Frequently Asked Web Design Questions
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Shelley Lowery
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Shelley Lowery |
Shelley Lowery is the author of Web Design Mastery - An in- depth guide to professional web design. And, Ebook Starter - A complete ebook design kit. Visit Web-Source.net to sign up for a free subscription to Etips and receive a free copy of the highly acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing Strategies." http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=bl1
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Shelley Lowery
has written 1 articles for WebKnowHow. |
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If
you'd like to do business on the Internet, launching a quality
web site is an absolute must. Learning how to design your own
web site can be a little intimidating. However, there is a wealth
of free information available on the Internet to assist you.
The
best way to learn is by doing. Take the first step and begin researching.
Once you understand the basics of web design, you can begin experimenting
with some more advanced coding techniques.
A
great place to start is HTML Goodies:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/primer_1.html
Over
the years, I have received many questions in regard to web design.
Below, are some of the most frequently asked questions I receive
on a regular basis:
Question:
I am in the process of designing my first web page and am confused
about making it compatible with all the different web browsers.
Can you help?Answer:
Although there really isn't a "set in stone" solution
to developing a web page that will display properly
in all browsers, there are some basic guidelines that will assist
you.
The
best advice I can offer is to develop your site to be compatible
with Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, as these are the
two most widely used browsers.Although
the latest versions of the two browsers are fairly comparable,
you must take into consideration that many of your visitors won't
have the latest versions.
Some
of the main differences between earlier versions of the two browsers
are as follows:
(1)
In order to center a "table" within earlier versions
of Netscape, you must enclose your "table" code with
the CENTER and /CENTER tags instead of using P ALIGN=CENTER. The
CENTER tag is compatible with both browsers.
(2)
When creating form fields, if you use the maxlength code within
your code, Netscape will display the input box the length of the
maxlength code value.
(3)
If you would like to display your web page full-screen or adjust
the margins, you'll need to use the following codes within your
BODY tag:
<BODY
topmargin=0 bottommargin=0 leftmargin=0 rightmargin=0
marginheight=0 marginwidth=0>
This
margin code is compatible with both browsers.
Internet
Explorer supports:
topmargin=0
bottommargin=0
leftmargin=0
rightmargin=0
Netscape
Navigator supports:
marginheight=0
marginwidth=0
(4)
Avoid using special design techniques that require a special browser
extension or plug-in, as many of your visitors will need to download
and install the plug-in before they can use your site -- most
won't.
If
you follow these few guidelines, you shouldn't have any problems
with browser compatibility.
A
great way to ensure your site displays properly is to download
and install both Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. This
will enable you to view your site through both browsers.
Internet
Explorer
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp
Netscape
Navigator
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp
You
can find a nice "Browser Compatibility" chart at the
following web address:
http://www.webreview.com/browsers/browsers.shtml
You
can test your site's compatibility at the following web addresses:
http://www.anybrowser.com
http://www.netmechanic.com
Question:
I can't get my image to display on my web page. I placed the image
code in my page, but all I see is a "red X" where the
image should display. Can you tell me what the problem may be?
Answer:
In order for an image to display on a web page, it must first
be uploaded to your server in "binary" mode. If you've
verified that your image has been uploaded properly, your next
step will be to double check your image HTML code. Make sure that
the image address leads to your image and is spelled exactly the
same. Keep in mind, the name of your image is CaSE SeNsiTIve.
In other words, if your image name is "Image.gif" on
your server, it must look exactly the same within your code.Question:
I would like to display my text, side by side, like a newspaper,
but I can't figure out the code.
Answer:
In order to display your text like a newspaper, you must place
it within a table.
<TABLE>
< TR>
< TD>text</TD>
< TD>text</TD>
< /TR>
< /TABLE>
Question:
When I placed my text within my page, it's right up against the
left border. Is there any way I can correct this?
Answer:
Yes, you can place your text within a table. You can specify the
width of your table to determine the distance between your text
and the left and right border of your web page.
<CENTER>
< TABLE WIDTH="80%">
< TR>
< TD>text</TD>
< /TR>
< /TABLE>
< /CENTER>
This
table code will display your text across 80% of your web page
with a border of 10% on the left and right side.If
you'd rather not use a table, you can also set your page borders
within your BODY tag:
<BODY
topmargin=0 bottommargin=0 leftmargin=0 rightmargin=0
marginheight=0 marginwidth=0>
Question:
I have specified a font face at the beginning of my web page,
but the font face isn't displaying within my tables. Can you tell
me what the problem may be?
Answer:
In order to display a specific font face within your tables, you
must use a separate font tag within each table cell.
<TABLE>
< TR>
< TD font face="Arial">text</font></TD>
< TD font face="Arial">text</font></TD>
< /TR>
< /TABLE>
If
you'd rather not use a font tag within each of your table cells,
there is an easier way. Place the following code between the HEAD
and /HEAD tags. This code will specify the font style for all
of your table cells.
<STYLE
TYPE="text/css">
< !--
TD{font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;}
-->
< /STYLE>
Question:
I've placed a form code within my web page, but my form isn't
working. Can you help?
Answer:
In order for a form to function, in addition to placing the form
HTML within your web page, you must also use a CGI form processing
script. This script will reside on your server within your CGI-bin
and will be called from your form code within your HTML. Your
code might look something like this:
<form
method=post action="/cgi-bin/example.cgi">
The
"cgi-bin/example.cgi" text should be changed to the
address of your form processing script.
You
can find free form processing scripts at the CGIResource Index.
http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/
Learning
how to design a great web site isn't easy. However, if you take
the time to educate yourself and start with the basics, you'll
be well on your way to designing a great site.
Copyright
© Shelley Lowery 2002. |