Build attractive pages in Java

Making Code 3 of 9 in Java Build attractive pages

When users visit Web pages with a consistent framework that focuses on content, they re likely to feel welcome The important thing is to supplement content with graphics and links don t trample users with an onslaught of pictures and links Making Web pages pretty and easy to navigate only adds to a site s basic appeal and makes your cybercampers even happier If you need inspiration, cruise the Web and look for layouts and graphics that work for you If you take the time to analyze what you like, you can work from other people s design principles without having to steal details from their layouts or looks (which isn t a good idea anyway) As you design Web documents, start with a basic, standard page layout Pick a small, interesting set of graphical symbols or icons and adopt a consistent navigation style Use graphics sparingly (yes, you ve heard this before); make them as small as possible limit size, number of colors, shading, and so on, while retaining eye appeal When you build simple, consistent navigation tools, label them clearly and use them everywhere Your pages can be appealing and informative if you invest the time and effort

If you start with solid markup and good content and then work through what you ve wrought to make sure everything works like it s supposed to (and communicates what it ought to), you re on your way to a great Web site But once the construction is over, the testing begins And only when the testing returns positive results should you open your virtual doors to the public

Although you re building documents, it s easy to forget to use closing tags, even when they re required (for example, the </a> that closes the opening anchor tag <a>) When you re testing Web pages, some browsers can compensate for your errors, leaving you with a false sense of security The Web is no place to depend on the kindness of strangers Scrutinize your tags to head off possible problems from browsers that might not be quite so understanding (or lax, as the case may be) As for the claims that some vendors of HTML authoring tools make ( You don t even have to know any HTML! ), all we can say is, Uh-huh, suuurre HTML itself is a big part of what makes Web pages work; if you understand it, you can troubleshoot with minimal fuss Also, only you can ensure that your pages inner workings are correct and complete for your documents, whether you build them yourself or a program builds them for you We could go on ad infinitum about this, but we ll exercise some mercy and confine our remarks to the most pertinent items: Keep track of tags yourself while you write or edit HTML by hand If you open a tag be it an anchor, a text area, or whatever create the closing tag for it right then and there, even if you have content to add Most HTML editors do this for you Use a syntax checker to validate your work during the testing process Syntax checkers are automatic tools that find missing tags or errors and other ways to drive you crazy! Use these whether you build pages by hand or with software The W3C s (free) HTML Validator lives at http://validatorw3org Obtain and use as many browsers as you can when testing pages This not only alerts you to missing tags, but it can also reveal potential design flaws or browser dependencies (covered in the Avoid browser dependencies section later in this chapter) This exercise also emphasizes the importance of alternate text information That s why we also check our pages with Lynx (a character-only browser)