Web Page Guidelines

Overall Design
  • The overall appearance should be aesthetically pleasing
  • All the information should be accessible on one, or a few pages, with a minimum of clicks.
  • The project title and summary should be the first thing that the reader sees.
  • Remember that this is a summary, not a complete record of everything you did.
  • The project should be the focus of the web page, not your consulting company or team picture.
  • Do not link to sites that will disappear after the semester is over.
  • What the experts say: List of the Top 10 web page mistakes
  • Web Page Design Guide (by C. Croskey)

    Format

     You don't need to be fancy. A recommended basic format is shown here - Example 1. The essential information is:
  • Project Title
  • Sponsor Company
  • Executive Summary
  • Team Members (names)
  • Faculty Coach
  • Date
  • One attention-grabbing picture or graphic.
    This page was created directly using HTML. Now for comparison, check out the same page, created with MSWord. Look at the source code! (View, Page Source)

    Examples
  • Here are examples of good pages: Example 2    Example 3
  • Here is a page that has a few problems: Example 4a (first page contains no real information, the user has to go to multiple other pages to find out about the project, the project is not the focus, and there is too much detail) , and an improved version Example 4b of that same page.
  • Here are other examples of pages which could be improved:
      Example 5  Lots of empty space, minimal information content
      Example 6  Fancy stuff does not work with all browsers
      Example 7  Unattractive colors, Do we really need to see the team in their dorm room?

    Size, File Names, File Types

  • Total size for all files and graphic images is 2 MB without compresson. Zipped or compressed files will not be accepted. Put your files, with the proper folder structure on a CD. Make sure everything runs from the CD before you hand it in.
  • Call your main file "index.htm" and place it in the top directory of your disk (not in a folder).
  • Remember that many users have only a 28Kb modem. Avoid large graphic files and animations. JPEG files are the most compact, GIF files can be very large. The maximum resolution that can be displayed on a typical monitor is 72 dpi. Anything more than 72 dpi is a waste of space. If you have a higher resolution picture (>72 dpi), you can use PhotoShop or another picture editing software to change the resolution.

    Browser Dependencies

     Some web page composers (Microsoft's Front Page for instance) generate files that can only be viewed properly with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Make sure that your page works correctly with Firefox and Internet Explorer.

    Frames and Java

    Keep it simple. Avoid the use of Frames or JavaScript. They are tricky to get working, and not all browsers can handle them correctly.

    How to Begin?

     A quick way to create a web page is to view the html source code for a page that you like (click on the View, Page Source menu item on your browser's tool bar), and just modify it to suit you (with Notepad). Alternatively, you may use a web page composer, such as Netscape Composer, Microsoft Front Page, or MS Word, but it is probably just as easy to write it in HTML code.

    Proprietary Information

     Make sure that your sponsor approves of all information that you place on the web page. This is another good reason to not show a lot of details.
    27 November 2006 J.S. Lamancusa