Home Page Design:

Another Guide?

by Joe Night

This is about writing HTML documents. The Internet is already a repository of HTML authoring tools and style guides. And if that isn't enough, bookstores are piled high with reference manuals. What you read here will not be an attempt to rehash the existing works. Although some minor mechanical information is included, the following is really about style and content. The gist of this is quite simple. A good HTML document may get your message across. A bad document will not simply be ignored, but is likely to be despised. Any positive message you may have intended will be killed by bad presentation. What follows is a discussion of good and bad.

Keep your salt shaker handy and be prepared to use a grain or two as you read. My inclination is to create rules and regulations - and although this will certainly contribute a look of consistency to your work it will likely cramp your style and discourage growth. I suspect you don't really want a lecture on the need to wash behind your ears, brush your teeth, or wear clean clothes to school. I'm not here to tell you what you should do. What I'd like is to share with you some ideas about the power of the Internet and your possible place in the network. And I'd like to share with you a perspective on some of the tools you have at your disposal. If you haven't started publishing your own HTML documents, I hope you'll have as much fun as I do. If you've already published a page or two, I hope you'll keep on learning.

In the beginning, some of us were content to see dot matrix printers churning out pages with bolded type. With that simple tool we could at least emphasize a point or two in our Christmas newsletters. We were thrilled when the first real publishing programs gave us different type sizes, images, and columns. Those of us who cherished our new skills and tools were dismayed by the introduction of less expensive publishing tools that could be used by anyone. Our cover was effectively blown - no more smoke and mirrors. Anybody could publish a newsletter with minimal effort. But the real dismay came not from the sense of threat to our income but the recognition that poorly designed publications and advertising were now easier and cheaper to produce. The easy availability of HTML authoring tools presents a similar issue. Almost anyone can write an HTML document. As each revised Internet browser hits the market, the number of great tools and techniques to be exploited and abused increases.

Another Guide?
The Net Potential
The Value of Information
Social Obligations and Laws
Salt Required
White Space and Columns of Text
The Final Word?

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