hey, new member here

[metal_master]

Hey everybody, just letting everyone know I'm new here. I'm a beginner in web design, i know a lot about HTML and CSS but not much about javascript. Right now I'm trying to make a template in photoshop for a website I'm going to make with music theory lessons. If anyone has any tips for me on template building, please let me know.

[diddy]

The main things with building any sites are:

• acessibility
• content
• layout
• visual appeal
• does it render properly with different browsers, screen sizes, OS etc?
• is the code up to standard?

You may want to check out these threads:

http://www.webdesignforums.net/web_d...ite_11773.html
http://www.webdesignforums.net/web_d...n_ts_7931.html


(welcome to the forums, by the way)

[seasonsun]

There are some tips i quote from someone they said. Hope to help you.

1. Accessibility
- Is content structurally separate from navigational elements?
- Is the website cross-browser compatible?
- How compliant is the website with W3C coding standards? Valid HTML/CSS?
- Are 'alt' tags in place on all significant images?
- Are text-based alternatives in place to convey essential information if this is featured within images or multimedia files?

2. Navigation
- Are links labelled with anchor text that provides a clear indication of where they lead.
- Depth - what is the maximum number of clicks it takes to reach a page within the depths of the site?
- If a splash screen or navigation feature is provided in a Java/Javascript/flash format, is a text-based alternative also available?
- Responsive onclick feedback - Is a response given immediately (0.1 seconds) after a click is made on a hyperlink?
- Do clickable items stylistically indicate that they are clickable?
- Is a logical site map available?
- If not, is a keyword-based search feature available?

3. Design
- Is the site's design aesthetically appealing?
- Are the colours used harmonious and logically related?
- Are the colour choices visually accessible? (Ie high enough in contrast to assist the colour blind and visually impaired in reading the site appropriately)
- Is the design audience appropriate?

4. Content
- Is the website copy succinct but informative?
- Does the copywriting style suit the website's purpose and 'speak' to its target audience?
- Are bodies of text constrained to <80 characters per line?
- Can text be resized through the browser or do CSS settings restrict size alteration?
- Is the contrast between text and its background colour sufficient to make reading easy on the eyes?
- Is text broken into small, readable chunks and highlighted using headings, sub-headings and emphasis features where appropriate to assist in skimming.

5. Security
- Any obvious security flaws?
- How resilient are forms to special characters?
- Are private directories password protected via .htaccess?
- Are public non-document directories (cgi-bin, images, etc) indexable or are blank index.html pages or appropriate permission settings in place to block access?
- Is customer data stored online? If so, is this database appropriately safeguarded against external access?

6. Other Technical Considerations
- Does the site load quickly - even for dialup users
- Are all links (internal and external) valid and active?
- Are scripts free from errors?
- Is the website free from server side errors?

7. Other Marketing Considerations
- Is the website properly optimised for search engines (essential text emphasised, title tags relevant, title text presented in H1, outbound links reliable and contextually related, etc)
- Does the index page entice a visitor deeper into the site or shopping cart?
- Does the website contain elements designed to encourage future or viral visitation (ie a contest, newsletter, tell-a-friend feature, forum with subscription option, downloadable toolbar, RSS feed or similar)?

[jj1]

You might like to check out http://www.squidoo.com/Website-Design-Tips-1 where I illustrate 4 of the top things that I think a good website design should do:
1 Create visual interest with pictures/photos used in an effective way
2 Create visual interest/cohesion with borders and shading
3 Use a good slogan to tell browsers at a glance what your website does and why they should look further
4 Use headings and subheadings to break the text up.
There are obviously other things (such as the list quoted above), but these are 4 important points that beginners in web design sometimes tend to overlook.
Good luck.