clicking on the zip file. Enjoy!

Making your own website is both easy and difficult. Easy, since the internet itself has all the information and tutorials you could need to learn to make your own site. Difficult, since a website is a process. It's never done! Enjoy making your own website, that's the important thing.

Want a website that looks like a million bucks without spending a fortune?

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Want a website that looks like a million bucks without spending a fortune?

Create your own website with Ajiboye and get a great looking website without emptying your wallet!

As a business owner, you probably already know that a professional looking website gives customers confidence. It makes them think that if you can afford great web page design, you must be good at what you do!

Ajiboye's web page creator is the perfect way to easily get a professional looking, feature packed website.

With Ajiboye, you get two fantastic options for web page design, choose whichever one best suits your business needs!

Designing and building your own web site

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Web site design

Designing and building your own web site

The power and versatility of the Internet is only just being recognised. One of its uses is to make contact with like-minded people, so if you're tackling bullying or any kind of abuse you can form groups, raise awareness and educate the human race in a manner that has not been hitherto possible.

The secret of a good web site

Conrad Hilton said that the three most important things to consider when building a new hotel were location, location and location. When designing a web site, the three most important facts to consider are content, content and content. Fancy graphics and moving text may impress at first, but surfers will only stay and return if the content is good. People tire of coloured, blinking and rotating text, and quickly switch off - these widgets are reminiscent of someone having just discovered how to use them and has to show off by including them.

So, consider what it is about your web site that will make people a) want to visit it in the first place, b) stay on your web site once they've found it, c) want to return again and again, and d) recommend it to their friends. Spend some time answering these four questions before you start. Ask these questions continually to keep the content good.

The person who creates and maintains a web site is known as the webmaster or webmistress.

Content, Site name, Site structure

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Content

If your web site is a campaigning one, you're more likely to be credible if you avoid the use of self-deprecation, indignation, shock, horror, and outrage. Stick to the facts and let people feel these emotions themselves from what they read. Avoid using the third person as in "they shouldn't allow it" or "it shouldn't be allowed". Also avoid the use of exclamation marks, double quotes, and whole words in capital letters - these all invite disbelief.

Spelling mistakes, especially if there are many, make the site look amateur and poorly prepared. Use a spelling checker with all options turned on.

Site name

Choosing a name for your site is important. It needs to be individual, unique, reflect the content and purpose of the site, and be short, snappy and memorable.

Site structure

Your web site can be as small or as large as you want it to be - it's up to you. Some sites consists of just one page (the home page), others consist of hundreds of pages. It's best not to make pages too large.

The object of a web site is to attract as many people as possible. If you're going for more than one page, think of your web site as a building - the more rooms it has the more interesting and attractive it will be to more people who will be attracted by the content of a particular room. You will need:

Home page - this will be the normal entrance to the site which announces you, your web site and your message.

Core pages - the ones with the meat, the important information.

Special interest pages - each covers a specific angle.

Doorway pages - these are designed specifically to attract Internet surfers. Using the analogy of a building, then unlike a modern building where you want to channel everyone in and out of the front door - for security purposes - with a web site you want to create as many doors (entrances) as possible. Each page (doorway) is another opportunity to be found in the search engines. At the bottom of each doorway page, the person is invited to visit the main page or other pages. My pages at related/jargon.htm and related/domestic.htm and related/paranorm.htm are examples of doorway pages.

It's a good idea to keep pages small and focused. A big page takes a long time to download and many surfers will move on before the page is fully downloaded. My Internet connect speed is usually around 46Kbps, but many people still connect at 9600bps or less.

Before you create your site, write down all the angles and related subjects you can think of.

Improving your rankings with the search engines and Keywords

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Improving your rankings with the search engines

Research suggests that for surfers to find your site it must appear within the first three pages of the results returned by the search engine. Usually, this means in the top 30 sites listed. Aim always for the top ten.

