 
November marks my eleven-month anniversary as a many-hour-a-day websurfer, and I think I’ve finally developed a sense of what’s good, what’s bad, and what’s truly awful. There are a lot of websites out there that are simply horrid, and a surprising amount of them were created by or for companies that really ought to know better. I’ve even built a few websites, my own and that of the Internet Gazette among them. The Internet Gazette site, which I update every month, has benefited from regular attention. However, I liken my own site to a pitiful orphan with dirt on its nose. The cobbler’s children with bare feet. . . the dentist’s children with bad teeth. . . the psychoanalyst’s kids who live in rubber rooms. I’ve already created a number of replacement pages for it, but haven’t finished all of them, so my site is still filled with awful wallpaper, inconsistency, and any number of design faux pas that are downright embarrassing. It’s mortifying, I tell ya. But the good thing is that I now have a sense of what’s wrong with my own site, and all of the changes to it will reflect my experimentation with image maps, anti-aliased text, resampled graphics, and other little tricks of the world’s newest profession. For those of you who are thinking about creating a website of your own, here are some tips that might help you avoid the mistakes I made when I created my own site. 1. Thou shalt be consistent. This one’s critical. When I first started playing with my own website, I found dozens of gorgeous wallpapers that I fell in love with. It was worse than trying to pick out wallpaper with my ex-husband. But then I realized that I didn’t HAVE to use just one. After all, this was my own little corner of cyberspace; I could do whatever I wanted! So I used all the ones I really liked. . . with disastrous results. After remodelling, my site will have a common graphic element on every page, whether it’s wallpaper created with my logo, or a miniature version of the logo itself. 2. Thou shalt not play sucky background music. A lot of people do their surfing at work --- on their lunch breaks, of course! --- and MIDI files that crank up automatically can blow their cover. Also, in my opinion, MIDI files are the cyberspace version of Muzak. If I want to listen to elevator music, I’ll go visit an elevator. 3. Thou shalt not use a surplus of cheesy graphics, or graphics that are so enormous that they take twenty minutes to load. Eeeeeeeek! Less is more, in this case. 4. Thou shalt not use frames unless you absolutely have to! Often they detract from your website’s purpose. Learn to control ‘em, or don’t use ‘em at all! And for Pete’s sake, please provide a frameless alternative for those of us who hate the darn things. 5. Thou shalt not use “under construction” signs! Websites are ALWAYS under construction. Don’t publicize yours unless it’s done, or darn close. And if you need to put your site up with MEN WORKING icons all over the place, please make sure you let folks know when it’s going to be done! 6. Thou shalt not use scrolling marquees... but if you really feel you MUST, they better be at a speed slow enough to read, and fast enough not to put me to sleep. 7. Thou must take the time to ensure that all your hypertext links are functional. Sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised! To be fair, things change quickly on the Web. It’s like an enormous tent city. On Saturday morning, the Johnsons show up in their shiny new motor home. They’re a real fun couple; they play horseshoes and croquet, and they even share their beer. But the next morning, you get up, and all that’s left of the Johnsons are some smoking embers and a Winnebago-shaped fairy-ring in the grass. A URL that works today may be obsolete tomorrow. Check your links often, to make sure they’re up-to-date. 8. Thou shalt use ALT tags in your important images. ALT tags are basically labels that tell people what the image will be when it’s done loading. But a lot of folks, especially if they pay hourly fees to their ISPs, turn off their browser’s graphics option. The ALT tags help those folks enjoy your page, even when they cannot see the pictures. Plus, they helpYOU look polished and professional. 9. Thou shalt let people know how to reach you. Provide an e-mail address and as many other methods of contacting you as possible, and make sure that they aren’t in mousetype and buried in some insignificant corner of your site! And put your URL on every piece of stationery you’ve got. After all, it’s an illustrated, information-packed extension of your business card. 10. Thou shalt be original! Folks, this is the toughest one of all. A friend of mine called me the other day and said, "Caroline, I cannot believe this. Have you seen Seiko’s website? This is a prestigious company that has a gazillion dollars, with print ads that are generally tasteful and lovely, and guess what? Their website is the dullest thing I have ever seen." And my friend is absolutely right. Go see for yourself. SITES TO SEE
Seiko
The Internet Gazette
Wright For You (updates planned by year-end ‘97, I promise!)
Caroline Wright, of WRIGHT FOR YOU Word Services, is a freelance writer. A former resident of Hawaii, she now lives in rural South Carolina. Feel free to e-mail your comments to Caroline at cw@wrightforyou.com.
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