HTML StyleWhat is good style?Cannot load the pageCannot use the pageCannot read the pageStill cannot read the pageContrast is importantYou can’t adjust the pageYou can’t leave the pageYou can’t navigate the siteWorkaroundsThe EndHTML StyleWhat is good style?•Good style, like good taste, is partly--but only partly--a matter of opinion•Bad style is frequently easier to define–A web page has bad style if•You can’t load the page•You can’t use the page for its intended purpose•You can’t read the page•You can’t adjust the page to your needs•You can’t get rid of the page•You can’t navigate the site containing the pageCannot load the page•Macromedia Flash is the worst offender•Pages containing Flash animations often cannot even be loaded by browsers without Flash•If you are going to use Flash, or other fancy features, make sure your intended audience has the ability to see your pagesCannot use the page•Many users turn off automatic image loading–They may have a slow connection–They may be visually disabled–If your only hyperlink to another page is through an image, users without images cannot get there–Always provide text hyperlinks in addition to your images•To submit a form via HTML, you usually must have JavaScript turned on–The JavaScript does client-side input checking–This is probably useful enough to justify requiring JavaScript, but be sure your users are aware of the requirementCannot read the page•Here are two otherwise very nice backgrounds:•Both of these backgrounds have text--can you see it?Still cannot read the page•Have you seen pages that tell you what browser to use and what to set your screen size to?–Did you ever do it?–What do you think about that person’s sense of self-importance?•This page was created by someone with perfect eyesight using a 21-inch monitor set to 1600 by 1200 resolution, using an 8-point serif font, and as a result nobody but the original author has a clue what it actually says.•Some people just like to use weird fonts•There are lots of places you can use absolute measurements in HTML, and very little reason ever to do soContrast is important•Contrast is important–Use either very dark text against a very light background or very light text against a very dark background–Avoid contrast in the background itself•If it has good contrast on your monitor, that doesn’t mean it will have good contrast on everyone else’s–Always use more contrast than you think necessary•Human edge detection relies on contrast--differences between light and dark--not on color differencesThis is a difference in color, not in contrastYou can’t adjust the page•Pages that use absolute sizes--for example, to adjust the size of a table to just fit on a 17-inch screen--are a serious nuisance–Scrolling vertically is acceptable, because we don’t need to scroll often to read a column of text–If we need to scroll sideways, we need to scroll back and forth for every single line•Relative sizes don’t always work, either; I’ve run across pages containing tables that are 110% of the page width•Even if your monitor is large and your eyesight is good, there may be other things on the screen that you want to seeYou can’t leave the page•Sometimes this occurs through malice--the page includes JavaScript to pop up a new window each time you close the current one•Usually it’s an accident: a page gives you an automatic transfer to a new page, but with the time set to zero:•<meta HTTP-EQUIV="Refresh" CONTENT="0; URL=newURL">•This takes you to the new page but effectively disables the “Back” buttonYou can’t navigate the site•EPSON has long been my favorite example•Suppose you want to download a printer driver; you go to www.epson.com, and here are your choices:–Printers & Imaging products–Electronic devices–Point of Sale Products•This represents their corporate organization–What do I care how they are organized?Workarounds•Poor contrast:–Hit control-A, to select all the text on the page–Otherwise, in Preferences, select “Use my chosen colors” and/or turn of image loading, then reload page•Bad size:–Increase or decrease screen resolution•Can’t leave the page with the Back button–Use the pull-down list of pages you’ve been to•Can’t navigate the site–Use GoogleThe
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