Websites

On this page you will find resources for creating websites.

University of Wyoming. "WebDesign: The Good, The Pretty, and the Really, Really Ugly." __College of Education: Technology Tutorials.__ http://ed.uwyo.edu/Tech/tutorials/Webdesign.htm (14 October 2005). Dennis, Ken. "Positive Design Attributes For A Successful Website" [|http://www.greatnexus.com/articles/a39.html] (11 August 2005). Joseph, Linda C. "Ten Tips for Webmasters" 1996 - 2005. [|http://www.cyberbee.com/master.html] (11 August 2005).
 * Resources for Students**


 * Here is a condensed version compiled by a Computer Graphics student with a great eye for design**:

Firstly, a website has to **look great**. A viewer should be able to read the text, and the webpage shouldn't hurt their eyes. The background color shouldn't clash with the other colors, and the background should be quite plain, not busy and distracting. The size and font of the text should be feasible, and you should make sure the site looks good on multiple platforms and web browsers. Make sure your titles and logos are a fair size, so the screen size doesn't make the viewer scroll to see all of it.

Secondly, your website has to **load quickly**. No one is going to want to look at a website if it takes forever to load it. To avoid the problem of prolonged loading, a website should be small. Small includes the size and quantity of your graphics. Using thumbnails that lead to larger images really helps solve this without sacrificing the quality or detail of your images. Also, consider the program you're using. By using a HTML or text-based format for slower speed users, which allows more viewers to check out your website.

Next, your website should be **easy to navigate**. If a viewer gets lost when they're looking for pages, there's a big chance they won't come again, and it makes the website useless. By using a standard navigational menu or some sort of linking system. The links on your website should be obvious and consistent, not a mess of misplaced pages. Makes sure the users can see all hyperlinks, no matter what their system does and doesn't support. Make sure EVERY page has a hyperlink that leads back to the homepage.

Most importantly, your website has to have some sort of **useful information**, a website about nothing is useless. This is the one section where a large amount is needed. Lots of detail and information on a subject will take you far, especially if the reader understands in easily. So make your information relevant and straightforward, focusing on mainly one topic. It also helps to regularly update your information so viewers check back regularly.

Feel free to use these job aids when using Dreamweaver in your classroom:
 * Teaching Resources**
 * **Characteristics of a Good Website**: [[image:http://techinthemiddle.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/pdf.png width="32" height="32" link="http://techinthemiddle.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/Website_Characteristics.pdf"]][| Website_Characteristics.pdf]
 * **Dreamweaver Pre-Assessment** (job aid): [[image:http://techinthemiddle.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/pdf.png width="32" height="32" link="http://techinthemiddle.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/DW_Pre_Assessment.pdf"]][| DW_Pre_Assessment.pdf]
 * **Dreamweaver**