The opinions expressed in this document are entirely those of R. Daniel Lineberger. However, since he is the teacher of this course....


Once you have a basis for a web page, it's time to look at layout style. The layout of your web pages is more important than you might first think. Design can influence the impression others have of your site as well as the general success of conveying your message. To create a sense of unity in your site, don't merely place graphics at random but develop a graphical scheme used throughout the site. This will reinforce your site in the memories of surfers.

The following are a few highlights and reviews of interest.

The Yale Style Guide is an excellent resource for style information. Take some time to review the principles discussed in this guide before making the final layout decisions for your web project.

Vital lessons from the Yale Style Guide:

Headings
It is all to easy to produce a flood of text that lacks structure, interest, and readibility. While this type of page may relay all vital information, a reader is not likely to spend time at your site if the page is not easy to follow

One easy way to increase readibility is simply to add headings. This is an effective means of breaking up the flow of text and helps the reader scan the document for pertinent information. You might consider making headings bold, a larger font size, a different color, or hanging indented (as with this page) to aid in the process.

Colors and Fonts
The right use of colors and interesting fonts can greatly increase the readibility of a page; however, too many different colors and styles can be confusing to the reader. Try to stick to a single color for most body text (black) and a single color for headings. A third color may be used on occasion to add interest, but be careful not to overdo it.

Also, the text color on most browsers is automatically set to black. You only need to specify the font color when it is vital to the appeal of your page. For example, if you set your background to black, the text color would obviously have to be white or another light color.

The same applies to font faces. Changing the face of headings or points of interest can really increase the flow of your page, but try not to use more than two (or three) different fonts throughout a website.

One recommendation is to use a serif font (such as times _top roman) and a san serif font (such as helvetica, arial, etc.). These two types are distinctly different and help the reader move through the text. Fun or exotic typefaces should be used only when appropriate.

Remember, also, that not all computers will be able to display the typefaces you have set; so stick to fairly common faces when you can.

Speed Matters
Not everyone has a super-fast computer with loads of RAM and a high speed Ethernet connection. Large images slow the rate of loading of your homepage onto the client computer. Other frills which may slow speed of loading include the use of Java, graphic intensive background images, excessive use of graphical navigation, animated gifs, and multimedia elements. Use these elements only when their purpose warrants a decrease in loading speed.

Page Length
Save the detailed information for pages in the heart of your site. Use the homepage to introduce your server. Tell who you are, what you are about, and give an index to the rest of your server.

Just because you can do it...
Just because you have access to millions of colors, thousands of fonts, buckets of clip art, and millions of links....YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE THEM ALL IN ONE DOCUMENT!


LESSON 10

WebMasters was created and is taught by Dr. Dan Lineberger, WebMaster of Aggie Horticulture, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843.