Some general tips
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Code? Don't start by worrying
about writing code. Instead think about what you would use you site
for the vast majority of the time. I started by writing and writing
and writing nothing but the text that would eventually end up on my web
site. There was no need to concern myself with the technical aspects
until I had something to work with. Why try to build a car before
you've got the parts you need handy?
Text first. One of the teachers
I helped put on-line said that the best advice I gave her was to ignore
all the fancy stuff and to just write the text. In other words, forget
what the web site will eventually
look like, and worry about the
meat of the site. You can't really paint a house until you've finished
building it, so don't even start looking for graphics until you have an
idea what purpose the aesthetics will likely to serve.
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Graphics. When you start to paste
your site together, don't include too much graphic content. It can slow
down the time required to download a site, be distracting, and look self-indulgent.
This goes double for distracting animations. Suggestion: Use your
graphics constructively rather than as mere ornamentation. For example,
pictures of what you're highlighting can make for great bullets that address
both left- and right-brained thinkers.
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Dialogue. Having a peer give
you constructive advice can get you thinking about the best ways of organizing
your site so that someone unfamiliar with it can navigate effectively on
their first visit. Whenever I reorganize my site, I always ask for
feedback immediately after I post it.
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Information. Don't put what you
don't want copied on the internet. If you think something is just
too precious to give away, don't put it out there.
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Help! Finally, don't be afraid
to ask for help. Kids know more about this than you do. No,
I'm completely serious. They'll figure out what you're doing wrong.
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