HTML Lesson 6 TBE 540 Prerequisites The learner must be able to Create a web page using a text editor and or a web page editor demonstrating the use of text graphics lists links external and anchor lines colors backgrounds and tables Search the web for information Objectives After completing the activities related to this lesson the learner will be able to List three or more attributes of a good web page List five or more considerations that affect web page design Describe accessibility adaptations Locate appropriate rubrics for educational web page evaluation Look at Web Page Rubrics Before going further in this lesson take the time to view at least three web page rubrics You will find the links on the TBE 540 HTML page middle right at http www csudh edu fisher 540html htm Web Page Audience One of the main considerations of web design is audience appropriateness You would not expect a book for a young child to look like a novel that an adult would read The audience of a web page should help determine its overall appearance Audience Reading Level One example of an audience adaptation is reading level If you want to see the readability of some of your text copy it go to http www csudh edu fisher readability htm and paste it into the box provided Follow the directions on the page to see several versions of the grade level of the text Audience Amount of Information If your audience is younger you may want to put only a small amount of information on each page You may also want to provide graphics that assist in navigating the page Some individuals do not like to scroll very far Consider breaking long text into several sections or providing anchors within the text Audience Foreign Language If your intended audience will be nonEnglish readers you may need to display special characters or different alphabets For example you can display with this code ntilde For a complete list of special characters see http www webmonkey com reference Specia l Characters Audience Load Time You may be aiming your web page at children or parents who do not have access to the latest equipment If they have older computers or slower modems they do not want to wait for large graphics or PDF documents to load They may not have helper applications such as Acrobat Reader or Shockwave Audience Load Time Consider the load time of your page in its design avoid unnecessary bells whistles If you must use large graphics make them interlaced so that they load a little at a time You may also want to make a text only version of your page if the graphics are not necessary to the information Audience Different Browsers You have no control over the browser that your audience will be using Web pages will look different in Explorer in Netscape in Safari in AOL s browser and in others that are less common Various versions of each browser also differ in display capabilities If you include web page code or activities that are browser specific the users may not see what you intended Audience Alternate Fonts You may have a special font that you always use in word processing You should generally not specify special fonts in a web page because they may not be available on the user s computer Your page may not have the appearance you intended if you specify an uncommon font Times and Arial are usually OK You can place graphic versions of text in a page but it will not be accessible to the blind Audience Accessiblity You may be required by law to make your web pages accessible to disabled users school and other public web sites There are some easy adaptations such as including ALT tags on each image so that screen readers for the blind can read necessary information You should also provide text links as an alternate to image maps For more info see the links bottom right at http www csudh edu fisher tbe540 540html htm Web Page Purpose The intended purpose of your web page will also affect its design If you are trying to sell a product or recruit new customers you will need a site that gets the user s attention If you intend to teach or provide information with your site you will need more emphasis on information and less on attention getting Web Page Purpose It is generally not a good idea to make the purpose of your page see what I can do Be sure you have a clear idea of the purpose objectives of your page The page design should help the users meet the objective s For example if the purpose of the page is to teach you may want to include some interactive elements If the purpose is to provide information be sure the information is well organized Web Site Cohesiveness Even though you may want to use a variety of color etc your web site should look like it is all part of one package You can use a color scheme or a theme found in some web editors You should keep the navigation consistent For example many pages have a list of links on the left side of all pages Web Site Cohesiveness The user should know where he she is within the site at all times and be able to return to the home page easily Some pages use frames see HTML Lesson 5 so that the outer part of the display does not change Others more common use tables with navigation links in the same location on all pages Web Site Cohesiveness Most web site designers do not use frames Blackboard is an exception since they are harder to bookmark print and download The next time you use Blackboard notice how the frames are used They are used both for convenience and for appearance General Considerations Proof read your text Fix typos Put your name and or contact information on each page Include the date the page was last updated Check external links frequently to ensure that they are still working General Considerations Your school district may require a disclaimer for your pages or your site At CSUDH non official pages must include this statement Disclaimer for unofficial pages The statements found on pages in this web site are for informational and instructional purposes only While every effort is made to ensure that this information is up to date and accurate official information can be found in the University publications Links to commercial sites are for information purposes only no promotion of particular commercial sites is intended See the CSUDH Web Style Guide at http www csudh edu wam resources styleguide General Considerations If your site will be posted on the web be sure to honor copyright regulations At the very least give credit for copied artwork and adhere to fair use