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Why Create Web Pages?
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to convey information or ideas
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to inform the world
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to sell something
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to express oneself (writing, art, and
design)
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for fun and the challenge of learning
something new
Planning and
Designing a Website
In order to design an effective website, you need to ask yourself the
following questions:
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Who is
my target audience?
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What are
my goals and objectives?
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Is my
information accurate and up-to-date?
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Are my
resources and links credible?
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What
image do I want to portray?
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Will my
website meet required accessibility standards
Do not rush into creating
your website but spend quality time planning and designing it. It is
much more cumbersome and time consuming to redo your work than to do it
right the first time. In the end, the extra time spent in the planning
and designing stage will help create a more informative and
user-friendly website.
Good Design Tips
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Keep your page simple, yet eye-appealing and user-friendly
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Include navigational links
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Use serif fonts for your headlines and
subheadings
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Use sans serif fonts for your body text
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Use graphics with discretion. Limit the number of
graphics and graphic size. Reduce the size of your graphic but not its quality. A single image
should not be larger than 30K. Resolution should be 72 pixels per
inch.
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Use only graphics that are web approved -
gif, jpg, bmp, or png
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Use thumbnails to reduce the download time
of your graphics
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Test your site on different size computers
screens and
on different browsers (Web Explorer, Netscape, and Firefox)
Other Important Tips
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Clarify the purpose of your website
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Adhere to ADA accessibility standards
(section 508)
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Keep your download time to 8 seconds or
less
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Keep sentences short and simple
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Create short pages
or use bookmarks for longer pages
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Create links from the top of your page to
the bookmarked items
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Check your pages, resources, and links
frequently - ensure that your information is current, up-to-date, and accurate
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Spell check your pages
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Include contact information on your site
(name, address, phone, email, and the date the website was last modified)
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Limit the use of frames -- they are not
supported by many browsers
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Do not use marquees and blinks -- they
are not readable by screen readers
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Include a search form for easier access
to your site's information
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Remember that everything on the web is assumed to be
copyrighted, even if it is not explicitly mentioned. Get permission to
use images or text from the copyright holder before using it.
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If you quote from other publications give
a citation just as you would when writing an article.
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