Web Designing Tips

Are you loosing customers because your website is too slow? Follow some practical tips and tricks for quick downloading -- one of the most important elements of an effective website.

1. Internet connection: First of all bear in mind that everyone doesn't have a T1, cable modem or ISDN connection to the Internet. Even in many fastest developing countries, there is still a large mass of surfers with modems less than 56kps. So, remembering this, the site should be developed without evading even the least thing designing the site to the lowest common denominator of 28.8kps modem. Often 20 seconds is quoted as tolerable time for a page download. More considerably 10 seconds is a maximum time for the homepage download.

2. Minimize multimedia use: Let your front page accommodate every form of multimedia and other media except for images. As far as possible, minimize placing of images on the front page. Certainly a background song can be pleasant. But consider sound files, especially a .wave file since they guzzle a great deal for loading. It is positively advisable to avoid videos unless they become definite as videos shrink quick loading. Even if you are necessitated to embed a video, it is better to use 30-40kb file, otherwise, it may probably tempt a surfer to hit stop or back button. Better minimize all graphics use.

3. Place small images: The next great deal is about your images. Quiet often, when images are larger, say for example, 600 pix x 600 pix, it takes much time for the loading of the image. So, as far as the images are concerned, make them to the effect of your need by giving the images smaller dimensions such as resize. Also compress the image using special services on the web, which can be helpful to reduce the file size, but don't forget to pick up images that look good once they are compressed. When possible it is best to use drawings rather than photos. Photographs take a larger color palettes and less compression.

4. Take surfer to other pages: After you have done with the compressing of the images, let you take your image surfer from front page to other pages for images. The image loaded on the front page will be in the browser's cache and will load straight away when it is requested on your other pages.

5. Define image tags: Define the width and height in all of your image tags, which will help the surfer to know the space, the image takes on the page and will not have to adjust everything once the image starts loading. With this a little time is saved and helps the page from jumping when an image loads.

6. Set size and text of front page: Be sure that you design the front pages as short as possible since a longer page, even if it is all text, can take a long time to load. Any additional information may be placed on another page using a link. In fact, this will help the surfers to keep on viewing. You will also save a little extra time and your front page may look neat and tidy.

7. Flash & animation: Avoid using flash and animated banners or gifs, and if required, minimize the number of frames and their size. Frames need at least 3 files to be load and are slow on the homepage.
Read more about advantages and disadvantages of Flash designs.

8. Java applets & javascripts: Avoid using java applets or other scripts especially on the front page. If you are, however, required to place Applets and Javascripts, popular, pre-designed Applets and Javascripts come in many sizes. Choose those in their category, which offer the fastest loading speeds.

9. Handle nested tables: In fact, tables control the appearance of your website. But when it is not handled with care by removing nested tables, your website faces slow download and eventually visitors coax to dwindle surfing even if the nested tables enchant your front page.

10. Break up tables: Remember that large tables can slow downloading. So, it is best to break large table into smaller ones whenever possible. Also determine the height and width of each table. It is also recommended to specify the size of each table in html code, which will help load quicker.

11. Delete unwanted stuff: Evaluate your website's stuff and delete unnecessary substance. Every element, text, or image should be worth its download. Attract your visitors with quick download of your homepage, which can be best attained by crossing out the unwanted messages.

12. Keep your HTML concise: I find that as I work with Web pages -- revising and updating constantly -- the HTML code becomes cluttered with empty, redundant, and nested font tags.
Most HTML editors offer an option to clean up your HTML by eliminating empty, redundant, and nested tags (in Dreamweaver, go to the "Commands" menu, and then "Clean up HTML"). This not only cleans up your code for appearance purposes, but makes your pageloads quicker, as there is less code to process.

13. Screen resolutions: There are three major screen resolutions: 640x480, 800x600 and 1024x768.
Check your website at all three resolutions. Don't just design for one resolution assuming that if your monitor is set at that resolution then everyone else's is, too. There are still a lot of people surfing at a 640x480 screen resolution, some by choice and others because they do not know how to change the resolution. Please remember that 640x480 is the default screen resolution in most monitors. If your website is designed for a larger screen resolution only, then a horizontal scroll bar will appear for lower resolutions. A lot of people leave at the site of a horizontal scroll bar.

14. Frames: Why frames don't work? Firstly they increase load time as two pages are being loaded instantly which can be a problem for those with slow connections. Secondly frames take up space especially if you have more than 2. Imagine the effects of that at a screen resolution of 640x480. Plus no one likes two scroll bars. You can of course put it at no scroll but again there is the problem of screen resolutions, if the frame is longer than a certain size, no scrolling would mean that a lot of people cannot see the bottom half (since they would not be able to scroll). It can be very difficult to get the perfect layout using frames and making sure that they work at all resolutions.

