updated 30 Nov 2002

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Helping you get the most out of your computer

Creating Web Pages

When planning a Web page, it is important to plan what you want your page to accomplish and what elements you want it to include. In addition to these traits, which vary from page to page, effective Web pages also tend to include the following elements:

Focus: Like any other media presentation, you should create a Web page with a clear purpose in mind and avoid adding elements to the page that distract from this goal. Two of the most common goals for Web pages are marketing products and making information available. Focus helps to make a page effective in achieving its goal and makes it easy for viewers to use.
Interest: Formatting is critical in making your page one that people enjoy using, rather than just tolerate. Judicious use of colors for the background and for text, multiple fonts, and graphics can create a comfortable and unified look and feel. To create a really effective page, it can be worth the time and expense to create graphics and color schemes that fit both the image of the page's owner, and the information on the page you are creating.
Simplicity: While an effective look and feel is necessary to create an interesting page, it's just as important not to overdo any of the formatting features. Colors and fonts are both most effective in small amounts. Try limiting fonts and colors to two per page. It's important to keep the page's content simple as well. Rather than creating a long page containing everything you want to convey, limit your information to the amount that fits in a single screen, so users can see all of a page's information without needing to scroll down.