You can improve your rankings in the search engine by using keywords in the form of HTML meta tags. Meta tags are NOT a magic solution - they're just one component in your visibility strategy.

Keywords

For each page, consider what your top, say, half dozen or so keywords or phrases are. If you sell chocolate, they might be chocolate, chocolates, truffle, praline, cocoa, chocoholic. Put yourself in the shoes of the people who need your site; what are they going to look for? Once you've decided what your main keywords and phrases are, write your body text so that these appear regularly, especially at the top of the page and within the first paragraph.

Spend some time before you start thinking what keywords you can use on each page. Think of each page as a new opportunity to attract surfers - you can use the same words on different pages but you might like to have a couple of common words and make everything else different. The keywords and phrases must reflect what is on the page and the same words should appear throughout the body text.

To get some idea of what surfers are actually searching for, use the keyword generator service at http://www.marketposition.com/keywordgenerator.htm

HTML Meta Tags

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

HTML Meta Tags

Each web page is stored as mark-up language, ie your text and references to other files interspersed with special "mark-up" commands that your browser will interpret as it displays it for you. The most common mark-up language is HTML, or HyperText Markup Language. For example, "<p>" means start a new paragraph, and you'll find a matching "</p> " at the end of the paragraph. This may sound complicated but once you know what to do it's simple.

At the top of each HTML file you'll find meta tags. If they're not there, you can insert them. These can be used to include keywords and phrases which the search engines will note. Spend some time thinking of the words and phrases that the people you want to visit your site will use to find you. Put yourself in their position. What words or phrases would you use?

Think up about half a dozen key words for each page. These should appear at the front of the list of meta tags and should also appear liberally throughout the text of the page. The structure of the HTML at the top of the web page is:

<head>

<title>Tim Field shares his unique insight into bullying, a cause of stress and the common

denominator of harassment, discrimination, abuse, conflict and violence</title>

content="bullying, bully, bullies, bullied, workplace, workplace bullying, mobbing, stress,

work, bullying at work">

</head>

The <title> should come first - some software packages put it last. The <title> can contain up to about 24 words. The list of keywords can be 1000 characters long - the search engines vary. Put your most important words and phrases first. Do not repeat identical words and phrases, but you can and should include variations. If you have space, you might even like to include common mis-spellings, as this is what people will type! For example, as well as "harassment" you might include "harrassment, "harrasment", "harasment", etc.

You might also want to include both UK and US spellings, eg "behaviour" and "behavior", "counsellor" and "counselor".

Don't worry about the colour of the text - this is done for you. If you're editing the HTML yourself, make sure everything balances, eg "<title>" must have a corresponding "</title>", and so on. Make sure you have the correct number and type of angled brackets < and > and double quotes " ... ".

How to design your website for increased ROI

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

How to design your website for increased ROI

It's easy to over-focus on driving traffic to your site while overlooking another equally important key to website ROI - content optimization. Make the time, money, and effort you've spent developing your online marketing pay off. Design a website that gets visitors to take action.

1. Set your goals

Today, website ROI is measured by conversions -- how frequently visitors reach your goals. Goals are activities on your website that are important to the success of your business. Obviously, a sale is a goal if you sell online. A request for a sales call is another example of a goal. So is an email registration. Even if you have a purely brochure-ware site, you might consider viewing the Contact page or a Product Spec page to be a goal.

The point is that if you haven't built one or more key activities - goals - into your site, no amount of site re-working is going to help. Without goals, you haven't created any connection points with your prospects and customers and you'll have no way of knowing how well you meet your visitors' needs or of measuring your website ROI.

2. Get that first click

How successfully does your site entice visitors to make that first click towards conversion? Everything on an entry page must be designed and written to entice a visitor to click.

It is likely that your home page has several audiences. Potential customers, partners, investors, journalists all may have an interest in your company. Speak directly to each need and make the next step clear. Use active words such as "Learn", "Ask", "Browse", "Sign up". Use "you" and "your"; avoid "we" and "our". Keep copy short and to the point. Remember, you just want them to make that first click and start down the path.

