This weekend I discussed potential web page designs for Atomic Squash with Jason. Our conversation reminded me of some slides I wrote for an advanced HTML class at work. Over the years I have seen many poorly designed websites. Web page authors, it seems, tend to make some of the same mistakes when first learning HTML.

The following is a list of elements of good and poor design.

Elements of Poor Design

• Avoid gaudy backgrounds. A simple color is better.
• Avoid unreadable text and background combinations. You know about what I am talking.
• Do not make “Under Construction” pages. It is best just not to show a page that does not have content.
• Avoid frames. They break bookmarks. Use a table or div tags for layout instead.

Elements of Good Design

• Make a site map. If you have a large collection of web pages, this is invaluable.
• The top of the page is the most valuable part. Put a navigation bar and the most important content there.
• Use footers. Footers provide a visual cue to the end of content.
• Use context. Avoid “Click Here”.
• Give file sizes for files over 100kb in size. This prepares the user for large downloads.