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I've LOADS of notes and advice to re-type for this page.

In the meantime, if you need advice, just ask and I'll get back to you ~ Paul

Here's a salient point for you to consider though...
I am just on my sixth major site revision...
Let's assume an average of five to ten minutes per page per change:

Stage 1. Change from .html to .php ~ 50 hours
Stage 2. Validate and correct all internal (and external links) ~ 50 hours
Stage 3. Change from .html tables to pure CSS ~ 100+ hours
Stage 4. Access and edit every page to conform to 'AAA' web accessibility ~ *SOB* ~ >100+

Put another way, because I didn't get it right first time I'm looking at a good eight weeks of editing, plus site disruption as every single external links back to Ackadia will be broken. Things like that do horrible damage to your search engine ratings...

While I will be doing a large IT database in MySQL I have yet to decide if I want the pages loaded from there. If so, that means starting all over again! To be honest through, I reckon I'll leave the general pages as static as it's easier for the search engines to browse.


Just a thought...   ever thought what your website is being viewed with?

PocketPC iPaq ... is a mere 240x320
TV safe ... is just 544x372
VGA ... is just 640x480 ... on average 1% of Internet users are limited to this
SVGA ... 800x600
XGA ... 1024x768
SXGA ... 1280x1024
UXGA ... 1600x1200

I am working on it and will have it ready when I've finished the v6, v6.5 update for Ackadia, but at present it's practically unusable on a Pocket PC and not much better even at 640x480.

Check-out this site to see what I mean... [ Tanktek's favelets ]

Haven't got round to reading it properly, but there's a decent looking guide to website design at Web Design Helper .co.uk
Lots of other resources too. One to bookmark.

TIPS

1. Avoid using frames, they cause more problems than they solve, visitors can't bookmark pages, nor track where they are going.
2. Don't use the latest technology to show off your skills or your site. Safe bet most folk won't see it the way you intend, if at all.
3. Use short URL's. The longer they are, the harder they are to recall, and the easier they are to mistype.
4. Keep your site organised, haphazard websites don't tend to get re-visited.
5. Try to avoid non-standard link colours (it confuses people), and avoid using underscores like the the plague.
6. Remove, or at least bury outdated information, unless it is there for a good reason. Keeping your site up to date is one the the best ways to keep people coming back - the "sticky" factor.
7. Avoid long load times. That 5Mb flash might well the very best intro in the world, but after 30 seconds of tapping their fingers on the desk most folk will give up and never come back.

You might also find this link useful:  Stanford Web Credibility Research

Top 10 Deadly Website Sins

1. Not updating the content on the website.
   Where would you rather be for a long period of time, a library full of books or a room with several mediocre paintings? If you had to return, where would you rather go? Content can be photos, articles, news clips or narrative.
   
   
2. Thinking that just because you have a website, business will come flowing.
   Bringing visitors to your website takes a consistent effort and time.
   
   
3. Not marketing your site.
   Make sure that you put your www address on every bit of paper you ever send to clients. Include it in your email signature, have it visible in your premises, and tell people about it. Add your site to search engines and web directories. Now you've got it flaunt it!
   
   
4. Not having website statistics.
   You need to be able to see which is your most popular page, how many people are looking, if what you thought is your best product is your most popular, etc. It is this intelligence that will allow you to make your site tightly targeted to your specific potential customers needs and wants.
   
   
5. Hiding your content behind fancy graphics.
   Pictures and graphics are a great way to make a site look interesting, but if you do have textual content, make sure it is easy to read, spell checked, understandable and current.
   
   
6. Having a slow site.
   Pages should take no more than 10 seconds to appear fully. Any more than that and the boredom factor starts to set in. If you do have something that you know will take a while to appear, tell the viewer, and give them something to read while it is happening, it will make the wait less obvious.
   
   
7. Not having a picture of yourself/products on your website.
   In this age of virtual communication, it is often nice to see whom you are dealing with. It does not have to be a grand scale portrait, just a tasteful shot so people can actually see you, and start to build some trust. Or in the more likely case of products / corporate identity.
   
   
8. Rely too heavily on techno wizardry.
   Some people are still looking at websites on basic computers and some people don't like to spend time waiting for things to appear. This means that if your site needs the best equipment to run and a long time to wait, you may be missing out on potential customers.
   
   
9. Having crowded pages.
   It takes approximately 20% longer to read something on a computer screen than it does on paper. Make sure your pages are not cluttered so people can read things comfortably, and do not jam pack the page so viewers have to search around to know what to look at first.
   
   
10. Having broken links!
    This means that you have a link to another page, but it is not there and comes up with an error message. This can defeat all the work you have put into having a great site, as it can look unprofessional. Keep an eye on this if you have a page of external links.

Credits:
Originally submitted by Guy Levine, The Technology Coach, at thetechnologycoachingco.com.© 2000, 2001, 2002 by Thomas J. Leonard.
"May be distributed if full attribution is given and copyright notice is included." (edited slightly ~ Paul)

W3C HTML Validation Service
From Lockergnome :

Well, yes and no. I used to just write and upload, checking that it looked fine too. Thing is, MS Explorer has the most amazing ability to recover all but the worst html coding gaffs and my pages were crawling with them as a result. I am now implimenting a regime of checking my code against half a dozen different validators and browsers to ensure the maximum number of people see them as I *think* they are seeing them!

My v3.1 code looked great off-line, passed muster as the saying goes. Then I saw it all shredded and mangled when it went live. Go figure. It took me weeks to redo and validate all the code, but in the end, it was worth it. Fast forwarding to 2003 and we are at v5 code. The layout is the same, but I'm checking all the links, revising the meta's, hiding my email address from nefarious spambots and bug checking again.

So, my advice? Get it code right first time, then go to town sorting the design and layout. Don't think of it as how *you* want to see it, but how you would like to see it if you were the visitor to your site. Ackadia is a long long way from being perfect, but at the same time, I've never had a negative comment because I make it as easy to navigate as possible.

In another five years Ackadia will be nearing completion and time will tell if my ideas are right, eh.


CSE HTML Validator 6.0