What You Should Know
What to expect in web design
Web design differs from graphic design and desktop publishing. It’s really not hard to use a web page editor that creates a page that looks absolutely splendid on your computer, but when you look at it on-line with a different computer, it turns into a muddy, garbled, ugly mess.
One problem defies easy solution. No two monitors display the same, and some favor some colors over others. A page that features golden text on a dark brown background may display well at home, and be completely unreadable on the neighbor’s system. Beware subtle graduations between text and background!
People also set their web browsers to suit their own needs and preferences, and this can involve doubling the size of the text displayed, or eliminating backgrounds and other images, and substituting typefaces. Imagine writing a book, one where the reader can select the type face, page color, size, and even the type of cover. Don’t be wedded to the notion of the perfect layout. Settle for one that can’t be seriously messed with.
These situations can be eased, but not solved completely. Placement on a web page isn’t alwaysexact, and can produce surprising results. I test on a variety of web browsers and learned that what seems like a rock-solid command in one browser might be treated as a vague suggestion in another. I know where a lot of the pitfalls in layout reside, but since I don’t know all of them, I test. And test. And test some more.
If anyone guarantees they can give you top twenty listing in the search engines, they are lying to you. There are things that help with the listings, but no website starting out will be particularly high, and if you happen to have a lot of competition already out there, you could be lucky to finish up in the top 10,000 (and realistically, few people go past page three, which is usually the top 60 in a Google search). I know some tricks that will help, but the best thing is a fairly unique web site, and some well-chosen keywords.
One last word on design: the less intricate the layout, the easier it is to make changes as you grow. My personal website, Zepp's Commentaries, started out as a very simple html design with some tables. I had in mind growing to 20 pages. In the ten years since, it has grown to 1,200 pages, and that original design has held up surprisingly well, considering. I'm revamping it now, but just to make it look 21st century. The fact it that simply early design still works. You can have a surprisingly sophisticated website that depends on a simple and adaptable design, but it’s an advantage easily lost if the preliminary pages are overly specialized. This is an area where I like to work closely with my clients, because it’s an area fraught with peril and similarly overheated prose, but one in which immensely satisfying results can be found.
Any thing you would like to tell me? Any comments, suggestions, or questions? If you are using Internet Explorer or would rather mail directly, then click here.
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