HTML Design Elements to Consider

Consider the audience when designing the framework of a website. If it is a high tech, cool, game oriented website, flash plug-ins are good choices. Most of the gamers today have machines that include high end graphics cards, audio capabilities (sometimes better than a home theatre system), and broadband.

If you are designing a site for readability, be sure to keep the common, and predominately used today, screen resolution of 800 by 600 in mind. Nothing is more frustrating to an 800 by 600 user than scrolling horizontally. These users expect to scroll vertically and that's fine.

Take care to include proper META tags such as the title tag and description tag. You will do yourself, and the SERPs a favor by having some input as to what is displayed when a search is performed and then displayed.

When it comes to graphics, be sure to optimize your images for users that are using dial up internet connections. A good example is a site that offers kids thank you cards where all images are reduced in size so they load within 3 seconds. Another good example is this "Let's Bowl" thank you note card that has many colors and a larger image displayed but an application such as PhotoShop or ImageReady has been utilized to reduce the file size.

Another HTML element is the utilization of the ALT tags on your images. By using an alt="Bowling Ball & Pin - Thank You Note" for instance, you are allowing those users whose browsers do not render images quickly to view a text description of the image you are presenting. This is a great HTML design element to use with all images.

Styling your page using cascading style sheets as a great way for you as webpage designer to keep the presentation of the site uniform while making the process easier for yourself. You do not have to style every navigational aide individually, such as this "thoughtful words for a thank you note" page, simply use a css file and reference it in the head section of your webpage.

Webpage design and structure is the most important building block to consider when starting, or modifying a new site. From flash, to meta tags, to image size and resultion, it is the web designer who is in control of what the site's audience sees and ultimately makes for a better internet for all users!

Kim Hummert

What is a landing page? The answer depends on what you want a landing page to do. Read and a Landing Page Design by Hummert for additional hints and helpful advice for making your website "sticky."