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There's never been a better time to start designing Websites. In five years, the Internet has shifted from being the preserve of computer geeks to the new medium no one can afford to be without.
Britain has witnessed explosive growth and acceptance of the Net - you can't open a magazine or switch on the telly these days without being accosted by Web addresses.
Hand in hand with this popularity has come a huge demand for Web designers who can produce sites to satisfy a whole spectrum of weird and wonderful design briefs. If you've been considering taking the plunge into Web design, now is the time to do it.
If you already have a background in computer aided design and are familiar with packages like Photoshop, FreeHand and Illustrator, then you have an advantage when it comes to learning Web design. It means you're already familiar with generating and manipulating graphics, as well as understanding the importance of colour usage and font application. But producing graphics for the Web is a whole different kettle of fish to producing them for print - and graphics are only a part of the equation of realising a successful Website.
The key for designers coming fresh to Web design is to avoid bringing with them the dogma of their previous professions. Good Web design is about flexibility - it's about relinquishing pixel perfect control of a design's appearance and concentrating instead on functionality. Instead of thinking simply about how a Website looks, a Web designer has to think about how it works too - how a user gets around the site, how they find what they want easily, and to ensure that the site is as intuitive as possible.
Navigation aid
--------------
Web design is 3D because it's fundamentally about presenting a collection of information that the user can move around in, rather than merely being visually attractive. Of course, the best sites manage to be both, but functionality should always take precedence over form. You only have to look at the most popular site on the Web, Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) to see such functionality in action. The appearance would probably make most traditional designers weep, but the design is like that precisely because it's the most efficient way of letting people get the info they want.
Hand in hand with the 3D nature of Web design come the considerations of bandwidth and platforms. The Web isn't nicknamed the World Wide Wait for nothing - all of us have suffered the annoyance of slow loading Websites, and more often than not have given up and gone elsewhere. Web designers have to ensure that whatever they do, it downloads fast - otherwise you'll lose most of your audience.
Equally, Web pages are seen on lots of different platforms - Windows, Mac and Linux, using Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, to name just the major contenders. Ideally, Websites have to work on all these different platforms so as to ensure the maximum amount of users. If the page loads and everything goes pear-shaped, the users will disappear to somewhere that does work on their machine.
Screen test
-----------------
Pop-ups galore and slow loading makes Boo's online shopping experience a nightmare. Too mcuh cool, not enough practical.
Similarly, most designers are used to working with big monitors running at 1024 resolution or higher - but don't forget most ordinary Joes access the Web with a Windows machine running at 640x480 or 800x600. Therefore the sites you design must be viewable in those resolutions as well as your own.
Of course, not all of us can afford a Mac and PC to test our sites on - but we can ensure that sites work OK in both the major browsers and at different resolutions. More importantly, at least being aware that a site will be seen on other browsers and platforms other than the one you design it on will help in designing it for everyone to see.
In short, if you're coming fresh to designing for the Web, don't try and shoehorn Web pages into what you think is good design for other media. Huge images, cryptic navigation, slow loading pages, sites that only work at a resolution of 1024 or higher - these are all the hallmarks of designers trying to transfer design tenets from other media on to the Web - and making a right mess of it.
The key to good Web design, as with most things, is to go back to basics. It's certainly a good idea to familiarise yourself with a Web editing program like Macromedia's Dreamweaver or Adobe's GoLive, but don't just stop there. Roll up your sleeves and learn a bit about HTML - Hyper Text Markup Language - itself, the language that holds Web pages together.
Under the bonnet
----------------
More importantly, once you've got your head round HTML, you'll start planning out Web pages in HTML terms rather than purely visual terms. Then you can start analysing Web pages you like by using the View Source function and seeing how the designer put it together. This means you're considering a site in terms of how it functions as well as how it appears. Looking under the bonnet of sites you like is an essential part of creating good site designs yourself. With over a billion pages out there on the Web, there's a lot to learn from. Equally it's essential to realise that your site doesn't exist in isolation - people will be coming to it from all manner of other sources, whether they be on-line or off-line, but they'll also be coming with expectations of how your site should function.
