I haven't been creating webpages for a terribly long time, only three years. However, in those three years i've learned alot especially some things that make the difference between a really nice page and a not so nice page. This page is going to outline some do's and don'ts for webpages.

  • Spelling
    It's really important to have a site free of spelling mistakes. If you have pages on your site with alot of text, I would suggest writing the text out first just like you would a term paper and run it through a spell checker in a word processing program. You may not be a wiz on your first venture into web page creation, but your site will look just as nice if it's free of spelling mistakes. Now with that said, can you spot all the typos in this site? :)

  • Don't overdue the graphics
    Webpage graphics are just the thing to jazz up a bland site. However, too many graphics is a pain to look at and a pain to load especially if you're using animated graphics. When I first started out, I had so many animated graphics on my site at once it looked like a christmas tree. Things were flashing and moving and scrolling and blinking and it looked like a mess. I'm sure I chased many web visitors away with my page which is a ashame because I had some really nice content to my pages. So if you want people to come back to your site, make it easy for them to view your site by going easy on the amount of graphics you use.

  • Java Script
    Java script is really cool but too much of it can also slow down your site. Try to keep your scripts to a minimal and consider whether or not you really need them on your site. A mouse over effect like the one on this page is really nice and usually doesn't slow up your page, but a death clock, a calculator or little scrollies at the bottom of your page really aren't important. They're nice for about a minute, but then can get old really fast. Keep in mind, Less is More

  • Blinking Text
    This one is simple....DON'T USE IT! If you do use it, only blink one or two words and put it someplace where people won't have to stare it throughout the majority of your site...either at the top or bottom of a page. If you want your text to stand out, try using different colored fonts, bold and italic tags, bullets, or underlines.

  • The War of the Browsers
    When creating a site, it's a good idea to keep Netscape and Internet Explorer users in mind. Your site may look ace in IE, but looks completely out of wack in Netscape especially if tables are involved. IE overlooks alot of things that Netscape doesn't. Download both browsers and then adjust your site to work on both if you have errors. DO NOT suggest to people that they should use one browser over the other to view your pages (unless you have tried everything in the book but you still can't your site to load correctly in both browsers). It's not only rude, it's inconvient and lacks good net ettiquette. Think about it, would you really download another browser just so you can view someone's site because they are too lazy to make their site work on all browsers? Chances are you'd scoff and go on to someone else's site. Once again, you want people to come back to your site and make their surfing experience as pleasant as possible.

  • Sounds
    If you put sounds on your pages, like midis, mods or wav files, make sure you include some type of console that displays a play and stop button. Give people a choice as to whether they want to hear sounds on your page. DO NOT code your sounds to start automatically when the page loads. Someone may be viewing your site at work or at school. Trust me, nothing is more embarrasing then viewing someone's site and all of a sudden, Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" blasts through your speakers in midi form and your boss looks at you from across the office with that stern "I thought you were working" look on his face.

  • Are you a thief?
    If you're going to use someone else's files on your pages (graphics, sounds etc...) make sure it's ok for you to use these files on your pages and then provide a link back to the creator's site with a small note saying who created them. You'll see this mostly with web page graphics (take a look at the bottom of this page for example) and most of the time, the creator will provide a lovely tiny banner for you to display on your page. Doing this gives credit to the creator and cuts down on the amount of theft on the internet.

    Well I just outlined a few important things to consider when creating your pages. As I become better at creating webpages, I'll update this page to include other do's and don'ts. If you have any questions about what to do and what not to do on your webpage, feel free to email me and I'll share my opinions with you.