HTML Tips

Since I'm on the web a lot I see many things that just irk me. This is just my opinion but maybe if you follow a few of these things your site can run a little smoother.

Please learn HTML. It's not hard. All you really need to know at first is how to add a picture, how to link, and how to add text. Text is easy. Just type. To make paragraphs add <p> and </p> If you want to do more, get a HTML editor but learn from that editor so you can do it yourself later on. A great site to learn at is http://www.lissaexplains.com

how to add a picture:
<img src="http://yoursite/folderofpicture/picturename" height="heightsize" width="widthsize" border="bordersize" alt="caption">

Adding the height and width parts of the code, makes your site load faster. If you add the height and width for all your graphics and pictures, your browser will then put place holders in for those pictures and start to download all the text and then your pictures one by one. People can read your site while they wait for the pictures to download.

how to link:
<a href="http://siteaddress" target="_seebelow">Name of site</a>

Please open all outside links in a new window. I am sick of right clicking "open link in new window". I do not want to be stuck in your frames. So in your link code for target, you can have target="_blank" which opens the link up a new window, target="_top" which opens the link in the same window but at the very top of the screen, or leave it out all together to make links open up in the same frame window.

On your splash/index page, please make sure your main graphic is linked as a way to enter your site. I can't tell you how many times I have not gone into a site because I could not find their little (and I mean tiny) enter text link mixed in with all the other text links. The first thing I always do to enter a site is click on the main picture. If you are not linking the main picture because it shows a border then all you need in the "img src" part of the picture code is to add border="0" .

If any of your content opens up in a popup window, make sure you have a "back" link so I can get back to your menu.

Please, please, please do not add music, sounds, or midi's to your site. Many people surf with their own cd's/mp3's playing and your site's music overlaps it. I especially hate when I cannot turn your site music off. If you absolutely must have it, give the visitor a chance to turn it on and off! Also another reason not to have music on your site is many people view the web on public computers and it is very embarrassing to open a site and have music blaring across a room of strangers disturbing what they are trying to do quietly.

Add mystery meat navigation carefully - What is that you say? That is where you add a blue butterfly for your episode guide, a pink one for your links, etc. Many people do this with little squares. First I need to find your navigation. Point to it or add a line at the top of your main page on where I can find your navigation if it not obvious. I will not click around all over to find things. Next if you must have a picture/object or a weird word to describe a section of your site add alt="description of what you can find by clicking here" to your picture code. Then I know quickly where I can find your episode guide or whatever. Also if you have a picture or weird word to describe something, add a site index which lists every link on your site and what is located at that link.

Please use thumbnails for your pictures, wallpapers, etc. I do not want to wait forever to download each picture or wallpaper. I have wanted to see a site's wallpaper but stopped because they did not have thumbnails. I would have either had to wait for each wallpaper to download (which is a long time) or leave. I usually leave. Thumbnails are so easy to do with a program. Here are two programs that can do it quick, fast, and easy. Very user friendly. First is ACDSee. Not only is it a great picture viewer, it does fast easy thumbnails under Plug-ins - "HTML Album Generator". This is the program I use. Another good program is Express Thumbnail Generator. Another easy to use way to make thumbnails. Both of these programs have free trial versions.

Also when making thumbnails please show the whole picture. Don't show just an eye or a part of the picture. Many people do not have DSL and cannot afford or have time to download each wallpaper to see how it looks. Give a thumbnail of the whole wallpaper to let me decide if I want to spend my time to download it or not.

Make your own graphics. Do not steal! People spend a lot of time making their own graphics and want them to be original. People will find out if you stole them. You never know who might visit your site one day, find your stolen graphics, and tell the owner. A great and cheap program to use is Paint Shop Pro. It will take you time to learn but ask around and you will get better with time. If you do not want to make your own, ask someone else. There are tons of sites that just make custom graphics.

Don't steal someone's HTML code word for word. Change it and make it your own. People can and will tell that your layout looks exactly like someone else's.

Just don't steal period. All you have on the web is your credibility. If you steal people will talk, they will hate you, they will email you to stop it and they usually won't be nice. You will not have many friends and will never be included. Just know you will get caught. I know there are only so many ways of making layouts and putting information on a page so more likely people's sites will look the same somehow. But try to make it a little different using different graphics, taking out some things, adding some things, etc. Be unique. The web is to show off your creativity.

Don't type weird. It's just tacky. People will hate it and it is hard to read. YoU ARe noT THaT cutE oR unIQuE! Plus is takes too much time to do.

Type in English, well if that is your language. Do not use CU L8R or Urox or all the other stupid little abbreviations you use when taking to your friends on AIM. I want to know what you are talking about. If you type like that you seem immature and I will not bother with your page or ideas.

Please spell check. This is always something I am guilty of. I misspell like crazy. I am always finding something I typed wrong no matter how many times I have checked things over. I probably have misspellings on this page too. All I ask is that you try.

Don't use dark text on dark backgrounds or light text on light backgrounds. They are hard to read.

Please let people right click to see your source code. I know you do not want people stealing but many people learn how to code by seeing other people's source codes. Let people learn from you. Be proud that you found out how to do something and can help people learn.

Do you have a tip or pet web peeve and want me to add it here? Then email me here.


~ Fanfiction Recommendations ~  WinAmp Skins ~  Wallpaper ~
~  Fonts ~  Games ~