Here is a list of some tips to help you with your web pages.
These are simply suggestions to help you create a better surfing
experience for your visitors.
Avoid Under Construction signs - All good web sites should
always be under construction. Including the words "under
construction", or worse yet a blinking animation, only makes you
look like an amateur. These notices are so frowned upon that
directories such as Yahoo will not accept sites with one on the
home page. Most awards programs will immediately reject any
sites displaying this dishonorable phrase.
Don't use a hundred different fonts on the same page - You can
run into all kinds of problems when you use fonts on the
internet. There are incompatibilities between operating systems
(Unix, Mac and Windows all work differently) and browsers. Fonts
have to be installed locally by your visitor - if he doesn't
have it installed, your page may look funny to him.
If you mix many different fonts on your page you are almost
immediately known as an amateur. A font or two is fine, but work
to avoid the "ransom note" effect.
Don't write your HTML to a particular browser - Browsers change
very quickly. The one that is popular today may be almost unused
in a few months. So don't spend any time trying to fit your HTML
to Internet Explorer or Netscape or Opera. Just make good HTML
and then let the browser do it's job.
Use style sheets - Style sheets (known as CSS) is a way to gain
incredible control over how items are displayed on your pages.
Better still, you can create one style sheet document and
reference it from all over your web. This way, if you want to
change, say, your text color from green to blue, you only have
to change one file. Every reference to the style will
automatically and immediately get changed.
Include Meta Tags - Meta tags are used to tell the outside
world, especially search engines, all about your pages. You
should include the appropriate meta tags on each and every page.
These tags need to give a description, copyright notice, author
name, language and search keywords. In addition, it is a good
idea to include the RSAC rating for content filters.
Include a descriptive title - Be sure and write a short, keyword
heavy, very descriptive title for each page. Search engines rely
on these titles in determining how to index your site. Be sure
your title is accurate and honest as well.
Avoid lots of moving things - An occasional animation is great
and can turn a boring page into an award winner, but don't go
overboard. In general, more than one animation per page is
excessive.
Don't change your visitors settings - Don't change the browser
controls, the window size or the cursor. Many surfers (myself
included) get very annoyed when these things are changed - and
annoyed web surfers tend to never come back. Two of the worst
offenses: changing the back function to do something other than
go back to the previous page and disabling the right click.
Remember not everyone is from your country - This is called the
world wide web, and you must remember that your document will be
read by people all over the planet (and maybe even from outer
space!)
- Be sure your dates make sense. For example, 01/02/01 means
January 2, 2001 in the United States but February 1, 2001 in
many European countries. I prefer dates in the format 1 January
2001, although you may also write 2001-01-02 (year, month and
day).
- If you write a time, be sure and indicate the time zone.
- Be sure and include your area code on the phone number, and
specify which country if appropriate.
Include height and width on images - This allows the browser to
"pre-allocate" the space for the graphic on the display, which
makes it all look better. In addition, if ALT tags are included
with the images, then something will display even if the image
does not.
Include ALT tags on all graphics - By including an ALT tag on
graphics, you ensure that your page will look good even if your
visitors surf with images disabled.
Include a contact method - Web sites are created by human
beings, and web surfers appreciate knowing they can communicate
with someone. Some webmasters like to include a "mailto" link on
every page. I prefer using a link to an email form so my email
address is not harvested by spam robots. Whatever method you use
is fine, as long as visitors have a way of reaching you.
Check your pages - Once you've finished a page, be sure and test
it. Check each link to be sure it actually goes somewhere. It is
also a good idea to check each page in the major browsers -
Netscape, Internet Explorer and Opera. The pages will not always
look the same, but you should at least make sure they look
decent.
Make your pages consistent - Your navigation and layouts should
be consistent from page to page. Your visitors will then know
what to expect as they surf through your site.
Keep your colors sane - A pink background with bright florescent
green letters is probably not the best way to win friends. Use
all of the colors you want, but it's best not to make your pages
resemble an LSD nightmare.
Keep down the page size - Remember most surfers are still using
dialup connections. Thus, you need to keep your pages small
(including graphics). Thirty to fifty kbytes per page is about
the right size.
Don't use ActiveX controls - Personally, I will immediately
leave a site which asks me to download an ActiveX control. Why?
Because ActiveX depends upon the surfer trusting the person who
created the control. How would I know if this thing is safe? I
prefer the Java security scheme, which is much better defined
and safer (in my humble opinion).
Don't use popup advertisements - You really want to annoy your
visitors? Popup advertisements are a good way to get people
really unhappy. It's a good idea to never throw an ad up in
front of your visitors - that is, if you want them to come back.
