Designing Web Pages

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Paths and Links:

You may create a subtree of folders off of your main directory. However, for your links to work properly, follow these guidelines:

Use relative path names off of your directory. For example, if you have a folder in your directory called graphics that contains the file myface.gif, you will refer to it as /images/myface.gif . This establishes the link as relative to the current directory
All of your links need to be in lower case. If you produce your site on a DOS-based computer, it allows non case-senstive links and path names. The server you site will be uploaded to is UNIX based which is case sensitive. Example: /Images/Myface.gif is not the same as /images/myface.gif.

Use styles and colors that are easy to read and accessible to as wide an audience as possible. Complicated background patterns and dark background colors can be difficult to read. Some combinations of text and background colors can be unreadable by people with color blindness.
Consider how to organize your information, where you want it to be linked, and how to point people to it. Make sure your links are well named.
Make the best use of your home page. Do not waste home page space on introductory paragraphs of information that users will read only one time and subsequently ignore. History and introductory text are important and should be part of every home page, but shrink it to a link labeled "Introduction" or "About."
Your pages will not look the same to every viewer for a variety of reasons such as screen resolution, platform type, and brand and version of browser.
Viewers will have a variety of hardware and software.
Some people choose not to download graphics, they take longer to load than just text.
Don't overload your pages with graphics that will slow the down-loading time and frustrate users. Consider having clickable icons for pictures. The more complex you make your graphics, the longer it will take for pages to load.

from Robert Parker, author of Guide to Web Content and Design: Eight Steps to Web Site Success

Avoid multi columns;
Use smaller photographs and illustrations;
Modify color choices: bright background colors are more annoying on the web; use web safe colors;
Navigation: it is harder for a reader to scan an entire Web page - use relevant sub-heads; allow ability to return to the home page;
Chunking: conciseness is more important on the web: reduce the need to scroll as much as possible.

Make your pages accessible to persons with disabilities, by including alternatives (ALTS), words that replace graphics.
Put alternate text files next to any audio files.

Templates will be available in the near future for you to use for creating simple Web pages. You are not required to use the templates.

As pages and users become more sophisticated and need to access information with specific layout, consider using portable document files (.pdf). Creating a .pdf file requires special software for creation and requires the user to have special, free software for reading on his/her machine. ASC plans to obtain .pdf writing software.