SEO Web Designers - Web site design Guide
A website may include text, images, sounds and other content, and may also be interactive.”
There are a few special considerations you need to take into account when preparing graphics for the web. This section provides some insight into different types of web graphics, as well as how to create them and prepare them for the web.
There are many ways you can build a web page, here are three methods.
1. Use a pre-made template: WHAT IS A WEB DESIGN TEMPLATE?
A web site design template is a pre-made website design template which can be customized to reflect your company's branding. Website design templates can be found in various formats like Photoshop and HTML. Many times, these templates are compatible with HTML editors like GoLive, FrontPage, and Dreamweaver.
Web site templates can be very useful; they can be used by experienced web designers to 'jump-start' the creation of a website. They are also a way for people to put out great-looking web sites quickly with little or no knowledge of HTML and web design.
2. Use an HTML editor like FrontPage or Dreamweaver:
HTML editors make building web pages feel like (to a certain extent) creating a document in Microsoft Word ... it's made pretty easy. But the downside is that you lose a certain amount of control of what you're doing and in some cases become dependent on the program.
3. Hand-code your HTML in a text editor like Notepad:
That means you type in the HTML code yourself. This is the approach we are using here, because it's the quickest way to build web pages, and it is arguably the best way because you have the most control over what you're doing.
Make sure you follow all the HTML standards. Sometimes it seems like the extra work is an exercise in redundancy, but remember that not everyone has the same browser as you do, and different browsers might interpret things differently...the more exactly you spell out the content, the better the browser will be able to display it. Some common HTML omissions are:
<HTML> and <HEAD> tags
HEIGHT and WIDTH attributes for <IMG> tags
ALT attributes with alternate text for <IMG> tags
ending tags for <HEAD>, <BODY>, <P>, and <CENTER> tags
proper codes for extended characters
Example of proper coding:
<html> <head> <title>my site</title> </head> <body> <p> Welcome to my site </p> </body> </html>
There are also some technical reasons why you should try to be fully HTML-compliant, as some browsers are more efficient when the proper HTML code is used. As an example, newer releases of Netscape and Microsoft browsers will insert placeholders for images if you have specified the HEIGHT and WIDTH tags (as the HTML standard specifies). This allows the browser to display the rest of the page even if the images have not fully loaded. Many people also browse without loading images (because of the faster download times)...this will allow you to reach those people as well.
If you do decide to use browser-specific HTML attributes, make sure that your documents are fully backwards-compatible. If your web site is commercial, better HTML compliance guarantees that your site can be viewed by a larger audience of potential customers. Not all customers have graphical browsers, and in the near future, some may have browsers that haven't even hit the market yet. This makes it important to follow standards, because as a web developer, it is almost impossible to test your site on every browser...and the one person who visits your site with an outdated browser may just be your best client.
Every week there's a new hot thing on the web, making it almost impossible to catch up...but if you want to reach a wider audience, try to wait until something is generally accepted by users and developers. Somebody needs to push the envelope with testing new products, but this has to be balanced by the willingness of your visitors to download components just to view your site (or their inability to do so, preventing them from seeing what you have to offer). Some examples of this are:
This doesn't mean you have to avoid these things, as there is a time and place for everything (as well as a value for being on the forefront)...but be aware that not everyone will be able to enjoy the extended benefits of these features, so use them wisely, and ensure that there is an alternative for people who don't want the 'extras'. Keep in mind that there are always different ways of achieving an end result.
Why learning HTML and CSS makes sense.
Tools like Dreamweaver are great, especially if you are building old-style web sites based on tables, sliced images, et cetera. But if you want to be able to build what I call 4th generation websites, then these tools will get in the way of you learning and will actually slow you down!
Learning to build your web sites using HTML will give you far better control over the process and ultimately your web sites. You will have a far deeper understanding of the web, and as a result you will create better web sites quicker - much quicker.
