Helpful Hints
Well-organized, edited, and timely original content set in an attractive, interactive, and consistent format are some traits of great websites.
• Keep it simple. Excessive, graphics, tables, and paragraphs can make the site look cluttered.
• Keep the style/format consistent. While different fonts and colors are fun, they can also be distracting and confusing.
• Include pictures. They are visually pleasing and add a personal element to the articles.
• Limit scrolling. Limit web pages to no more than a computer screen and a half. Your visitors can only take in so much information at a time.
• Include video clips. Use SchoolTube, TeacherTube or any other option that utilizes streaming video to ensure the best quality and playback since it does not require downloading the file.
• Use tables, frames, and horizontal lines. These help maintain a well-organized, easy-to- view page.
• Break up tables vertically. One huge table takes much longer to display than stacked smaller tables.
• Check hyperlinks regularly. If web pages change, your links won’t work.
• Provide a site map. If visitors are able to find information quickly, they will come back regularly. Post an article that outlines the content in each section and sub-section.
• Update regularly. New information keeps people coming back.
• Ensure content is well-edited.
• Use the correct image format:
- Use .jpg format when the images are scanned pictures or photographs.
- Use .gif format with graphics that you have created on your computer, such as buttons, and clipart.
- Use .png format when you want transparency – an option that is not available in any other common image format.
• Provide captions or ALT tags for pictures or graphics for the blind and low-bandwidth users.
Make the captions/ALT tags descriptive.
• Include a “What’s New” area. This will allow frequent visitors to see what changed since their last visit. You might also use the Current Highlights feature for this purpose.