There's a reason why left hand navigation is virtually ubiquitous on Websites - not only because it works as an efficient method of ordering a site's main sections, but also it's because what surfers are used to. Imagine how peeved you'd be if every time you booted up your computer the desktop icons were in a completely different place from last time. So it is with Websites with weird and wonderful navigation - they confuse and disorientate the user, so giving them less impetus to explore the site.
This is the main reason why frames have fallen from grace in recent times. While they allow initially easier navigation by keeping the navigation bar on screen at all times, they make bookmarking individual pages within the site impossible and also make the back button go awry. Most sites simply position the navigation bar on each individual page, so keeping it available at all times and allowing for easy bookmarking.
Make it easy
------------
Remember that surfing Websites is not a linear experience, where people enter at the front, go through the middle and leave at the exit. People can arrive and exit from your site via any page. Don't try and force them to do otherwise - ensure they have that navigation bar against which to orientate themselves and know they've arrived at a different site. If you present it coherently, they may well start exploring the rest of the site. In short, if you're catering to the widest possible range of Web users, make it easy for them.
Of course, if you're not out to attract everyone to your site, then you can design more to the audience you have in mind. There are some fantastic sites like the Remedi Project [w] www.theremediproject.com and Balthaser [w] www.balthaser.com that exploit the uses of Shockwave to the full. These are bandwidth intensive sites that are designed for high end users - that is, people who understand the Web and its many idiosyncrasies and always have the latest browser and plug-in versions.
Remember that the vast majority of people using the Web have no interest in the Internet per se, just as they don't care about the computer that they use at work. Both are just tools to get things done, and if it goes wrong, they'll blame your Website rather than their own lack of knowledge.
Flash is evil?
--------------
As such, it's important to only use these elements where they're needed. Too often Web designers get carried away with the impulse to add dynamism to their pages with wholly inappropriate Shockwave intros to their site or animations. These might be mildly entertaining the first time but they soon get annoying, especially if they stop the user getting to the information. Have the humility to look long and hard at your Website designs and ask yourself, 'Would I actually use this site?'. It's also worth reading the personal but pertinent meditation Flash Is Evil at www.dack.com/web/flash_evil.html
Plug-ins are great if they deliver content on demand - that is, if the user asks to see the animation or the video clip, rather than it being thrust upon them - Shockwave.com and wildfeedtv.com are two good examples of this. Deliver the content that your users want to see, not what you think they should see. Unless you're building a site for a niche audience, make sure people can get at the content without needing plug-ins. For more about designing with and without plug-ins, see the Investigation in issue 39 of Computer Arts. See page 93 to obtain back issues.
While Shockwave and other plug-ins such as RealAudio, Quicktime and Java applets are commonly considered cutting edge Web design, they're actually blunting it. The real cutting edge is to be found in designers who can produce pages that are 5k or less in total download size, as the recent massive response to the on-line design competition at [w] www.sylloge.com/5k showed. The need for tiny file sizes is becoming increasingly important as more and more sites become database driven, especially e-commerce Websites. Because databases take a while to display all the information asked for, it's absolutely critical that the Web page which contains that information loads fast.
With high bandwidth ADSL Net access now about to happen in the UK with BT's Open World scheme - see [w] www.btopenworld.com for more information, perhaps designers' worries about file sizes, bandwidth and download speeds are finally over? Unfortunately not. As people get used to having greater bandwidth, they'll be expecting even more from the Web - perhaps not in terms of sites having more bells and whistles, but in being able to access several Websites simultaneously and expecting them all to download instantly.
The big screen
--------------
the high end niche sites will be able to become even more radical with full screen streaming video and the like, but that won't change the fundamental point that not all sites require such multimedia. Why insert a pointless Shockwave animation when you can ensure the whole front page of your Website appears in one second flat? This increased bandwidth will be exploited by the best Websites on a user demand basis, but more importantly, it will also be used for the simple purpose of making the Internet we know actually work far faster than it currently does.