15. Navigation: Make sure your navigation is simple. A menu, either text or graphical should be available on each page. If your site is huge, make sure visitors at all times know which section they are in and provide simple, easy to find links that lead them back to the main page and/or other sections.


Web Promotion tips


Web promotion is an important factor that could help make your business succeed online.

Sometimes you feel that your web site is lost among the billion pages on the web when search engines bring up all possible site and not your own. If you desire that your website could be noticed in the major search engines and directories, you need to take some steps to ensure that your pages appear on more search engines. It is not enough if you simply create a page and put it on the web. You have to enhance its appearance and it needs to be overwhelming to throw a side other pages. There are some crucial tips you must catch hold of to optimize the visibility of your web pages on the major search engines.

1. Develop good subject matter: The first and the best thing you can do to achieve high search engine ratings is to have good content. People who visit your site must find it worthy to recommend it to others. Search engines know that a page has relevant content is by counting the number of links to the page which suggests the reputation and demand for that site. If you don't have good information, your site loses its users and becomes anonymous.

2. Concentrate on meta tags: Meta tags are the important words on your site. While preparing your meta tags don't use generic or common keywords, try to use a combination of keywords and see if you can make them different from your competition. This would give you a better chance with the search engines. Try to come out with something different and these simple guidelines would get you closer to optimal visibility of your page.

3. Optimizing frames: If your site uses frames, you've got problems.
The problem is that search engines do not index framed sites very well. In fact, the search engines do such a poor job of indexing frames that I recommend redesigning your site without them if you want to get good listings in the search engines.
Read more about frames.

4. Flash sites: The 2 largest problems with Flash is used are:
Flash is often used on home pages as a "splash" page. Your best bet search engine wise is to avoid submitting any page that is made mostly of Flash.
Hyperlinks made with Flash can't be indexed by the search engines. Unfortunately, unless you have (or add) standard HTML hyperlinks to the other pages of your site none of your other pages will be able to get indexed by the search engines.
Read more about advantages and disadvantages of Flash designs.

5. Image maps for navigation: Due to the code that makes up an image map search engines often get trapped in them and can't spider your site.

6. Dynamic pages: Avoid over using dynamic pages because search engines can't indexed in effective way. Mostly search engines do not read the programming code that dynamic pages used.

7. Be Patient - Traffic increases over time: Be patient. Don't expect miracles to happen overnight. Promotion is a continuous process. You need to continue to update your website, add new articles and resubmit to search engines. Over time you will see your website coming up in search engines, getting better placement and sending you more visitors.

Flash Design

Flash technology has advantages and disadvantages. At this stage of the web's development, I recommend HTML based websites with possible Flash enhancements as the best combination of technologies. Should you opt for a Flash based site I recommend having a sister HTML site, as you'll see.

Advantages?: Flash enables us to create and control complex animations and sites that have relatively small file sizes (which allows them to load "relatively" quickly considering the level of complexity involved).

Flash is fun to work with and allows for really exciting effects and designs. HTML based sites, in contrast, have limitations that demand design compromises. Super Cool sites are virtually always done using Flash.

Flash allows the design to rule.

Disadvantages?: The viewer must have a Flash plug-in to view the site which they must also periodically update. This forces decisions on viewers - do I download or upgrade my Flash plug-in now, or wait -- at which point many will simply leave.

Flash sites load "relatively" quickly, given their level of complexity. But that doesn't mean they load "quickly". Typically viewers will have to wait, at least if they're on a modem, which means they must commit to your site before they know whether it will be worth it to them or not. Often they'll choose to move on.

In addition, though animations (particularly introductory animations) are often amusing the first time, they can become both tedious and annoying on return visits. The "skip introduction" link will be used a lot.

Other problems? Search Engine do not read the programming code that Flash uses. Search Engines read HTML. Search Engine Gurus are almost entirely anti-Flash. This matters to you only if you are hoping that Search Engines will drive traffic to your website. There are workarounds - you can pay for listings with Search Engines, for example. Or you can, as many do, have multiple versions of your site available - a Flash version with all the bells and whistles, and an HTML version that will be analyzed and indexed by Search Engine; will also be available to those who don't want to fuss around with the Flash plug-in, and will be Section 508 compliant, allowing access to disabled users (another Flash disadvantage, though they are working on it). This obviously increases cost in that you have to pay for two sites to be built, and to be maintained.

And speaking of costs, Flash is painstaking work and is priced accordingly.

Flash can create a much more exciting end product visually. But the web is not only a visual medium. It's also not a passive medium like television. It is an interactive medium. HTML allows for end-user flexibility in a way that Flash does not. HTML sites work for people who are coming to your site for information and who may use a search engine to find you. Flash works well for people who are coming to your site for entertainment and/or for people who don't need a search engine to find you (movies sites, for instance or sites for musical groups, etc.).

As I said in the beginning, Flash as an enhancement can give you the best of both worlds.