Use Tables for HTML Emails
By: Diana
Date: Nov 18, 2008
Category: design, marketing
In the "olden days", web pages were tables of data - think spreadsheets - with cool colors and images added in the cells. Web 2.0 is all about tableless designs using CSS to structure the layout. Tables are definitely out - except for HTML emails.
Web pros complain about browser compatibility, a misnomer considering that not all browsers display markup the same way. Mention Internet Explorer 6 and watch web geeks spasm. Still, browsers are synchronized swimmers compared to email clients, who are just getting into the "display HTML" game and do not play well with others. The best way to keep them under control is to put your markup into tables.
For a more in-depth and interesting to read tutorial, read Tim Slavin's tutorial on Sitepoint. You can also find 10 HTML Email Coding Tips and free templates on MailChimp.
Frames, bad. (Usually)
By: Diana
Date: Sep 02, 2008
Category: design
Ten years ago, web pages split into boxes, called frames, were popular. The common layout was a header box for the site name and logo, a navigation box on the side with links to the pages of the website, and a large content box where those pages would appear when clicked. Frames were always more of a necessary evil than good thing for websites but for public website nowadays, they aren't even necessary anymore.
Chances are, if you are hiring a web designer/developer to create your website, they will barely remember how to code frames and would not choose to use them. But if you have an older site that has frames (here is an example of a site that does) there are some very good reasons to update your design.
Because each page of a framed website does not have a unique URL, like http://www.spithra.com/blog.php, but instead hides the address inside the frame, users can't share your web pages with others by sending URLs or reliably bookmark the page so they can return. They also can't print the information they find there - if they find it at all, frames make sites difficult for search engine robots to crawl. You can use cheats, but the results don't ensure that users navigating from search engines will land where they mean to land.
CSS has freed the web from the necessary evil of frames, though in some cases inline frames are harmless, and a sometimes exception to the "frames bad" rule.
3 Image Selection Mistakes
By: Diana
Date: Jan 24, 2008
Category: design, graphics
The most important thing to remember about selecting web graphics is that each and every image conveys meaning. Logos, backgrounds, photos, Flash files, and illustrations all communicate a message, along with the text and site organization. The more unified that message, the more effective the site. Here are three common mistakes people make when selecting graphics for their websites.
Mistake one is "dressing up" your site, adding images because they look "pretty" or "cool". Unless "I am pretty" or "We are cool" is the main message you want to convey this is a waste of valuable pixels. Instead, when selecting graphics, consider exactly what you want your users to know about you. What is your core value? What makes you unique, special, a site owner worth visiting? If you are cool because your solutions or products or services are cutting-edge, select images that convey cutting-edge, including the colors you select.
Mistake two is not demanding that each image you put on your site does a job. Images are like headlines, they attract your users' attention and lead them to action whenever necessary. They communicate necessary information. A graphic is "dressing up" if it has no purpose. There is almost always a better use of the space being taken up by slacking images.
Mistake three is "noise for nothing." Loud or animated images frustrate users and can convey the message "annoying" because they attract the user's attention - like a child tugging at his parent's sleeve. Your user is there to do something. Ensure with your images that your user knows exactly where to click to do it without distraction. And draw her attention to the things you most want done without the web equivalent of "look at me look at me".