In conclusion, good Web design, like any discipline, is something that has to be practised and mastered. While it's easy to pick up the rudiments of putting a Web page together, creating a cohesive, easy to use site is a different matter entirely. The essential questions are: can it be seen anywhere by anyone? If you can create a Website that at least acknowledges the issues of accessibility, usability, download speed, platform and resolution, then half the battle's been won.
Starting from scratch
---------------------
Designers who can transfer their relevant skills from other disciplines to Web design while at the same time recognising that they have to start from scratch will become the people most in demand over the next few years. By being able to understand and switch between 'old' and 'new' media, these designers will be in the rare position of being able to produce projects that work across and exploit their differences, rather than being hampered by them.
Britain has witnessed explosive growth and acceptance of the Net - you can't open a magazine or switch on the telly these days without being accosted by Web addresses.
Hand in hand with this popularity has come a huge demand for Web designers who can produce sites to satisfy a whole spectrum of weird and wonderful design briefs. If you've been considering taking the plunge into Web design, now is the time to do it.
If you already have a background in computer aided design and are familiar with packages like Photoshop, FreeHand and Illustrator, then you have an advantage when it comes to learning Web design. It means you're already familiar with generating and manipulating graphics, as well as understanding the importance of colour usage and font application. But producing graphics for the Web is a whole different kettle of fish to producing them for print - and graphics are only a part of the equation of realising a successful Website.
The key for designers coming fresh to Web design is to avoid bringing with them the dogma of their previous professions. Good Web design is about flexibility - it's about relinquishing pixel perfect control of a design's appearance and concentrating instead on functionality. Instead of thinking simply about how a Website looks, a Web designer has to think about how it works too - how a user gets around the site, how they find what they want easily, and to ensure that the site is as intuitive as possible.
Navigation aid
--------------
Web design is 3D because it's fundamentally about presenting a collection of information that the user can move around in, rather than merely being visually attractive. Of course, the best sites manage to be both, but functionality should always take precedence over form. You only have to look at the most popular site on the Web, Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) to see such functionality in action. The appearance would probably make most traditional designers weep, but the design is like that precisely because it's the most efficient way of letting people get the info they want.
Hand in hand with the 3D nature of Web design come the considerations of bandwidth and platforms. The Web isn't nicknamed the World Wide Wait for nothing - all of us have suffered the annoyance of slow loading Websites, and more often than not have given up and gone elsewhere. Web designers have to ensure that whatever they do, it downloads fast - otherwise you'll lose most of your audience.
Equally, Web pages are seen on lots of different platforms - Windows, Mac and Linux, using Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, to name just the major contenders. Ideally, Websites have to work on all these different platforms so as to ensure the maximum amount of users. If the page loads and everything goes pear-shaped, the users will disappear to somewhere that does work on their machine.
Screen test
-----------------
Pop-ups galore and slow loading makes Boo's online shopping experience a nightmare. Too mcuh cool, not enough practical.
Similarly, most designers are used to working with big monitors running at 1024 resolution or higher - but don't forget most ordinary Joes access the Web with a Windows machine running at 640x480 or 800x600. Therefore the sites you design must be viewable in those resolutions as well as your own.
Of course, not all of us can afford a Mac and PC to test our sites on - but we can ensure that sites work OK in both the major browsers and at different resolutions. More importantly, at least being aware that a site will be seen on other browsers and platforms other than the one you design it on will help in designing it for everyone to see.
In short, if you're coming fresh to designing for the Web, don't try and shoehorn Web pages into what you think is good design for other media. Huge images, cryptic navigation, slow loading pages, sites that only work at a resolution of 1024 or higher - these are all the hallmarks of designers trying to transfer design tenets from other media on to the Web - and making a right mess of it.
The key to good Web design, as with most things, is to go back to basics. It's certainly a good idea to familiarise yourself with a Web editing program like Macromedia's Dreamweaver or Adobe's GoLive, but don't just stop there. Roll up your sleeves and learn a bit about HTML - Hyper Text Markup Language - itself, the language that holds Web pages together.
