Site Tips
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A list of tips I've created for you to have a great site, whether it's young or old.
For Good Design
- Don't use everything you know for a layout.
Using too much javascript and/or other internet elements can really make a website look bad and dysfunctional. - Validate the HTML and CSS.
You can validate your HTML/XHTML coding from W3C here and your CSS here. Follow the advice at the bottom of the page if your coding is not valid. Validating your coding not only makes the site better from a web designer's perspective, but can help with its overall look. - Use Browser Compatibility.
Browser compatibility is basically the way a website's layout differs/stays the same from browser to browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox, etc.). Making sure that your layout is compatible with several browsers ensures one that the site will look the same for all viewers. - Make it easy to navigate.
A hard-to-get-through site is definitely a downer for any visitor. Make sure that clear words or phrases are used for navigation. (ex. no "And the lion fell in love with the lamb" links to get to content. People won't know how to click that!) - Keep content tidy and organised.
Create categories and sub-categories for your content. If there's a lot of something, divide it into pages or other sub-categories. If there's little of something, keep it combined in a category and don't separate it any further. - Use a colour pallette.
Colours are an extremely popular and good way to keep the eye flowing throughout the layout. Use good colour combinations to make your site look very nice. I have some example colour pallettes here. - Use different headers.
Use h1/h2/h3, etc. for different things. Ex., the 'site tips' is my Header 1 because it's the primary topic, and 'For Good Design' is my Header 2 because it's a secondary topic. - Keep a constant layout.
It's very confusing to a visitor when a layout changes from place to place. Keep all of your pages' layouts constant and the same so that visitors don't get confused.
For Good Maintenance
- Create a contact form/page.
Creating a contact page so that visitors can tell you if something's wrong is a really good way to help your site out. Creating a form on the page is a better way for contacting, so that visitors don't have to go and open up their e-mails. - Have a 'test' page for layouts.
It's annoying when a site is down for a long time for a simple layout change. Create a test page so that you can create, code, and edit a layout while keeping your site open and with its current layout. When you're ready to change layouts, just switch the layout codes. - Test all your pages!
Don't be afraid to look at your site and go through all your links, and make sure that all new pages work. It's irritating when a link is broken or images don't work, etc. Check up on your old pages every once in a while. - Update / update with no updates.
Make sure that you don't desert you site. Even leaving a message saying "I'm busy and can't get on much" will ensure visitors that you still acknoweldge your site's existence. Business is always accepted. - Check all contact outputs AMAP.
As much as possible, check your email/tagboard/blog and anything else where people can leave their comments so that you can get in touch and connect. You don't have to update to reply to emails.
For Better Visitor Content
- Don't use TinyPic.
TinyPic can be used for personal stuff, but images expire over a year. Giving visitors TinyPic URLs can mess up their webpages when the images expire. - Make certain stuff direct-linkable.
PhotoBucket is a common and good way to get good bandwidth that doesn't take away from your website's. Use it to upload your images so that visitors can direct link (because some visitors will have no clue what to do when you say 'save to your own server and use'). Make think undirect-linlable and direct-linkable based on what type of visitors would be using them (ex. graphic designers vs. MySpace users). - Add and replace.
Delete stuff that's not good, replace stuff that's good but could be better, and add new stuff over time. This will give the visitor interest in what you have. Also, 'old' is not 'bad.' If you think that something is popular or just pretty, keep it. - Keep a 'credits' page with all credits.
Not keeping a credits page can actually be illegal. Make sure that you keep all credits, including programs used and image galleries used. Note: it's actually not required that you link back for using tutorials for coding/graphics.