Look at your Top Landing Pages report (in the Content section). This report will show you how many visitors you lose from each entrance page. Do everything you can to lower the number of "bounces", visitors who leave your site after viewing just a single page. Next, look at the Site Overlay for each entrance page. This will show not only where visitors are clicking, but how frequently visitors who click there convert to each of your goals (in terms of a conversion %).

3. Call your audience to action

Buy Now. Add to Shopping Cart. Calls to action, obviously, but not the only ones you should have on your site. Make sure your visitors always know what to do next, so that they aren't left standing in your store, overwhelmed by choices. Add calls to action on every page of your site: Learn More, Help Me Choose, Compare, Next Step. Gently lead visitors down the conversion path, and you'll earn more from the visitors you get.

4. Simplify conversion steps

The easier it is for a visitor to reach her objective, the more likely it is she'll convert. Obviously, you need to provide the information that the visitor needs before she'll buy or ask for a sales call, but consider carefully how much information you need to ask for. Do you really need to ask your visitors to select a city from a form when they already give you a zip code?

The Google Analytics Funnel Visualization report (in the Goals section) will help you identify where you are losing visitors on the path to conversion. The center column shows the conversion path that you expect visitors to take. The right hand column shows where the visitors who leave the funnel go. The left hand column shows where the visitors who enter the funnel come from.

Use this report to identify steps where visitors lose interest. Go back and tighten up these critical pages. Make sure the next steps are always clear and that you aren't asking for too much from your visitors.

Maximum ROI = Effective Marketing + Content Optimization

To summarize, you'll maximize return from the visitors you attract if you do the following things:

Create key activities (goals) on your site.
Get that first click towards conversion.
Call your audience to action on each page.
Simplify the conversion path.
Experiment and measure!

Breakdown of Website Design Cost

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Breakdown of Website Design Cost

When trying create a budget for a business that includes website design cost it is important for a business owner to consider the variables that will affect the final cost of this type of project. The cost of website design can vary greatly depending upon what type of site a business wants to develop and what functions and features will be included in the design of the site.

Most website designers charge a business on a project basis with an additional fee if there are changes, additions, etc. This fee is open-ended and can grow at a staggering rate so it is important for an individual to have a clear vision of what they want when they compare the rates for website design cost.

Knowing what the purpose and intent of the website will be a deciding factor in the type of website that one wishes to employ. If the website will be used primarily as an advertising tool that will not require information on every page to be updated regularly then a static website will be sufficient to meet most of the needs of a small business. However, if a website designer is asked to create a static website this means that they will be creating each page of the website individually and the site will have to be updated manually.

Businesses that will require a website to be more interactive, provide forms and flow seamlessly may request a dynamic website which creates web pages, interactive forms, updates, etc., automatically using a database. The website designer will spend most of their time on this type of site creating a database and templates for the site which will allow for the automatic features that are provided.

There are basically six different web design layouts that are used by most designers. When an individual views websites while surfing the web they may begin to see patterns in layouts appear. Website colors, styles, etc., are not static and must be updated regularly to be effective.

When a business chooses to have a static website designed it will be necessary to employ an individual to perform regular updates to the website and have the knowledge to change the layout when the trend for colors or designs change.

Ideally it is most cost effective to employ a combination website developer and website designer. The website developer has expertise in the necessary programming language and practical elements of creating a website while the website designer has the artistic expertise to create a website that flows and will have a longer marketing effectiveness. The companies that offer both of these experts will be the most effective and efficient choice when looking at a website design cost that is manageable for the long term.

Evaluate your needs

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Evaluate Your Needs

Even if you’re impatient to just get something up fast and affordably, taking the time to evaluate your needs upfront can save you a lot of time and money down the road. Knowing what kind of web presence you want, how you plan to maintain it, and how you will fund it in the long run will help you both in the technical work of building the site as well as in budgeting for ongoing needs.