Under the bonnet
----------------
More importantly, once you've got your head round HTML, you'll start planning out Web pages in HTML terms rather than purely visual terms. Then you can start analysing Web pages you like by using the View Source function and seeing how the designer put it together. This means you're considering a site in terms of how it functions as well as how it appears. Looking under the bonnet of sites you like is an essential part of creating good site designs yourself. With over a billion pages out there on the Web, there's a lot to learn from. Equally it's essential to realise that your site doesn't exist in isolation - people will be coming to it from all manner of other sources, whether they be on-line or off-line, but they'll also be coming with expectations of how your site should function.
There's a reason why left hand navigation is virtually ubiquitous on Websites - not only because it works as an efficient method of ordering a site's main sections, but also it's because what surfers are used to. Imagine how peeved you'd be if every time you booted up your computer the desktop icons were in a completely different place from last time. So it is with Websites with weird and wonderful navigation - they confuse and disorientate the user, so giving them less impetus to explore the site.
This is the main reason why frames have fallen from grace in recent times. While they allow initially easier navigation by keeping the navigation bar on screen at all times, they make bookmarking individual pages within the site impossible and also make the back button go awry. Most sites simply position the navigation bar on each individual page, so keeping it available at all times and allowing for easy bookmarking.
Make it easy
------------
Remember that surfing Websites is not a linear experience, where people enter at the front, go through the middle and leave at the exit. People can arrive and exit from your site via any page. Don't try and force them to do otherwise - ensure they have that navigation bar against which to orientate themselves and know they've arrived at a different site. If you present it coherently, they may well start exploring the rest of the site. In short, if you're catering to the widest possible range of Web users, make it easy for them.
Of course, if you're not out to attract everyone to your site, then you can design more to the audience you have in mind. There are some fantastic sites like the Remedi Project [w] www.theremediproject.com and Balthaser [w] www.balthaser.com that exploit the uses of Shockwave to the full. These are bandwidth intensive sites that are designed for high end users - that is, people who understand the Web and its many idiosyncrasies and always have the latest browser and plug-in versions.
Remember that the vast majority of people using the Web have no interest in the Internet per se, just as they don't care about the computer that they use at work. Both are just tools to get things done, and if it goes wrong, they'll blame your Website rather than their own lack of knowledge.
Flash is evil?
--------------
As such, it's important to only use these elements where they're needed. Too often Web designers get carried away with the impulse to add dynamism to their pages with wholly inappropriate Shockwave intros to their site or animations. These might be mildly entertaining the first time but they soon get annoying, especially if they stop the user getting to the information. Have the humility to look long and hard at your Website designs and ask yourself, 'Would I actually use this site?'. It's also worth reading the personal but pertinent meditation Flash Is Evil at www.dack.com/web/flash_evil.html
Plug-ins are great if they deliver content on demand - that is, if the user asks to see the animation or the video clip, rather than it being thrust upon them - Shockwave.com and wildfeedtv.com are two good examples of this. Deliver the content that your users want to see, not what you think they should see. Unless you're building a site for a niche audience, make sure people can get at the content without needing plug-ins. For more about designing with and without plug-ins, see the Investigation in issue 39 of Computer Arts. See page 93 to obtain back issues.
While Shockwave and other plug-ins such as RealAudio, Quicktime and Java applets are commonly considered cutting edge Web design, they're actually blunting it. The real cutting edge is to be found in designers who can produce pages that are 5k or less in total download size, as the recent massive response to the on-line design competition at [w] www.sylloge.com/5k showed. The need for tiny file sizes is becoming increasingly important as more and more sites become database driven, especially e-commerce Websites. Because databases take a while to display all the information asked for, it's absolutely critical that the Web page which contains that information loads fast.
