|
Tips
and Tools
Tips
General Tips:
- If you at any time become confused by some of the Internet-related
terminology used on this site, you may want to check out http://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html,
a continuously updated, public-domain glossary of technical jargon.
- If you do not have a server, check the Web
site hosting page.
- Though all of the Site Components will nest within each other,
feel free to use them on separate pages within you site. If you
are nesting Components, get your layout set first before adding
content.
- All of the Site Component tables are set at 100%, as opposed
to a specific pixel width. This allows the table to fill the screen
independent of the monitor resolution. This can play havoc with
some content, so you may wish to change the setting in your Web
page editor's table pull-down menu.
- Pick and choose from the Site Components. Use only what you
need.
- Remember to change the width and height of your table cells
if you are using graphics that are larger. Graphics that are larger
than the cell will confuse browsers and may appear distorted.
- Preview! Preview! Preview! Look at you site in as many different
browsers and monitor resolutions as you can.
- If a large portion of your audience is accessing your pages
from off-campus, remember that many of them may have slow Internet
connections and old browsers. Keep this in mind when designing
graphics and adding enhanced technologies.
- Check the Technical Troubleshooting page
if you are having problems once you upload your page.
Design Tips:
- Give your site "flow" by using the U of M navigation header
bar, the footer bar, and a large version of your department's
logo in your home page. For pages deeper into your site, use a
smaller version of your logo, a header identifying the page, and
the U of M footer bar.
- Use photos and graphics as ways to visually illustrate your
points. For example, with Component Eight: K-12 Involvement, you
may wish to add a photo of interaction between your faculty and
grade school students.
- Images are also available through the Image
Library.
- Don't use image maps, which are images with multiple links
mapped onto them. They cannot be read by screen-readers. Also,
single images load faster.
- Check Web Development's list of general
design tips.
Background Graphics:
- When creating a background graphic, keep it simple and uncluttered.
Dark text on a light background is much easier to read than light
text on a dark background. Textures are fine as long as they are
low contrast and do not interfere with the text.
- If you are creating a background graphic with a bar on the
left side, make the bar approximately 135 pixels wide (including
any shadows) and the total graphic at least 1000 pixels wide.
This will give the graphic enough coverage on the page so that
people with monitors set at a higher resolution won't have your
bar doubled.
Tools
What is WYSIWYG?
WYSIWYG, or What You See Is What You Get, refers to editing programs
that by showing you your document as you work, and generate the
code, or HTML, behind the scenes. With these programs, dealing with
tags and applets isn't necessary, though that option is there for
you. They are technically limited, but for the purposes of most
University of Minnesota departments, they provide everything neccessary
to build a Web Site. And for more advanced needs, there is plenty
of help available.
Some of the programs available:
Macromedia Dreamweaver. This program
has a Layers which functions much like Layers in Adobe PageMaker
and Adobe Photoshop. It may be more intuitive for people with experience
with the Adobe programs, and will give you a great deal of control
over editing your pages. The Web Resource Kit site and the Site
Components were developed using Dreamweaver. ADCS
offers Dreamweaver classes. Dreamweaver is also available at the
U of M Minnesota Bookstore.
When using the Components with Dreamweaver:
- Dreamweaver will sometimes render tables differently than most
of the web browsers. What you see in Dreamweaver may not be what
you see in your browser. Always preview before you publish so
that you can catch problems before they are uploaded.
- Always convert your Layers to Tables, so that your page will
be compatible with older browsers.
- Once a Component is converted to Layers in Dreamweaver, the
original table is lost. You will be able to manipulate your content
as you wish, but Dreamweaver will draw its own table when you
convert back to Tables.
Microsoft FrontPage. FrontPage will
be part of Office 2000, which has its advantages. FrontPage also
edits tables well, but it can be fussy. FrontPage also includes
an image editing program called Image Composer, which is easy to
learn and works well for simple images. ADCS
offers FrontPage classes. FrontPage is also availableat the
U of M Minnesota Bookstore.
When using FrontPage with the Components:
Netscape Composer: Comes with Navigator
and is available free.
When using Composer with the Components:
- Make sure your file is named .html, not .htm.
|
