How To Make A Good Website
Posted by ElectraWoman on the 16 11 04 - 09:46
General design tips for webmasters.
Author: Cissi
Email: netizenette@gmail.com
Website: don't squeeze my world.Have you noticed the amount of websites nowdays? There are literally millions of people who have staked their little piece of cyberspace....and have you noticed that many of these websites are not ones you would want to revisit? Some of these sites makes their visitor's lives just that much harder by having difficult-to-navigate, difficult-to-read...in fact, difficult-to-do-anything pages.
Here are some helpful tips to help your site avoid becoming yet another website from hell.
The Background and Scrollbar: In my opinion, the best backgrounds are simple and easy on the eye. Choose either a neutral colour such as white, or a pastel colour that won't detract too much from the content. If your background features images, then attempt to make them as unobtrusive as you can. A background is just that - a background. The background adds interest to the site and complements the main content, but it shouldn't be one of the main feature. I don't think there is any need for a background image to a) take five minutes to load on a slow connection and b) take up an entire page.
Also, remember this simple idea: a dark text on a dark background will equal an unreadable page. The same idea goes for light text on a light background. Repeat both to yourself several times before embarking on a site design.
Coloured scrollbars are not necessary, in my opinion. Coloured scrollbars work in only one browser - Internet Explorer - and not everyone uses it. There is the myth that Mozilla/Firefox [the most compliant browser to date] is used by only 5% of online browsers, but look around - the numbers are increasing.
Layout and Content: The principle of a good site layout is quite basic, really - it contains readable content and navigation sections. It doesn't matter how the site is laid out- be it a three-column layout, a two-column layout or something entirely bizzare - as long as it doesn't require the user to strain in order to work out what goes where. If you would like to use symbols or images, please use either "title" attribute for text links, or an "alt" attribute for images. Both informs visitors just what the symbols or images stand for. To insert these attributes, type either:
<a href="___" title="___">
<img src="__" alt="___">
Another reason for "alt" tags on images is that not everyone wants to, or is able to, view images. There are times when I don't view images because of an extra-slow connection, or because I want to save bandwidth for something else. As for the "title" tags - I've found it to be also very useful if I want to add additional information on a link, without cluttering up my menu space.
You may place whatever content you wish on your site, but please, please...use your language properly. If you're using English for your site, have the courtesy to spell and type out proper English sentences, and apply the same rule if you are using other languages. There is no need to butcher the language. Speaking of English specifically, I can butcher the English language as well as some 1337 h4X0r5 but I actually prefer to have a website that other people can understand. If you are unsure as to the spelling of a word, please use spellchecker.
Code: I highly recommend anyone to have a valid website, or, at the least, have valid CSS. A valid website may not always be possible, because I'm aware that some blog scripts will invalidate a page, but valid CSS will most likely mean a site will appear the way you intended it on any browser. This is especially important for those who are using a purely CSS site design.
Speaking of CSS - it is highly recommend that you learn it. Using CSS means you can alter the layout, text colours and fonts on multiple pages, just by using the one file. It heavily reduces the amount of code required for a website. CSS can be daunting to learn initially, but it is quite easy once the basics are mastered. For a great tutorial on CSS, check out W3Schools.
Lastly, try to refrain from using <a target="_blank"> codes and the like, which forces new windows to open. It can become confusing for people when they have several windows open, and, with the advent of tabbed browsing through the likes of Firefox, there's no need for these codes. If people want to open a new window, they can do so themselves...and that is often their preference.