Web Page Basics
A great website is also simple, clean, and well structured. It should include a simple layout, ease of navigation and be fast loading. It should allow users to search for and locate what they want in the quickest and easiest manner. Your website should also reflect you. Loading time The time it takes for your website to load can make or break it. Internet users are the least patient people. Your website should load within seven seconds....You have that much time for the site to load and to catch the eye of the viewer. To do this, keep the graphics to a minumun. There should be more text than images and images used should be small in kb. If you are using a background be sure the file size is not large. If possible use the same images and background on all pages because once loaded on the browser they appear from the cache. If you must change images, keep other elements. Then the browser only needs to load the new images. Consistency Keep your website consistent. Backgrounds, colors, fonts, navigation buttons should all be more or less uniform. A consistent website lets people recognize where they are and "brands" your site for the viewer. Website Navigation Excerpts From Tandem Tribune 12-03 Set The Table Written by Sally The ease of which your visitors can find what they came for on your website, plays a big part in how long they stay and if they return again. When designing your website, it should be comprehensive and also instinctive. The trick is to design your site so it balances with how it functions. Your lnks should be clearly identifiable. They should be short enough to fit on one line of the navigation structure you have chosen and at the same time give a clear idea of where they go. A link called Gifs only gives us one small piece of information. Misc. Gifs doesn't help much...but Clown Gifs tells us everything. The way you categorize things on your website should be used consistently on all pages. If you use item identification i.e. Clown Gifs for one section continue that throughout your site. If you alphabatize continue it.... Breaking your website into submenus will give your visitors more ease also. One submenu might be Gifs and under that you have Clown Gifs, Worm Gifs, Glitter gifs......Another submenu might be Backgrounds and there you might have Sky Backs, Grass Backs, Glass Backs and so forth. This also eliminates long pages that are slow to load... You should also include some sort of text navigation at the bottom of every page. When your visitors can come in, and easily find what they want, they are more likely to bookmark your site and return often. Browsers Be assured that your site will be seen on many different computer browsers. Different browsers display the same page in different ways. But some easy guidelines can make your page viewable to many. Try to view your site on other browsers. Your site will never look the same on all browsers, monitors, and PC's but it can be not only viewable and attractive on all. |