Lesson 1 Page 3

Web Design Basics

Since we’ll start designing Web pages next week, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce some basic Web design concepts.

Here is one basic concept that will go a long way in this course: Keep It Simple, Silly! (KISS). Beginning Web designers have a tendency to get excited about all of the neat things they are learning and create pages that are jam-packed with color, animation and other features. The result can be a big mess! I’m sure you’ve seen Web sites like this, where a page can end up being overly complicated and confusing. Keep your pages simple. If your pages are easy to navigate through, informative, and attractive, then you have created a great Web page. Try not to get carried away with all of the neat Web page features that you will learn about. Here are some other useful tips:

Just as anything that you write, when you design a Web site, the first thing you need to ask yourself is, “Who is my audience?” Who will be checking out your Web site: family, friends, customers, hobby enthusiasts? Be sure that everything you place on your site is geared toward your audience. In other words, think like your audience (not like yourself) when designing Web pages. What will your audience want to see and learn?...that is what you should place on your Web pages.

Western languages, including English, are read from left to right and top to bottom. This provides a natural flow for elements on a page. Someone reading a Web page should also read from left to right and top to bottom to gather information from the page.

Provide space between different ideas on a page so that the separation of the ideas is clear. Too much information crammed onto a page has the effect of hiding most of it. When the eye is overloaded, the usefulness of the page decreases.

Color is also very important. Too little, and the page looks dull and boring; too much and overload sets in -- the visitor will leave in a hurry to save their eyes! If you have an artist’s eye, fantastic! If your color skills are not that great, or if you are not sure, see if you can get others’ opinions of your pages before you turn them in. If that is not possible, make sure you don't overdo it! Too little color is better than too much.

What should you put on a Web page? Information is the key. A Web page is there simply to inform. When it comes to effectively informing somebody about something, there is a tried and true formula: “Who? What? When? Where? Why?”…the five Ws. This old formula will work just as well for a Web page as it does for anything else that you write.

The beauty of a Web site is that you can change it whenever you want to. When designing your site, design it in a way so that updating it will be a simple process.

Create sites that are easy to navigate. Set up your site so that people can find what they want in as few clicks as possible. And try to create pages that contain small amounts of memory. You probably know how frustrating it is to download a slow page.

Resources for Learning Web Design

This course is designed to help you learn the basics of Web design, so by the end of the semester, you will be able to design your own Web sites and post them to the Internet. As you continue to develop your skills, there are some great resources you can use to learn all kinds of neat stuff about Web design.

First of all, every other week, you should attend the Web Design Workshops. We will introduce some important concepts in the workshops, and you will have the opportunity to complete some of your assignments with me (Mr. Del Monte) available for 1-on-1 help.

That reminds me, don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the course as the semester continues. Or you may want to learn how to do something that hasn’t been introduced in the course. I am happy to help students develop their skills and become excited about Web Design, so please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at jenneporter@choiceschools.com with your questions.

Also, there are hundreds of great Web sites on the Internet with free tutorials to help you develop your Web design skills. Two of the very best Web sites I have found are the W3 Schools Web site www.w3schools.com and the HTML Goodies Web site www.htmlgoodies.com. Both Web sites have free easy-to-use tutorials to help beginners design their own Web sites. Check these Web sites out to learn some neat tricks.

Finally, use your curiosity and your creativity. Are you the kind of person that likes to “fiddle around with things” to see how they work? If you are, then these are great qualities you can use to become a fantastic Web designer. Don’t be afraid to try something new just to see what happens. You’ll learn a lot from not being afraid to explore a little.

This concludes your introduction to Web Design. I know that there is a lot of information on this page, but knowing these facts will help you tremendously throughout the semester. Please re-read this page until you feel you have fully absorbed this information. Also, you must complete a worksheet (Don’t worry…this is the only one you’ll complete all semester) on the information that you just read. Thanks for reading this page, and good luck on the worksheet!

Assignment 1

Web Design I