Make your site usable by everyone if possible.

1. Make your site usable by everyone if possible.

• A. Make pages that work on any browser.
  • If possible, try out your page on both Netscape and Explorer (current and earlier versions) and on both Windows and Macintosh platforms. Remember, however, that there are other browsers and other computer platforms, so it is unlikely that you will ever know exactly how your page will work for everyone.
  • If possible, don't require Java, JavaScript, Flash and other things that aren't available on all browsers.
  • Don't require a wide "window." Remember some screens are small and some visitors with wide screens will not be using full-screen windows.
  • Don't make your web page(s) depend on images. Be careful with using images for "text" items such as sub-titles, menu items, etc.
• B. Make pages usable by everyone regardless of their preference settings.
  • Remember that many people using the latest browsers may still have things like images, Java and JavaScript disabled.
  • Put the ALT code into any image code you have on the page. This allows those not viewing images to understand your page.
  • Make sure your page is readable even if a visitor doesn't download the background image.
• C. Make your site as backward compatible as you can.
  • For example, if you use Flash, and you can make something that works with the Flash 2.0 plugin, don't add some little cosmetic feature that requires you to save it as a file that only works with Flash 4.0.
  • Sometimes even if it can be done slightly more effectively utilizing features only available on the latest browsers, it is better to compromise and make a page that works for a wider audience.
• D. Make your pages usable by handicapped visitors as well.
  • With a little extra thought, you can make your page easy to access by people who have visual and other handicaps.
    • For the visually handicapped, make your page work with speech synthesizers and be careful about assigning font sizes and colors. Speech sythesizers can read text, but can't read images, so titles, sub-titles and other text displayed in an image get ignored, unless the ALT code is included.
  • Other handicaps to take into consideration are people with less powerful computers and slow Internet connections.
• E. There are cases where you don't need to make your site usable by everyone
  • If your target audience all use the same computer with the same browser installed with the same plugins using the same preference settings and they are all accessing the pages from the local server, then a lot of these points are irrelevant. (A certain number of people develop things to be used in their school's computer labs, so speed and compatibility aren't an important consideration.)
  • However, sometimes with just a little extra effort, you can also make your materials usable by everyone else on the web.

Guidelines for Designing a Good Web Site

This is a list of points that should be considered when designing a web site. Many of these are points that should be considered when developing any web site, some points are directed at any teacher developing educational web pages, and some points are specifically aimed at teachers of English as a Second Language.

1. Make your site usable by everyone if possible.
   Don't unnecessarily do things that limit the number of people that can benefit from your site.
2. Make your site as fast as possible.
   This not only makes your site more enjoyable to use, but also allows those with expensive and/or slow Internet connections to use your site.
3. Make your site easy to use.
   Make it uncluttered, easy to navigate and easy to read.
4. Make your site useful.
   Create a site that fills a need.
5. Maintain Integrity. Be Professional.
   Be honest. Offer what you claim to offer. Check your spelling.
6. Make your site friendly and fun to use.
   Make your site as attractive and fun as you can without making it slow.
7. Use "cutting edge technology" wisely and effectively.
   Use it when it's the best way to do something, but don't annoy visitors with "cute" stuff.
8. Remember that what you think is true may not be true.
   Some possible misconceptions.
9. Should I really worry about the minority who use less powerful computers, use older browsers and have slow Internet access?
   Yes.

From a visitor's point of view, a good web site is one that...

• ...is usable
• ...has something he/she wants
• ...doesn't waste his/her time and
• ...isn't irritating.

Originally published in Aichi Institute of Technology

Web Design Questions and Answers

Take this web design quiz to find out how much you know about web design...

What Is A Web Template?

A website template is a ready-made HTML layout for webmasters. Typically, webmasters need to only edit the text and links in the HTML page, and they can then have a website up and running in a very short amount of time. Web templates make the creation of a website easier and faster. Web templates are easy to edit and customize using an HTML editor.

Examples of a web templates can be found at Webmaster Templates - http://www.webmaster-templates.net

What Is A CSS File?

CSS stands for "Cascading Style Sheets", and are used to control and manage font styles, font sizes, and web site color combinations that are used in a web page. In order to retain continuity of "look and feel" throughout a website, all pages within a website will often refer to a single CSS file. The CSS file is typically contained in a separate file from the website, and the various web pages retrieve the CSS file each time a web page is displayed. CSS files make global appearance changes easy -- a single change in a CSS file will mean that any pages using that CSS file will automatically display the changes.

What Is A Dreamweaver Template?

Dreamweaver Templates allow webmasters to define "editable" and "non-editable" regions of a webpage. The "non-editable" regions can only be edited in the Dreamweaver Template. Any changes made to the Dreamweaver Template update any HTML pages that use the template.

What Is More Important -- Web Design Or SEO?

Web Design and SEO(Search Engine Optimization) are not mutually exclusive. The best webmasters are familiar with Search Engine Optimization techniques, as well as Website and Graphical Design. It is difficult to have a successful website if you neglect either SEO or Design. The two are intricately woven, and really must coexist to achieve website success.

How Much Does A Website Cost?

It depends on many variables. Custom website design can range from $500-$2000 for a single web template. The price varies, depending on the complexity of the design. Webmasters can also use a stock web template, which can cost as little as $10.00, or as much as several hundreds of dollars. Some stock templates are available for exclusive use, and exclusive designs tend to be more expensive. Website content development and Search Engine Optimization can be even more expensive, and are ongoing expenses.

If A Website Is Designed In Dreamweaver, Can I Edit It With Another HTML Editor?

Yes, most websites and designs can be edited in any HTML editor.

What Is A WYSIWYG Editor?

WYSIWYG stands for "What You See Is What You Get", so if you are using a WYSIWYG editor to design and create your web page, you have a pretty good idea of how the page will look in a web browser. Think of Microsoft Word -- when you change a font, you see the font change immediately in the MS Word document. The same is true in a WYSIWYG Editor, in that you see changes immediately within the editor itself, as opposed to having to save the page and then separately load and view it in a web browser.

Do You Have To Know HTML To Design A Website?

Knowing HTML is certainly helpful in website design, especially when very minor tweaks and adjustments are necessary, but it is not absolutely required for website design. There are a number of WYSIWYG editors and web templates available, which can assist new webmasters with the design process. Using a web template and a WYSIWYG editor, new webmasters are able to create a web page by simply cutting and pasting content into a web template.

What Does HTML Stand For?

HTML stands for "HyperText Markup Language". HTML is the markup language that typically resides behind the web page. Information related to the website design is indicated by "tags". HTML is what is considered a simple markup language.

What Is The Difference Between Dynamic And Static Web Pages?

A "Dynamic" web page is one that is automatically created "on the fly" as it is presented, while a "Static" web page is pre-configured and not interactive. Dynamic web pages will often pull information from somewhere else before displaying the page, so the page content is ever-changing. The information on a Dynamic webpage often results from a database query, such as "search" results. Another kind of Dynamic page simply pulls information from another source, such as a web page that displays an RSS feed -- it's "Dynamic" because the page content changes each time the RSS feed is updated. The information contained in a Static page is considered "flat", and never changes until the webmaster re-codes it.

Originally published in SiteProNews