Here’s day five in my six part series designed to help an absolute beginner learn how to build a web site. If you’re new to computing or you have no idea what skills and tools you need to become a web developer, this is for you. The articles aren’t designed to teach you web development skills; they’re meant to give you a push in the right direction so that you can quickly learn those skills on your own. I hope you find my guide helpful. If you do, please Stumble it, so that others can benefit.
Article Outline
Day One - Tools Required for Website Development
Day Two - Skills Required for Website Development
Day Three - The Most Powerful Learning Secret for Website Development
Day Four - Beyond Basics - Tools That Take Your Site To the Next Level
Day Five - Beyond Basics - Skills That Take Your Website to the Next Level
Day Six - Wrap-Up - Summary of Tools, Skills, Books, and Tutorials for Website Development
Day Five - Skills to Take Your Site to the Next Level
You more than a solid understanding of HTML and CSS to build a successful web site. The difference between a good web site and a great web site isn’t flashy graphics or slick database-driven content - it’s depth.
You need to:
- Understand your topic
- Understand your audience
- Deliver your information, tools, or solutions to that audience in a user-friendly way.
- Give something that is of value to the people viewing your site, make it easy for them to find what they want, and create a compelling reason for your audience to keep coming back.
Learn To Spell Correctly. Use Proper Grammar, and Concise Language.
Ther’s nuthin wurs than reding a web site with horibel speling and gramur.
Make sure you spell-check everything you write. Ask another writer to check your work and edit for improvements.
Often, a word isn’t misspelled, but misused - here is a good post on the most commonly misused words. Make sure your writing is concise - kill all unnecessary words for sake of clarity. Eliminate “weedy” words like “but, well, then, very, and, so, that, just, really, now, was, were, and had” - they’re lifeless and add nothing to your writing. Passive words like “could, should, would, had, were, had, got, was, been” destroy interesting sentences and put your readers to sleep.
Learn to identify weedy words and passive language!
Offer Something of Value
Too many people start a personal site or blog just to tell us how badly their day went or what they ate for dinner last night. I’m not being cruel when I say “I don’t want to see another picture of your cat. I don’t care if you have a strange lump on your elbow and you want the world to know about it. I don’t want to see another page cluttered with inspirational quotes, jokes, and seizure-inducing animated banners.”
Provide valuable content - something worth reading, a tool to solve a problem, or even just your own opinions and feelings. Make us laugh or cry. Make us feel what you’re feeling. Make it worthwhile.
Make Your Pages Easy to Navigate
Design your site so any viewer can navigate to any page they’re looking for, in 3 clicks or less. Provide a “home” link on every page on the site. Make your links visual if possible, and provide simple navigation to every area of your site on every page. Never allow new pages to open into a new window. Never allow pop-ups ads or reminders of any kind - they’re annoying and put your reader in a bad mood.
If I have to click 10 times to get to your article and then I’m greeted with a ‘helpful’ pop-up window, I’m going to go somewhere else.
Keep Your Images as Small as Possible
When you insert images and graphics into your html, make sure you optimize them to be as small as possible. Large image files can cripple a web page and your readers will go elsewhere. Don’t be afraid to use eye-candy and great graphics. Use programs like Photoshop and Gimp to reduce their file size.
Here’s an example - the following image was downloaded from iStock.
The original file size was 252 KB. After saving it as an optimized jpeg in Photoshop, the file is now 18.6KB. The image will load over 13 times faster because I optimized it!
Make It Easy on My Ears
It’s tempting to include music on your web pages. Music is okay, but never have it automatically load and always give the viewer an option to turn it off. Not everyone will share you musical preference. If I’m surfing late at night, I don’t want music to start blaring from the PC and wake up my family. If you force me to listen to your favorite tunes when I discover your site, I’m likely to go somewhere else.
Avoid Color Schemes That Melt My Eyes
Two intense colors placed beside each other will “vibrate” and cause irreparable damage to your viewers’ mood.
Avoid putting intense, saturated versions of these colors close together:
- red / green
- blue / red
- green / magenta
- yellow / cyan
- blue / magenta
- blue / green.
Here’s an example of what not to do. Isn’t this annoying?
Create White Space On Your Page
Break your writing up into short paragraphs and leave room for the eye to relax.
White space gives focus and clarity to a web page.
Avoid Tiny Fonts
Not everyone has 20/20 vision. Even if all your viewers have perfect vision, larger font sizes are easier to read.
Avoid Busy, Distracting Backgrounds
No cloud scenes, repeating checkered patterns, or other noise, please. They’re a major put-off, and make your content impossible to read.
Don’t Let Advertising Dominate Your Content
There’s nothing worse than banners at the top, text ads at the bottom, and ads that pop up when you hover over every word. I came to view your content, not get hammered over the head by advertising. There’s nothing wrong with monetizing your site - just do it tastefully and consider the user experience first.
Use Lists and Numbers
- People love reading bulleted and numbered lists.
- A viewer’s eye is more attracted to the numeric version of a number.
- Use 365 instead of three hundred sixty-five.
Lastly, make your content meaningful and put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Identify the type of people you are writing for and aim to attract those people with your topics and writing style. If you identify your audience and create an environment they feel comfortable with, you’re well on your way to having a successful web site of your own.
I hope you join me for the wrap up in this series. I’ll have it up in a few days. I originally planned to write a summary of all we’ve covered in the last five articles, but I have a feeling I’m going to surprise you with something completely different!