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GTDreamsmith

Website Design Hints

Unfortunately, I end up rejecting a number of webring submissions every month or two because I simply cannot read the site in order to review it for inclusion in the ring. There are a few mistakes I see quite frequently, so I've put together this page of hints for the most common mistakes I see being made that prevent viewers from reading a site.

The biggest problem, and the one I encounter most frequently, is sites that use absolute pixel positioning for elements that are not of fixed size. For example, their HTML code will say to position a particular bit of text here, and another there, etc. Note: the pixel size of text depends on the font, point site, rendering device DPI, kerning, and a myriad of other such factors. Some sites try doing this without even specifying a font and point size, so it only works if I just happen to have set my default fonts to the same as the authors (unlikely; I use a large, high resolution monitor with larger, smoother looking fonts, and 50 pixels on my screen is a much smaller distance than it is on most people's). What happens is that the first paragraph overwrites the second, making neither readable. Some authors try to combat this my specifying particular fonts and point sizes, neglecting to note that not every user in the world has the same fonts installed that they do, not to mention the fact that an 8 pixel high font can't really be read on my screen without a magnifying glass, unless I change my resolution to some horrid hugh pixel size like 1024x768 or worse. (I could complain at this point about sites that depend on your browser window being a particular size, but they're usually still perfectly readable to me -- I'm reserving my criticism not simply for bad design, but design so flawed I literally can't read the site at all.)

[Click here for an example of what happens when you use absolute pixel positioning with text.]

So, this is hint 1: try to avoid using absolute pixel positioning unless you're an expert at site design -- it is a very easy feature to screw up. It's really only safe when working with/around fixed size elements (images, for example), and there's usually a better way to accomplish the same thing (99% of the time, what the author was trying to do could have been done more easily using tables, as in the example above).

And hint 2: don't depend on a particular font being installed. Feel free to use the "font" tag, just understand that it's only a suggestion -- the browser may not be able to use it, and the site should still be readable even if the suggestion is not followed.

Some people want to know what browsers I use (there are two) to review sites, and what plugins I have installed. If you have to ask, there's something wrong with your site.

Hint 3: Feel free to use browser or plug-in specific features, just make sure the site is still useable without them! They're fun to play with, but don't depend on them.

More to come, as I'm forced to reject more sites...