| Many considerations need to be made when designing | | | | can be used to embed images within the text making |
| a new website. The structure is important but is only | | | | the layout more aesthetically pleasing. |
| one aspect of the whole thing. | | | | A good balance of graphics and text is key to a good |
| The use of space is a key factor when designing a | | | | website. Overpopulating the page with pictures can |
| website. You should try to create the site to fill the | | | | make the site difficult to read. Beware that the pictures |
| majority of the space but also be able to adjust itself | | | | are part of the design as well when determining the |
| when the user resizes the screen. Screen resolution is | | | | layout of the page. As you design your site think about |
| also important to think about. You'll find most | | | | where you are putting them. |
| computers these days use a widescreen monitor | | | | The text width is another area to consider. This is |
| rather than the dated 640 x 480 resolution. This | | | | known as the scan length and is the maximum amount |
| causes issues if you are building your site on a | | | | of words displayed per line on the page. The majority |
| widescreen monitor as other people might not have | | | | of people find 7-11 words a comfortable amount. Any |
| the same resolution screen. | | | | longer than this and it becomes difficult to read, any |
| Colors are useful for separating different sections of a | | | | less and text looks disjointed. The text is a vital |
| website. For example, a common technique for laying | | | | component of any website so keep in the text in line |
| out the page is to have the information on one colour | | | | as you build your page. Though it is tempting to centre |
| in the center and the rest of the page set to a specific | | | | all the text, you should steer clear of this. If all the text |
| background color. This method is useful as the main | | | | is centered it can reduce the readability of the page. |
| content stays in the centre of the page as the window | | | | As a final wrap up make a list of the 'most wanted |
| is resized. So in terms of different resolutions, a larger | | | | actions' you want your website visitors to perform, and |
| screen will show more background color and a smaller | | | | remember them when designing your site layout. If you |
| one less. | | | | want to collect their details you'll need to ensure that |
| A common error in site design is not aligning images | | | | the form or a link to the form jumps out at them on |
| properly. It isn't uncommon to see images placed in | | | | the first page they arrive on. If you want your visitors |
| questionable positions on the page with text wrapped | | | | to go to a certain page as a result of visiting your site, |
| round them in an incorrect format. The tag is used to | | | | you'll want to ensure that you've included a banner or |
| code images onto the page but left as it is the text will | | | | icon that takes them to that page. |
| wrap from the bottom of the image. The align attribute | | | | |