HTML 4.0 Sourcebook
(Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)
Author(s): Ian S. Graham
ISBN: 0471257249
Publication Date: 04/01/98

Make the Site Accessible

It is easy to get carried away designing a Web site by incorporating audio and video data, multimedia or other plugins, or complicated JavaScript scripts or Java applets. But remember that these objects require high bandwidth to be effective and that users with older PCs or inappropriate browsers will simply not be able to view these resources, regardless of bandwidth. Many Web sites have started with home pages filled with applets and gorgeous embedded multimedia components, only to remove these components due to complaints from visitors. This is not to say that these components are bad things; rather, you should be careful in their use and aware of the your users’ limitations.

Listen—and Respond—to Your Visitors

As mentioned previously, if users bother to comment on your collection, you should pay attention to what they say. Almost universally, such letters either point out problems with your collection (perhaps a broken link), contain suggestions for improvements or changes, or contain requests for additional information. You should respond to these notes—after all, if they have bothered to send you a comment, the least you can do is send a note of thanks. This is both polite and will complement your public relations.

Watch for New Ideas

There are thousands of people creating new and exciting Web resources, every day of the week. Certainly, much of what I have learned has been the result of surfing around the Web and seeing what others are doing. You must do the same! The design possibilities are growing quickly, as a result of novel design by talented individuals and as a result of new Web technologies that permits new design elements (backgrounds, tables, animation, and so on). You must explore the Web, and see how these tools are implemented elsewhere, before you can intelligently implement them yourself.

Planning and Implementation

This chapter has covered basic issues related to the structure of good hypertext collections, but has not discussed aspects of Web site planning and implementation. These issues are discussed in the next chapter.

Annotated Bibliography

info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/—This site contains an excellent on-line discussion of hypertext design issues and their relevance to the Web. This resource has a large and very useful annotated bibliography. The authors of the collection are Patrick J. Lynch, director of the Center for Advanced Instructional Media at the Yale University School of Medicine, and Sarah Horton, a Multimedia Applications Specialist for Academic Information Resources at Dartmouth College.

Multimedia and Hypertext: The Internet and Beyond, by Jakob Nielsen, Academic Press, Cambridge, Mass. (1995)—Jacob Nielsen’s book is an expansive overview of multimedia and hypertext, with important discussions of usability and design issues. With its almost 70 pages of references, you will never again be at a loss for what to read!

The Non-Designer’s Design Book, by Robin Williams, Peachpit Press (1994)—This small, outstanding book covers all the basic elements of good typography, page layout, and book design. Although written for the printed page, this is a must-read book for anyone who wants to design Web pages and who does not have a background in design and/or typography.

Designing Visual Interfaces: Communication-Oriented Techniques, by Kevin Mullet and Darrell Sano, Prentice-Hall (1995)—An excellent book on visual interface design concepts for computer graphical user interfaces.

Designing and Writing Online Documentation, Second Edition, by W. K. Horton, John Wiley and Sons (1994)—An excellent book that covers in detail all aspects of electronic document design. There are also many useful references.

Visual Design of the User Interface, by E. R. Tufte, IBM Corporation (1989)—An excellent review of the issues involved in designing usable interfaces for users.

Envisioning Information, by E. R. Tufte, Graphics Press (1990)—Simply a lovely book that illustrates the many ways in which information can be graphically communicated, with some reflections on computer interface issues. This is a must-have book for any serious interface designer.

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, by E. R. Tufte, Graphics Press (1983)—This is considered by many to be the best book ever written on the graphical presentation of data. An outstanding book that nicely compliments his later work, Envisioning Information.

Understanding Hypermedia, by Bob Cotton and Richard Oliver, Phaidon Press (1993)—A somewhat glitzy and visual introduction to hypermedia and an excellent addition to any coffee table. This will be of particular interest to those with a background in design.

Hypertext, by George P. Landow, Johns Hopkins University Press (1992)—This is a discussion not of the technical aspects of hypertext, but of the literary meaning of hypertext and of its impact on our understanding of text and literature. If “critical theory” or the name Michel Foucault means anything to you, then this is the book to read.

The Gutenberg Elegies, by Sven Birkerts, Fawcett Columbine (1994)—Some thoughts on the usefulness of hypertext and hypermedia and on the advantages of print. A much easier book than Hypertext.