Web Site Design - Tips & Tricks - September 2001
By Kelly Embleton

One the major factors in the success of your Web site is professional design. Although it is usually best to leave this to a graphic or Web professional, here are some tips to set standards or if you are tackling it yourself.

• Brainstorm and plot your ideas on paper first.
• Visit a lot of sites and analyze what works, and what does not. Do not copy information or graphics from other sites.
• Keep a common theme or look throughout the site.
• Graphics are very important, if you want them to look good - get a graphic designer to create them.
• Design a page that is not too long (scrolling down the page for hours), to avoid this divide the information and place on two or three pages instead of one long page.
• Place important information, or information you want seen the most, on the first screen.
• Avoid having a lot of white space on your page, fill the page with information and graphics (that load quickly) but make sure that the page is not cluttered.
• Always have a way for the user to contact you on every page of the site in a place that is clearly visible … post an e-mail address, phone number, FAX number and address.
• Include a 'help' page, 'about this site' page and 'FAQ' page to answer any questions the user may have.
• Create fast loading graphics with ALT tags.
• Feature a navigational menu along the sides or top of each page.
• Any links that send the user to other sites should open in new windows.
• Include a search function to make it easy for users to find products or information quickly and easily on your site.
• To bring attention to pages you want visitors to visit often, feature them on the home page and add links to these pages on other pages within your site.
• Check your pages in both IE and Netscape.
• Web sites to find more information are www.free-webmaster-tools.com, www.cheapwebtricks.com/create, www.toolshack.com and www.123webmaster.com.

Resources

• A great source of information on technology, the Internet, software, hardware and telecommunications can be found at Whatis?com. Search or browse their encyclopedia for in-depth definitions and peruse news from the IT world. Check it out at www.whatis.com.
• Visit the East Coast Music Awards and Conference Web site for information on accommodations, registration, events, seminars, awards and association information. Check this info out at www.ecma.ca.
• If you are looking for free musician resources visit Indie-Music.com at www.indiemusic.com. This site contains an extensive database of information on bands, studios, resources, education, venues and much more.
• For complete information on Canadian Music Week 2002, visit www.cmw.net. The site provides information on festival venues, hotels and travel, conferences, registration, exhibitors, awards and more.
• The Muse's Muse is a great resource for anyone interested in songwriting. The Muse's Muse Web site features songwriting resources, news, chats, songwriting articles, songwriting contests and more. Visit www.musesmuse.com.
• For your Web site development needs, check out the 3,000+ free Web site resources and tools on 123 Webmaster.com located at www.123webmaster.com. The free resources directory includes scripts, site promotion, multimedia, software downloads, free services, online tools, a learning centre and commerce centre.
• Music Books Plus has greatly expanded their catalogue and now features online over 4,000 books, videos and CD-ROMs on music, recording, audio, songwriting, MIDI, multimedia and the Internet. You can join the electronic newsletter or request a printed catalogue online at www.musicbooksplus.com.
• Norris-Whitney Communications operates The Music & Audio Connection, the international on-line resource for music enthusiasts, musicians, music and audio professionals. Included are classified ads, products for sale, company showcases, discussion forums, associations, music education, music & audio resources, career information and file libraries. New additions are the Calendar Plus personal information systems and Music News, updated daily. Updates to the site are available by electronic newsletter. Visit at musicandaudio.com. For more information, e-mail to [email protected], Fax (905) 641-1648 or call (905) 641-3471.