In Reply to: Darn, thoughts needed on Frontierverse posted by Robin Sharrock on April 23, 2000 at 16:40:06:

: Hi Guys. Having massive problems with the design change. I had planned to make it into a graphical and java script extravaganza but am having second thoughts.

: Should I stick to a nice and simple design?

I would say "Yes". Maintainability is the key! A lot of webmasters go in for too much complexity. You can make an attractive layout with HTML alone, which has the advantages that it's fast, more likely to work with all browsers, and is easy to modify when you add new stuff or want to change something. If you want to improve the look of your site, you can do this with standard HTML. Experiment with tables and frames (but if you use frames, once again be selective on what you use them for). If you see some layout ideas on someone's website, do a "View Source" on that page and find out how they did it. It's really worthwhile to learn how to do HTML by hand, too.

The AliothNet design is in fact very simple, and I standardized it across the site to make it easy to edit. I have a few template files I just cut and paste from when I add new content. One golden rule is to "strive for consistency" - try and make the whole way the site works consistent, and have a unified 'look and feel'.

About graphical extravaganzas. Graphics are nice, but they can be slow to load - and it also makes the site harder to maintain. Imagemaps are a bear if you need to add a menu item in comparison to a text HTML link. However, graphics to get a point across or make a banner/title etc. are OK so long as they are not too massive. I think Zat Solo did a very nice job with his website (although it does suffer from being slow over a normal modem link)

If you don't have the ability to do stuff "server side" (ie CGI scripts etc.) on your webserver, you might have to break down and use Java or Javascript for active content. However, it's always worth thinking really carefully about whether you need this stuff - once again it's time consuming.

The basic message is: make sure your layout isn't such that you have to sacrifice content because it's awkward or too timeconsuming to make a nice, consistent design - and you can make very good looking designs with a judicious use of graphics and HTML alone.

• Re: Darn, thoughts needed on Frontierverse Simon Challands 15:18:18 05/01/00 (0)
• Re: Darn, thoughts needed on Frontierverse Brad Chacos 21:35:37 04/27/00 (0)
• Re: Darn, thoughts needed on Frontierverse Rob 17:24:04 04/23/00 (2)