Making a website easy to navigate is one of the most important things you can do as a web designer - if a website is not easy to navigate, people will quickly leave.
Over the years, every type navigational layout (system) has been attempted, and now we know the 2 best ways to create navigation for websites:
- Left aligned ‘master’ navigation menu using CSS buttons or links. And ‘breadcrumbs’ navigation running across the top of the page.
- A close 2nd would be to have the ‘master’ navigation float on the right. But since book layouts (table of contents) are left aligned, left aligned is best for navigation.
Continue reading ‘The Top 2 Website Navigation Systems’
In this article I am going to look as some of the practices that are promoted by the Web Standards movement, practices that cost web designers (and their clients,) time and money for no real practical advantage.
CODE VALIDATION: validating your web pages.
Web Standards zealots advocate checking of code against an ‘engine’ (W3C validator ) to verify that your code is not breaking any Web Standards rules. This is fine, but it should be the ‘icing on the cake’ and not the focus.
Before you validate using the W3C validator (who’s engine does not reflect most of the browsers being used,) you should ‘validate’ your code against the target market - Internet Explorer and then (a distant 2nd) FireFox.
THE ORDER OF REAL-WORLD VALIDATION:
- Check against Internet Explorer - the most used browser.
- Check against FireFox.
- Check against the w3c validator: if you have time to burn.
Continue reading ‘The Web Standards movement vs. practicality.’
This is a good book for ‘non-nerds’ on everything about podcasting - the delivery of mp3’s via RSS feeds.
What I mean by ‘non-nerds’: the authors assume you are just someone who wants to learn how to podcast; there is no assumption that you are a web designer.
Though it is not nerd-centric, it is a great book for anyone (including web designers,) who wants to jump into this new way of delivering (audio) content to the web. It is a technical guide covering both the hardware (mics, cables et cetera,) and software components needed to start podcasting.
It is also a good guide on the business (for lack of better words,) end of podcasting covering things like:
- How to speak properly when creating podcasts.
- How to market/promote your podcast - (there are podcast specific methods to learn.)
- How to make money with podcasting.
The pros:
The book covers everything you need to effectively start podcasting. I was pleasently suprised how the book covered practical aspects outside of the normal realms of geekness - people who write web design books could learn a thing or two from this title.
Included is a CD with all the software you need to get started … convenient.
The cons:
I felt some of the writing was a touch long winded - get to the point already! But this is really a minor issue given all the other positive aspects of the book.
Conclusion:
If you want to podcast, get the book.