With high bandwidth ADSL Net access now about to happen in the UK with BT's Open World scheme - see [w] www.btopenworld.com for more information, perhaps designers' worries about file sizes, bandwidth and download speeds are finally over? Unfortunately not. As people get used to having greater bandwidth, they'll be expecting even more from the Web - perhaps not in terms of sites having more bells and whistles, but in being able to access several Websites simultaneously and expecting them all to download instantly.
The big screen
--------------
the high end niche sites will be able to become even more radical with full screen streaming video and the like, but that won't change the fundamental point that not all sites require such multimedia. Why insert a pointless Shockwave animation when you can ensure the whole front page of your Website appears in one second flat? This increased bandwidth will be exploited by the best Websites on a user demand basis, but more importantly, it will also be used for the simple purpose of making the Internet we know actually work far faster than it currently does.
In conclusion, good Web design, like any discipline, is something that has to be practised and mastered. While it's easy to pick up the rudiments of putting a Web page together, creating a cohesive, easy to use site is a different matter entirely. The essential questions are: can it be seen anywhere by anyone? If you can create a Website that at least acknowledges the issues of accessibility, usability, download speed, platform and resolution, then half the battle's been won.
Starting from scratch
---------------------
Designers who can transfer their relevant skills from other disciplines to Web design while at the same time recognising that they have to start from scratch will become the people most in demand over the next few years. By being able to understand and switch between 'old' and 'new' media, these designers will be in the rare position of being able to produce projects that work across and exploit their differences, rather than being hampered by them.
Page:
funkygamer wrote:
> Darkus wrote:
> Tyla wrote:
> You only have to look at the most popular
> site on the
> Web,
> Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) to see such functionality in
> action.
>Are you on drugs?! All I see is a mess of neverending
>
> links, that i couldn't even be bothered to read!
See! Can't please all the
> people all the time!
I think Presentation is being confused here with Functionality...
> Darkus wrote:
> Tyla wrote:
> You only have to look at the most popular
> site on the
> Web,
> Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) to see such functionality in
> action.
>Are you on drugs?! All I see is a mess of neverending
>
> links, that i couldn't even be bothered to read!
See! Can't please all the
> people all the time!
I think Presentation is being confused here with Functionality...
Darkus wrote:
> Tyla wrote:
> You only have to look at the most popular site on the
> Web,
> Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) to see such functionality in action.
>Are you on drugs?! All I see is a mess of neverending
> links, that i couldn't even be bothered to read!
See! Can't please all the people all the time!
> Tyla wrote:
> You only have to look at the most popular site on the
> Web,
> Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) to see such functionality in action.
>Are you on drugs?! All I see is a mess of neverending
> links, that i couldn't even be bothered to read!
See! Can't please all the people all the time!
Tyla wrote:
> You only have to look at the most popular site on the Web,
> Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) to see such functionality in action.
Are you on drugs?! All I see is a mess of neverending links, that i couldn't even be bothered to read!
> You only have to look at the most popular site on the Web,
> Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) to see such functionality in action.
Are you on drugs?! All I see is a mess of neverending links, that i couldn't even be bothered to read!
Turbonutter wrote:
> Looks like dodgy HTML to me.
Thats the problem... I created solid HTML and then sent the templates to a firm in the US to create the JSP, whilst doing this, they though they would play with the HTML at the same time as well as adding tags that wern't there wheni sent them...
I've now go to wade through the lot and correct it all... gits!!
Cheers for the quick test Rob.
> Looks like dodgy HTML to me.
Thats the problem... I created solid HTML and then sent the templates to a firm in the US to create the JSP, whilst doing this, they though they would play with the HTML at the same time as well as adding tags that wern't there wheni sent them...
I've now go to wade through the lot and correct it all... gits!!
Cheers for the quick test Rob.
Well I use the latest build of Galeon whic uses the Mozilla/Gecko engine. That's probably the most popular browser on Linux. I'll check it when I get home.
Right now I'm logged into Luke's box and I'll check it for Lynx and Links.
...
...
...
...
...
...
