Web DesignThere are roadblocks on the way to websitedom, so my hope is to take a John Deer Bulldozer (do they make bulldozers? The should, and put that little leaping deer on it) and, uh, clear out those blocks I suppose.
CONTENTS
Background: Keep the background simple. There should not be very many designs, or too many colors. A solid color works the best, or a background with different color sections. It's hard to read text on busy backgrounds. Also, backgrounds should not flash so as not to give the visitor a seizure. And don't make the background more interesting than the page content. Site templates are nice. They give a professional, finished look. But make sure your template matches your page content. Try www.freesitetemplates.com and if you don't like theirs, they have links to other template pages. Know that the background colors and themes will be associated with your personality. Black is an easy and cool background to use, but people associate it with depression or Goths, and Paris Hilton thinks it's boring (let's name drop). If you like the background color, but aren't depressed, gothic, or boring you might want to think twice about using it. Not to say that you can't, but just think about how your background will reflect upon you as a person. Fonts: Some people think it's fun to have a whole bunch of curly-ques in their text. They might argue that it is creative, pretty, and shows that they really care about their website. While they may have spent more time formatting the text, it doesn't always help the look of their website. You want the visitor to breeze through your page easily, understand it fully, and never guess on what they are reading. Times New Roman may be a default font, but it is for a reason! The newspapers use it, magazines use it, books use it, people are used to seeing it respond to it better; use it too. Courier is a nice alternative, obviously.. Did your capslock button stick? No? You never know with the sticky keys on my laptop, but why is your page in all caps? Leave the all capital-letter essay for your English teacher to get annoyed at. And remember, paragraph, paragraph, paragraph. If you wouldn't turn it into an English teacher, don't put it on your website. Or better yet for many of you, if you would still turn it into an English teacher, but still get maybe an...F!...need I say more? Graphics: Minimize text overlapping pictures. In some cases it looks great (while saving much needed space sometimes), but those are rare occasions. If you have text overlapping, make sure you can read it clearly rather than assuming the visitor can make it out. Try to have your own graphics and pictures. It makes your site very personal. And that way, your site will be very original because no one else has those pictures. Don't use overused pictures. Dollz are overused. Some celebrity pictures are overused. Pictures that you tend to see over and over and over again are to be avoided. You don't want your website too look like everybody else's. Pictures should not bounce or follow your cursor. It's way too busy, and do you like to be stalked? And the cursor trailsβ¦no! They get in the visual way of what you want to click, or follow along with. Leave out under construction signs. Sure, your webpage MAY be under construction, but don't announce it to the world. Maybe put it in small print at the bottom of the page. Other General Annoyances and Tips: Make sure everything is clearly labeled ALL THE TIME, even if it seems repetitive and silly. The visitor should never have to guess or assume where they are. And say, what if, they leave to go to the bathroom, and then get sidetracked afterwards and come back in an hour and still wish to view your page. Is there the possibility that they have forgotten where they are? The answer is yes, so make sure that these busy visitors are never confused. If you have a specific point to a page, don't make the visitors hunt for it. You may think they are smart enough to find it, but many are stupid, absent minded, or preoccupied with other matters. Make your point clear, and if you have pictures, don't have them lead away from the focus, or point, but rather to it. Use an original title for the page. "Tanna's Page," "Tanna's Domain," or "Tanna's Site," are unoriginal. However, make sure the page doesn't through the reader off. Webpage music is tacky and takes a while to load. The webpage becomes the music and not the real content. People may not appreciate the song you have placed on it, and it will turn them off the site before they get there. Also, it takes up a lot of space on the server. Unless you have a music/band/artist tribute page, leave the music off. Get a counter and a guestbook. Maybe a message board or a chat room. Let the visitors interact with you and maybe each other, and allow for feedback and input. Being told your site is perfect is awesome and can brighten a depressing day. Never, NEVER, use web jargon. That's phrases like "brb" "LOL" "imho" or abreiviated worded like "u" for "you" or "neway" for "anyway." Keep your site looking professional by using standard language. Save this language for MySpace and chatting. Page Content Update your page often and make it a page people will come back to again and again and again. Make sure they can't see it all in one sitting, or make it one long sitting. Here are some content ideas:
Celebrity HTML
http://www.davesite.com/webstation/html/ (a good tutorial) |