HTML Web Page Design Guidelines
Keep
images as small as possible. Images, by far, take the longest to load. Remember
that the vast majority of users on the Internet use a 14.4 baud modem. That 87 Kilobyte
JPEG can take minutes to download. As a general rule, JPEGs are larger, but have better
quality than GIFs. However, GIFs provide a much faster transfer and more than acceptable
quality (256 maximum colors in GIFs is not too noticeably different than the 24 million
colors allowed by JPEGs).
When intricate detail is not necessary, GIFs are often the ideal format
for web pages. Make your images as small and simple as possible; this reduces the download
time.
Make sure that
your page is viewable. Say you designed your web site using an enormous monitor
with a resolution of 1200 x 1600 with 24 million colors. Well, some folks will be viewing
your site with a 640 x 480 16 color resolution. What they see and what you see can be
radically different -- and most of the time, what they will see are blurry graphics or
text that runs off the viewing screen. A great way to turn off potential site users!
A safe standard for color and resolution design would be 640 x 480 with 16
colors. However, many web sites today use 256 color graphics -- and sometimes you want to
use higher-resolution images. In general, it's OK to use 256 color graphics, but check to
see how they look on a 16 color screen. Sometimes you don't always get what you aim for:
on a 256 color (or higher) screen
|
on a 16 color screen
|
Of course, if you're viewing this on a 16 color screen, the
two images look alike!
Back to Top
Make sure your
page is readable; the text size should be large enough to read and contrasts well
enough with the background. Dark text on dark background is very difficult to read. As a
general rule, light gray or white backgrounds with black text are good for reading. Your
background, if an image, should not be so busy as to compete with the text. If you seem to
be having trouble picking out text, chances are others will too.
Another topic of
controversy is how much information to place on a page. Many people hate
scrolling down a web page to view more information. Unfortunately, if you have a lower
resolution monitor you usually will be scrolling down a lot to view larger images or read
text. The best thing to do in this case is to try to limit how much information you have
on a single page. If you are planning to have a lot of information, place a Table of
Contents at the top of the page and let people click to a particular topic on that page.
Back to Top
Make sure
everything works! It is understandable to have some areas of your web page under
construction, but having a whole menu of links that bring up "Under
Construction" or a blank screen is pretty frustrating. It's OK to constantly update
your pages and change things around, but don't just put up a big orange construction
barrel. If a link doesn't or won't be working anytime soon, don't bother to have a link to
it.
Beware of
browser-specific features. Just because you use a particular brand of browser
doesn't mean that everyone else does. If you want your page to reach a maximum audience,
design your page using the independent web standards (the current specification is HTML
3.2). If you feel you must use a browser specific feature (Like an Internet Explorer
<marquee> tag or Netscape's blinking text), be sure to warn your visitors upon
entering, or provide alternate methods that accomplish the same result.
Back to Top
So, pay attention to the fact that not everyone can see the page as you
do, so design your site for easy viewing and readability.
Return
to Building a Web Site