OPTIMIZE YOUR WEB SITE!
by Maggie Barber-Jones
The Internet has really come a long way, hasn't it? I mean, just a few years ago, a Web site was mainly plain text on a dull gray background and with only a few images. How times have changed! From drawings to photographs to animations to music to video cams -- the Internet is ALIVE!
To keep your Web site competitive, it must load quickly! One of the basics to the load time is optimizing graphics, backgrounds and colors. Not just for one browser, but for all types of browsers!
The colors you choose for your web displayed graphics and text will look different to each user. Most computers recognize a standard palette of just 256 colors so a word of advice: Don't use any colors not recognized by this standard. When you select colors for use on the Web, stick to the 256 colors everyone can see.
When placing your graphics on your Web site, make sure they are the correct size so that browsers don't spend a lot of time re-sizing their true images. You would think this would be a given, but not necessarily so. Create your graphics large, then when you export them to .GIF or .JPEG, down-size to the exact size. Keep that DPI down as far as you can.
It's a good idea to create two versions of your page. One with all the whistles and one without. While some Web masters like using browser detection scripts to read ahead and see what kind of browser the user is using in order to direct them to the appropriate page, I shudder at the thought. It is tricky and unreliable at best.
I use a REFRESH tag since the ancient browsers can't do an auto refresh. This tag will allow older browsers to see the initial page and the newer ones to see all the bells and whistles!
An example of the auto refresh tag would look something like this: 10; URL=http://www.partychasers.com/party.html giving it your page a 10-second delay. Take note of the semicolon and space between the number of seconds and the full URL. You can substitute the time delay you want and the URL that will point the user to your high tech page.
Be sure to check your designs in both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer browsers before you launch. Generally, a little fine-tuning to margins, table settings and colors will make the differences OK.
Once you finish designing your Web site, test it in different environments. Even if you only have access to one computer, ask your friends to look at your page using theirs.
Here's a checklist you can use to test your Web site:
* Load you site using a 14.4kbs modem. How long did it take the page to load?
* Test your design in as many browsers as possible.
* Resize your browser window a half dozen times.
* Look at your page in a Mac computer.
* Run all Java and Java Scripts past both IE and NAV. Does your browser crash?
* Try your computer on a gray-scale monitor. Can you read it?
* What loads first, second and last? How long does it take?
Remember to keep your graphics, your whistles and bells as small as possible in file size!
Happy Loading!
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© 2000 Maggie Barber-Jones
**Maggie Barber-Jones is the owner of Pentraxx Graphix and Web Design.
Forget the plain jane website design companies. If you want a professional appearing
website, Pentraxx will deliver for you the promise of the web. With her degree in
Graphic Design and plenty of experience as an ad designer and graphic designer for
newspapers in the Great Plains, Maggie is well prepared to build a site for you that
represents your company in a truly professional light.
