Designing your Web Site for ALL BrowsersWritten by David Bell
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To have better control, consider using fixed pixel width. However, you must now start making some compromises. If you want to offer a site that looks good at 640X480, you will need to set your table width to 600 -- 620 MAX! You will want to center table in window to provide a nice look when wider windows are used. However, if your visitor has monitor resolutions set to 1600X800 and has browser "maximized" your page will have 500 pixels of blank space on either side of your 600 pixel table. Fortunately, few people will be browsing at this configuration. My experience visiting clients, friends, and family suggests that, even if monitor resolution is set at over 1000 pixels, actual width of browser window will be reduced to something less. You must decide if you will risk an odd looking page for those few who have HUGE monitor resolution or risk annoying scroll bar for those with basic 640X480 #3 Compromise your Font Use. Supposing you select a fixed width table and have a cell that is 300 pixels wide. You write a headline in this cell, pick a font, and size it to look just right. Good for you. Too bad that headline will come up different on different systems. Even on same computer, there are very slight differences between how Netscape and IE render fonts. Remember 1 in 8 visitor using a Mac? For technical reason it is beyond scope of this article to describe, fonts are significantly smaller on a Mac than on Windows. Don't forget that your visitors can also set default size for font display in their browser, too. If they do that, you are really starting to lose control of how fonts are displayed! One solution is to use cascading style sheets, but that technique goes beyond casual designer's typical experiences. The other solution is to compromise. Make sure that it looks good on predominant platform -- currently Windows -- but don't use smallest font possible either or your Mac visitors won't be able to read it! #4 Check Your Final on Multiple Platforms I commit to my web design clients that their site will be look good to ALL visitors. To make sure this is case, I have an Intel computer as well as my Macintosh. I have Intel computer configured to boot into Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Linux. I test all pages I design in these environments. I test in both Netscape and Internet Explorer on Windows systems and Mac. I enlist a partner to test with Lotus Notes and AOL. This may seem excessive, but frequently there will be some little thing that shows up in one of platform/browser configurations that requires some minor correction. Would it be good enough if I did not make correction? Probably. However, it is always best to make a good first impression and on web, where you have about 5 to 7 seconds to get visitors to commit to take an actual look, every little thing counts. If you do not have access to multiple platforms, enlist your friends. Stop by a library or a Kinkos and use their computers (often these places may have Macintosh computers as well as Windows computers). These four simple suggestions are beginning of a journey toward much larger goal of making content of your web site universally available to your visitors. Ultimately, reaching this goal depends upon many factors. However, progress toward this goal must commence with awareness. Understanding that your site will appear differently on different browsers and based on different user preference settings is an important first step toward awareness. Using tables and being conscientious with your use of fonts takes you one step further. Checking your work on various systems will begin to hint at how much further you have to go. But, every journey must begin somewhere.... I hope this helps in your future marketing decisions.
David Bell is Manager, Online Marketing, at http://www.wspromotion.com/ , a leading Search Engine Optimization services firm and Advertising Agency.
| | 10 seconds is all it takes… (How to grab the attention of your audience with your web site) Written by Granny's Mettle
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One designer relates that ten seconds is enough for an average person to read a length of 40 words. And 40 words can mean a great deal of a good opening paragraph. The opening paragraph according to designer is your "contract" with your reader. With your "contract", you promise to deliver what your viewer needs, in every page of your web site. And in ten seconds, you should be able load your page and everything in it if possible. In addition, you should also take advantage of text and its worth for your web site. Text is first element that gets delivered upon connection. So make reading your text worthwhile. Deliver your promise, and deliver them good. This is essence of usability in wide world of web. Utilizing those precious ten seconds to deliver what you promise, and provide what your viewer needs. Use those ten seconds wisely. Plan, design and execute in ten seconds. People go to your web site because of what they can get from it. Ten seconds is all it takes for viewers to know if you have what they need. So make your ten seconds count. For comments and inquiries about article visit http://www.losangelesprintingservice.com
Granny's Mettle is a 30-something, professional web content writer. She has created various web content on a diverse range of topics, which includes digital printing topics, medical news, as well as legal issues. Her articles are composed of reviews, suggestions, tips and more for the printing and designing industry.
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