A little organizational soul-searching needn’t be a lengthy process, either, and may be as simple as sitting down to answer a few key questions:

* What do you need a website for? Do you simply require a place where people can find your contact info and mission statement, or do you need a site where visitors can find news, register for events, post questions, interact and network with others, or even make purchases?

* What resources do you have to build your site? Very simple sites may be practically free to build and host, but more complex ones will require special skills, including programming, information architecture, web design, and editing. Do you have staff available to help plan and implement your site, or will you need to rely on contractors or volunteers?

* How will you maintain your website? Even simple, fairly static websites require a certain degree of maintenance and oversight. What kind of staff resources can you devote over the long run to the kind of site you need?

* How will you integrate your site with existing tools? Depending on your needs, you may want to integrate the same tools you use for constituent and membership management with your website. Be sure to check in with these vendors to make sure that you choose an online solution that meshes well with these tools to avoid costly customizations down the road.

* How will your site incorporate your current graphic language? Make sure you can choose a solution that brands your organization in a way that’s consistent with your other printed materials. Don’t have a logo or a visual style guide? Now may be the time to look into coming up with these to avoid costly site overhauls down the road.

* Can you take steps now to plan for future needs? Even if you don’t currently plan to keep a blog, for example, if you think you’ll want to incorporate one a year or two from now, you may want to account for this in your current plans. No one has a crystal ball, but projecting a couple of years into the future may help you create a website with more staying power.

How do I increase my website's search engine placement?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The most effective way to advertise on the Internet is to first set up a website and publish its domain name on major search directories since 85% of Internet shoppers rely on these search directories to provide them with goods and services. In a sense, these search directories are a very large Internet Yellow Pages.

Nevertheless, should your website or opening webpage fail to contain "generic" keywords, then anyone using such "generic" queries will not be able to discover your website. Your domain name [URL] of your website, in a sense, will be invisible, undiscoverable. You may want to consider some simple algorithms which, when observed and committed in designing of a website with placement of various critical metatags that can surely achieve a high search engine presence and increase Internet traffic to your website.

Design:

Should you create an extensive Flash-based website, make sure to fill-in the property entries such as the Title, Description and Keywords. Failing to do so, leaves no hard HTML or ALT resource that can be readily indexed by search robots. Also consider the Internet audience and their incoming setup. For example, if they are on analog/dialup, Flash webpages take too long to load up and therefore analog users will likely lose interest and discontinue entering the Flash site. On the other hand, anyone on hi-speed DSL lines, will welcome Flash pages which load quickly. So before designing a pure Flash websitge, ask the simple question, "Who's my end user - is he on dialup or DSL?" And if you had to choose between these two users for maximum marketability, then select analog users since 80% of most resident users are still analog Internet subscribers and pure HTML designed webpages is best for them.

A non-Flash-based website which relies on hard text, is far easier to be indexed by search robots. Limit the use of stylized text saved as .gifs since as a graphic, they are not indexable by search robots. Avoid use of frames since any number of search robots are unable to properly classify textual material.

Placement of Metatags:

A ranking or search order does take place with Google and Yahoo and it begins with the "Title" metag which should consist of no more than 65 characters separated by commas. The "Title" should describe in generic terms, the goods and services, followed by a location from which the resource is located, i.e., city, state. The placement of a domain name which is not generic within the "Title" is not appropriate, unless your domain name is a major recognizable brand name.

The second metatag is the "Description" which is usually 25-30 words to form a complete sentence which best describes one's goods and services.

And the very last category - "Keywords" are also somewhat limited to 15-16 words which can be plural and compound in nature. Again, avoid multiple entries which could be mistaken as "spamdexed entries" which is defined as the loading, and submission of repetitive words into a particular metatag category.

Why do I need a website?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Why do I need a website?

It is no longer sufficient for a business or non-profit organization simply to have a Yellow Pages listing and to mail printed brochures. A website offers an opportunity to disseminate your message to a wide audience in a very cost effective manner. Ajiboye specializes in developing quality websites with well-organized content.

What website features do I need?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Here are some features you may want to consider for your website.

A website can be fairly basic, or it can be quite extensive, depending on your requirements. Ajiboye will implement the features that you need, such as a store, blog, photo gallery, content management system and integrated email campaign management. One of the advantages of using Ajiboye to develop your website is that Ajiboye offers several levels of website content management, so that you can update your own website at any time.

My website contain

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

What should my website contain?

The golden rule has always been that "content is king" on a website. This rule definitely still applies! Ajiboye has significant experience in organizing website content in order to create websites that are rich in information, yet accessible, logically consistent and easy to navigate.

Grab their attention...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Your website's home page is the most important. While it is important to have an attractive and well-designed website, it is equally important to have a home page that draws in potentially interested parties so that they will dig deeper into your website and contact you for more information.

Your home page is usually what visitors will see when they first visit your website (although they could find other pages via search engine queries). You have about five to ten seconds to grab their attention... and keep it. The most important part of your home page is the part "above the fold" - the portion that they can see without scrolling their browser window.

This is not to say that people will not scroll down on your home page. They will - if they are interested - and in fact, "below the fold" is a perfect place to present more information about you or your organization.

It is also worth noting that a good webdesigner will be aware that browser window sizes vary widely; with today's large monitors, one can resize their browser window to any size that they want, so there is no uniform "fold" that all users will consistently see. You can encourage viewers to scroll down by using visual cues like textual content that continues toward the bottom of the page, and images that the viewer must scroll to fully view. Of course, this is a deviation from "clean" design, and a good webdesigner will know when to best use these techniques.

To Have a Successful Website, Be Knowledgeable In Your Content

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

In order to develop a successful website, you need to formulate a great idea or theme. The subject for your website should be something that you are interested in and knowledgeable about. The premise of your website ought to be focused around something you yourself want to know something more about.

In general, to be flourishing website, your work needs to be something you love and are passionate about. You need to know more about the topic than most others do, however, you do not need to be an expert.

The theme for your website could be something related to family, personal interest, or even a hobby. It does not need to be of interest to everyone. Sometimes a limited and specialized website topic can attain great success. You can focus on your particular niche, where your competitors will be fewer.

When first beginning to build a website, focus on your special niche and then eventually broaden the topics to a greater general audience. It is important to grow slowly at first and keep your focus on your main potential consumers.

How To Grow Your Website

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

After you have found the perfect subject for your website, you then must give some thought on how your website can be grown. Greater growth can happen by investigating your subject area in greater detail or by the expansion of the subject area into different but related fields.

Try to think of your website as a store, with each web page being a product. Your main goal is to attract visitors to your store by offering the item they are looking for, as well as other items they had not planned on purchasing. Put many complimentary items or services together, and then navigate your visitors from one to another. For help on designing web pages, go to website design.

If you are able to foresee a great growth strategy for your site before you purchase a domain name, you will be able to select a specific web address that will attract search engines as well as visitors, but that will not limit your growth potential.

Similar to a solid store or business, the important thing to remember is location. Easily remembered web addresses are valuable and can even be bought and sold. It may take a little imagination and a few tricks, but you should be able to select an appropriate name.

Why It is Important to Choose a Virtual Domain Name

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Web addresses, otherwise known as virtual domain names are a good deal these days. There are a number of free tools on the internet that can help you search for domain names. Virtual domain names can be purchased online and don’t necessarily have to be used immediately. Domain registration is generally and easy process.

Probably the paramount benefit to having a virtual domain name is portability. You can choose to set your website up anywhere in the world and you are not tied to one web server or hosting company. If you are unsatisfied with any of the features your web host provides, you can easily more elsewhere while retaining your virtual domain name.

Another benefit to owning a domain name is its resale value. If you construct and grow a hugely successful commercial site, it becomes a valuable commodity. Obtaining a virtual address with a name appropriate to your business is one of the most important steps you can make.

You may be able to find a virtual domain name at little or even no cost from some web hosting companies. Usually you will have to use their web hosting services as well. Check out web hosting for more information.

How Can I Make Money From a Website?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

An easy way to earn money from a website is to join an affiliate program that will post banner advertisements on your site. There are many different firms and as many different compensation models in place. Internet marketing is a key strategy to making money online.

Some advertising firms will pay each time an ad is displayed on your website. Some firms will pay a flat fee when a visitor clicks on an advertisement. Still other advertising companies will pay you based on your sales performance.

Choose carefully which advertising firm you will work with. There are many that are not reputable and should be avoided. When choosing a company that pays reasonable rates look for one that has requirements of you as a business partner. Generally your website can not reside on a “free” server and must have its own domain name. They might require a minimum number of hits per month, as well as your website content must be legal, socially acceptable, and original. You also should be able to refuse any ads that are not compatible with your website, or you personally do not agree with.

Publishing Your Web Pages To the Internet

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Now that construction of your home page is finished, what do you do now? Your web page is still located locally on your computer, not on the internet. You can log on to the internet and you should be able to test your links to external web sites. Once this is done, you are ready to publish your page to the web.

To publish your web pages to the internet, you will need to copy your page with all music and graphic files (which your page uses from your computer's hard drive) to a web server.

First check to see if your internet service provider will supply you with free web hosting. Most likely you will be required to include a banner or icon on your page to promote the free hosting service or their sponsors. If your ISP does not provide free web hosting, there are some other options. You may want to check Web hosting first.

There are some disadvantages to using free web hosting services. Some of these services may provide an opportunity to discover and develop some basic web publishing skills, but their services are limited. There are many professional web hosting companies that offer inexpensive hosting packages with additional features such as these services.

When you register for most web hosting services, they will send you instructions on how to upload files to the web server. The web host provides you with a unique user ID and password your information will be kept private.

The process of transferring files to your server is an uncomplicated process. To avoid confusion, save your files on the server using the same file names that were used on your hard drive. The host site will prompt you for the name of the directory on your hard drive where your files are saved and request the names of the specific files to be uploaded. You will need a web browser to be able to upload your files.

Once you have uploaded all your files, be sure to test your page on the web server and make certain it functions properly. It may be a good idea to test your web page using a different computer to make sure all files are being read from the server and not from your hard drive.

If you feel overwhelmed at creating and uploading your files, and constructing your professional website, it may be time for you to request some professional services.

How Do I Get My Website Seen?

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Unfortunately, just because you built a web page, does not necessarily mean that people will come. The odds of your target audience finding your website are rather remote considering the several billion pages on the internet. The secret to guiding your target audience to your specific website is promotion, promotion, promotion!

Web page promotion requires registering your URL with many portals and search engines. Today, there are over hundreds of search engines. It is sometimes free to add your URL to some search engines, however, the effort of registration takes some time. Most major search engines now charge fees to register.

Only a few large search engines are used by most internet users regularly. These search engines are the ones you want to be sure to register with. Search engines can be subject specific, international, or national. Depending on your objectives, you will want to register with some of these. You can also check out internet marketing for more helpful strategies.

Steps to building a website

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The first thing when building a website is to be sure that your goals are clear. In order to obtain your goals, your objectives should drive the content and the design. Lay out a clear and precise plan before you begin and you will build a better, more effective website.

The most important steps to building a great website are:

1.) Define your goals

2.) Begin designing your web pages

3.) Determine a place on the web in which to publish your page

4.) Find a free HTML editor from the web and download to your computer

5.) Begin building your site

6.) Transfer your pages to the web server

After these steps are complete, you will want to begin promoting your website and finding opportunities to drive traffic to your site. Then you will track how many people are coming to your site and from there, fine tune your website.