So, here's Lynx's output:
REFRESH(0 sec):
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/servlet/useragent?func=showHome
Actually, it's not as bad as it seems. Lynx just doesn't do refreshes, that's all. A quick press of enter and I get the site. It doesn't look too fantastic but nothing ever does with Lynx. Onto Links then:
Well, all I get with Links is "The URL has moved
Lynx and Links are very popular browsers from the command line and are used more than you would think. Even from my meagre amount of hits I had four or five from these.
Right now I'm logged into Luke's box and I'll check it for Lynx and Links.
...
...
...
...
...
...
So, here's Lynx's output:
REFRESH(0 sec):
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/servlet/useragent?func=showHome
Actually, it's not as bad as it seems. Lynx just doesn't do refreshes, that's all. A quick press of enter and I get the site. It doesn't look too fantastic but nothing ever does with Lynx. Onto Links then:
Well, all I get with Links is "The URL has moved
Lynx and Links are very popular browsers from the command line and are used more than you would think. Even from my meagre amount of hits I had four or five from these.
doc693 wrote:
> Hey, Tyla - how did your post get to be on the Computer Arts website?
Well done that man... I though it was information that needed sharing in here and moved it across... as not everyone reads CA...
This is a habit I have.. if I find something that meakes me stop and think, then I assume it would have the same effect with others, so in this light, I share information I find... the essence and nature of the internet.
You'll also ind it posted in my online journal and soon to be as part of my website along with other articles that other will find useful...
The internet is to share information and to bring that information to as many peole as possible, this is what I have done and would hope that other would do the same.
Back to the world of NS6 testing...
BTW... If anyone has another browser other than IE5/6 and NS 6/4.7 (particularly looking at Linux - Rob) Can some one have a look at:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com and report any bugs to me @ [email protected]
Currently the server has blown, but I need to compile a set of fixes for the GUI across different platforms and browsers. I'm already aware of a few but need to compile a difinative list so i can start fixing asap.
> Hey, Tyla - how did your post get to be on the Computer Arts website?
Well done that man... I though it was information that needed sharing in here and moved it across... as not everyone reads CA...
This is a habit I have.. if I find something that meakes me stop and think, then I assume it would have the same effect with others, so in this light, I share information I find... the essence and nature of the internet.
You'll also ind it posted in my online journal and soon to be as part of my website along with other articles that other will find useful...
The internet is to share information and to bring that information to as many peole as possible, this is what I have done and would hope that other would do the same.
Back to the world of NS6 testing...
BTW... If anyone has another browser other than IE5/6 and NS 6/4.7 (particularly looking at Linux - Rob) Can some one have a look at:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com and report any bugs to me @ [email protected]
Currently the server has blown, but I need to compile a set of fixes for the GUI across different platforms and browsers. I'm already aware of a few but need to compile a difinative list so i can start fixing asap.
Hey, Tyla - how did your post get to be on the Computer Arts website?
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/web/features/zen.asp
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/web/features/zen.asp
Tyla wrote:
> The company I work for is probably going up for sale!!
Stay cool, at least you have your freelance, and you were already looking for another job, right?
Stick around to see how things go, just because your company may get bought out, this does not mean you are out of a job! You are an "old timer" there, and if you are as good as you say you are, which I suspect you are, they won't want to let you go.
> The company I work for is probably going up for sale!!
Stay cool, at least you have your freelance, and you were already looking for another job, right?
Stick around to see how things go, just because your company may get bought out, this does not mean you are out of a job! You are an "old timer" there, and if you are as good as you say you are, which I suspect you are, they won't want to let you go.
http://www.thisismoney.com/20020113/nm42779.html
Arghhh!! After this post I may be looking for a job!! The company I work for is probably going up for sale!!
I just love Mondays!!
Arghhh!! After this post I may be looking for a job!! The company I work for is probably going up for sale!!
I just love Mondays!!
Twain wrote:
> Blimey, Tyla. I knew you were good at talking, but...
WHOAH!
DUDE!!! Where's my website!;-)
> Blimey, Tyla. I knew you were good at talking, but...
WHOAH!
DUDE!!! Where's my website!;-)
Page: