HTML and CSS Reference
In-Depth Information
Plan
Ahead
General Project Guidelines
When creating a Web page, the actions you perform and decisions you make will affect the
appearance and characteristics of the finished page. As you create a Web page, such as the
project shown in Figure 2-1 on the previous page, you should follow these general guidelines:
1.
Complete Web page planning.
Before developing a Web page, you must know
the purpose of the Web site, identify the users of the site and their computing
environments, and decide who owns the information on the Web page.
2.
Analyze the need for the Web page.
In the analysis phase of the Web development life
cycle, you should analyze what content to include on the Web page. In this phase, you
determine the tasks and the information that the users need. Refer to Table 1-4 on page
HTML 15 in Chapter 1 for information on the phases of the Web development life cycle.
3.
Choose the content for the Web page.
Once you have completed the analysis, you
need to determine what content to include on the Web page. Follow the
less is more
principle. The less text, the more likely the Web page will be read. Use as few words as
possible to make a point.
4.
Determine the file naming convention that you will use for this Web page.
Before you
start creating and saving files, you should decide on a standard way of naming your
files. Should you use the .htm or .html extension? As explained later in the chapter,
you use the .htm extension when the host Web server only allows short file names.
You use .html when the host Web server allows long file names. What name should
you give your file to indicate the file's content or purpose? For instance, naming a Web
page page1.html does not describe what that Web page is; a more descriptive name is
helpful in development of the Web site.
5.
Determine where to save the Web page.
You can store a Web page permanently, or
save
it, on a variety of storage media, including a hard disk, USB flash drive, CD, or
DVD. Your instructor or the company for whom you are developing the Web page may
have specific storage media requirements.
6.
Determine what folder structure to use on your storage device.
Once you have
determined the storage media to use, you should also determine folder location,
structure, and names on which to save the Web page. This should be done before you
start to save any of your files.
7.
Identify how to format various elements of the Web page.
The overall appearance of a
Web page significantly affects its ability to communicate clearly. Examples of how you
can modify the appearance, or
format
, of the Web page include adding an image, color
to headings, and horizontal rules.
8.
Find appropriate graphical images.
Eye-catching graphical images help convey the Web
page's overall message and add visual interest. Graphics can be used to show a product,
service, result, or benefit, or visually convey a message that is not expressed easily
with words.
9.
Establish where to position and how to format the graphical images.
The position and
format of the graphical images should grab the attention of viewers and draw them
into reading the Web page.
10.
Test the Web page for W3C compliance.
An important part of Web development
is testing to assure that your Web page follows standards. The World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) has an online validator that allows you to test your Web page and
clearly explains any errors.
When necessary, more specific details concerning the above guidelines are presented
at appropriate points in the chapter. The chapter will also identify the actions performed
and decisions made regarding these guidelines during the creation of the Web page shown
in Figure 2-1a.
