Finding References to Good Website Design
There are many websites with advice on web design. I do not want to overwhelm you with too many links, so this is a limited list of references to good website design that I have found useful and instructive.
Usability Gurus
The most referenced usability guru is Jakob Neilsen. His website is a model of simplicity and readability. There are many useful articles and links on his website: useit.com
Another useful collection of articles on usability - some by Jakob Neilsen, and some by other people - are found at the Webreference website: Webreference
Standards & Educational Groups
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
The W3C is the main standards group championing the use of XHTML and CSS. They have some very useful, free tools for the developer who is creating websites following these standards.
Tools
The W3C CSS Validation Service can validate the CSS on any web page. To us the validation service you just need to enter the URL of the web page on:
This site has validated CSS so I can use this icon on it:
The W3C XHTML Validation Service works in the same way. (The XHTML for this website does validate before YahooGeocities - the host of this website - adds code to the bottom of each page! The YahooGeocities code is not valid, and I cannot alter or remove it!) Enter the URL of the web page, or direct the validation service to a file on your hard drive, on:
Tutorials
For in depth tutorials on any aspect of the W3C standards, the W3Schools website is invaluable:
W3C Free Web Building Tutorials
News
For news and other information on the standards, the W3C website is loaded with information:
Other Groups
Another website that is very educational for many aspects of standards compliant web design:
A friendly website that educates as well as voices opinions on web design is:
A useful website with much CSS & HTML detail is:
Design Awards
There are a few websites that give awards for web design. Many do not have recent information, but you can still find some operating award sites.
The Webby Awards is a current website which has some very interesting links to award winning designs. These websites are typically much more intricate than the web pages developed in this tutorial, but you can get some great ideas from surfing through this website:
Color Advice
For suggestions on colors on web pages, I found this website useful:
For a list of RGB codes and sample colors see:
Spell Checking
For free spell checking, go to: