MAKE YOUR OWN WEB PAGE Pt3

Business Computing Tips

      By Karen Fainges

So now that you have your plan of what and where your page will be, how do you build it?

There are a number of programs to choose from but if you have Word 95 or higher, you need no more than that. Two programs that are specially designed for web page creations are frontpage, claris home page and there are many others. PC magazines often have articles comparing them. The main advantage of using word is that you will probably already have it.

Simply set out your page the way you normally would, with one exception. If you want something to stay in a precise part of the page, you need to put it into a table. A prime example is putting a picture right next to some wording.

Word also allows you to insert sound, pictures even video on to your page. There are a variety of these already available online or in your clip art. Creating your own is also now a viable option with digital cameras, scanners and videos becoming much more affordable. For most things though, it is probably more cost effective and less frustrating to allow others to do this side of it for you. It is not technically difficult but takes a fair amount of fiddling for a new user to make it work exactly the way you want.

Everyone has there own preferences as to what makes a good webpage, but there are some rules that always work.

1.    KISS Keep it short & simple

2.    Pictures and graphics make it more visually pleasing but they also take longer to load. Don't over do it.

3.    Keep it to the screen size whenever possible. It is better to put extra information on a separate page with a link than to try to jam it all on the one page.

4.    Always have a way to contact you for more information on every page.

5.    Allow the reader to get to the important information as quickly as possible. Most users do not like to go more than three clicks away from the start page.

This last point has an important codicil. Different people will want different things from your page. The easiest way to please them all is to utilise free web sites to give you as many entry pages as possible. An entry page is the first one the reader sees. Have one that is straight information, one that is all product & one that is a free information page. Lets everyone get to where they want to go as quickly as possible and also gives you a much greater web presence. Linking them all back to your main page means they can access the other information when they are already hooked. It also means all your pages will appear higher on search engines once submitted.

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Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to your friends, just let them know I wrote it.

Karen Fainges holds a Bachelor of Business, and a Grad. Dip. of Vocational and Educational Training. All that is nice but it's the 14 years of having to make sales or starve that make her think she has really learnt what does and doesn't work. A tutor for all ages, she specialises in helping people get started on the long road to technology.

"It has to be practical, it has to be cheap, and it has to work."

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