Schewanick Computer Services

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 side
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 is 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.



About the Author
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This
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