If you need further help in designing a terrific, functional website for your home or business, check out website guide for more ideas.

If you feel overwhelmed by steps to creating your own website, visit Website Design for more help.

How To Arrange Content In Your Web Pages

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Obviously the most important part of your website is the content. The content you write should be valuable and make your visitors want to revisit your website. Evaluate your objectives and create a web page that will be suitable to your audience. Keep in mind that how the text is structured, which graphics are used etc. will all play in to the overall outcome of your web page.

Another important thing to consider is how your visitors will navigate through the website. Be sure to make it clear to understand and important objectives should stand out. Maintain the same premise throughout your web page, using the same fonts, ambience, and conventions. Remember to check all spelling and grammar before publishing your web pages!

Publishing web pages makes it easy to take advantage of many different types of multimedia. Different photos, videos, music and graphics can make your site interesting. Be careful not to overdo it. Too many graphics can often take longer to download and people won’t want to wait for the page to load. It may also take away from the actual content that you want people to focus on. A web page that loads quickly is a wonderful thing these days, when writing web pages, try to keep them small. If you need assistance in designing your web pages, check out Website solutions for more ideas.

If you are finding it difficult to design your own website, visit Website Design for help.

Adding Graphics, Pictures, or Tables To Your Web Pages

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Graphics, pictures, and tables can make your web pages exciting and attractive. Always be sure that you do not over do it! If you have too many graphics etc., it can make your website confusing and slow to download.

To keep it easy to maintain, all pictures, graphics, videos etc. should be kept in the same directory as your main HTML program file. Be sure to create a directory on your hard drive to consolidate all the software components you will use on your web pages.

Graphics can be found by searching the web for an “index of GIF files” or by searching “GIF library”. If you find something you can use, copy it to a directory on your hard drive by using your right click and selecting “save picture as”. To find music, search for “midi” and then the name of the artist. If you are unsure if a song or graphic is copyrighted, be sure to ask permission first before you use it.

When you find something you like, copy it to a directory on your hard drive by right clicking on the graphic and selecting "save picture as". To find appropriate music, search for "midi" and the name of the singer or composer. The names of these two file types end with ".gif" and ".mid". If you suspect that a graphic or song is copyrighted, you should ask permission from the owner before using it. To obtain more ideas for your web pages, go to Web design.

The use of tables to group and align text can help make a page more eye catching. Tables load faster and are produced easily from most HTML editors. Graphics and text can be easily modified and can be centered or aligned right or left. Spacing between table cells can be altered and borders can be changed or made invisible, depending on your preference.

These kinds of products are inexpensive and help to construct a well planned, attractive website that will be easy to maintain. For more assistance creating web pages, go to Website services.

How To Use HTML Editors To Design Web Pages

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Once you have downloaded the HTML editor program file of your choice, you'll need to install the HTML Editor on your computer. When the HTML editor is installed, you are ready to begin building your web pages.

Familiarize yourself with the HTML editor before you begin to use it. Your HTML editor should have a thorough tutorial. Also be sure to check out the help features that will explain precisely how to use it. In general, HTML editors perform much like word processors and are straightforward.

Most HTML editors allow you to insert HTML code wherever you think necessary. This works perfectly if you want to add video clips, music, or even a page counter to your website. HTML editors let you insert images into a body of text and also create hyperlinks to other pages. They also allow you to reference a file to be used as a background image.

Hyperlinks are words or even graphics on a web page that, when clicked on, take the visitor to another page or another web site. To add hyperlinks, you highlight the text field or graphic, then select the hyperlink icon and specify the destination address (URL). Remember to always specify the full URL address for it to work correctly.

Pages on your web site can be assigned any names you wish, however, your main page should always be allocated to the file name “index.htm”. Be sure to keep the names short and avoid using special characters such as “@,#*”. To keep it simple, it would be best to name all web page file names with "htm".

For additional help building websites, check out Website Design.