Current Web Design Articles

Web Design, HTML, and XML Articles from the About.com Guide to Web Design and HTML

By Jennifer Kyrnin

04/14/08 - Do you Build Maintainable Websites?
Maintainability is not something many Web designers think about when building websites. But it can be a critical issue even just a short time later when you need to re-work part of the site or completely redesign it. These tips for creating a maintainable site will help you create sites that you look forward to re-doing, rather than dread.

03/25/08 - HTML Link Tag
The HTML link tag can be somewhat confusing because it has a lot of different possible functions. The most common use of the link tag is to link external style sheets to the current document. But you can also define related documents, such as previous and next pages in a series, alternate versions of the page, and index pages.

03/24/08 - Use Headings to Structure Your Web Pages
Headings in Web pages have specific HTML tags that you should use to define those headlines. There are many advantages to using heading tags for headings instead of larger fonts or images. There are also advantages to using headings in structured order. In fact, the W3C recommends that you use heading tags to structure your documents.

03/18/08 - Useful Meta Tags
Meta tags are often thought of as only a tool for search engine optimization (SEO), but ironically, this is one of their least useful uses. Meta tags are not heavily used by search engines. But there are a number of meta tags that you can use to add value to your Web pages - either for your readers or for your development team.

03/17/08 - Accesskey Attribute - Forms and Accesskey - Links and Accesskey
The accesskey attribute is a powerful accessibility tool in your Web toolbox, as it lets you set up keyboard shortcuts for links and form fields on your page. If you're creating a Web application, this is one more trick to make your application look and act more like an offline application.

03/11/08 - How to Play a Sound on Click or on MouseOver
You can use this DHTML script to make a sound play when you mouse over a page element or click a link.

03/10/08 - Before You Buy a Web Analytics Solution
Choosing the right Web analytics software for your website doesn't have to be difficult. Make sure you know what you need and what you want from a tool, and you'll find a log analysis package that meets your needs and your budget.

03/05/08 - What is a Webmaster 4
What do you think a Webmaster is? What does the term Webmaster mean to you? Is there some other term that better describes your job?

03/04/08 - What is a Dreamweaver behavior?
Use Dreamweaver behaviors to add scripting events to actions that happen on your Web page.

03/04/08 - Dreamweaver Behaviors
A list of the behaviors that are included in Dreamweaver and what they do

03/04/08 - How To Add a Dreamweaver Behavior
It's easy to add Dreamweaver behaviors to the elements we need to

03/03/08 - How can you tell if a site is a link farm?
It's not a good idea to link to a link farm or to participate in creating one unless you don't care that your site may be banned from search engines.

02/26/08 - Free Dreamweaver Tutorials
Free Dreamweaver tutorials make it easy to learn how to use Dreamweaver. These free Dreamweaver tutorials will show you the basics of Dreamweaver and also teach you how to use Dreamweaver for other effects.

02/25/08 - Share Your Content - With Copyright - Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a great way to share your artwork, photos, writing, or other works protected by copyright. You don't lose the copyright when you use Creative Commons, you are simply providing a way for others to use and share your work while providing you credit. It's like open source for things other than software.

02/19/08 - Are Web Designs and HTML protected by copyright?
Web designers and developers work hard to create their Web pages, and it can be very infuriating to spend days or weeks on a design only to find it being used on some other site a few months later. HTML, CSS and the designs they create are protected by copyright.

02/18/08 - How to Fight Copyright Violations
Fighting copyright theft can be frustrating - if the site owner doesn't have contact information or refuses to remove the content, it can seem like there's nothing you can do. But you often have more recourse than just one simple request. This step-by-step tutorial will take you through the process of fighting copyright theft, from simple initial requests through more complicated processes when initial requests are ignored.

02/18/08 - Google Copyright Infringement Letter
A copy of a letter you can send to Google to fight copyright infringements on Blogger or Picassa.

02/12/08 - Free Content Isn't Always What It Seems
There are a lot of free content and reprint sites available on the Web, but you should be aware that free can sometimes come with a hidden price tag - especially if the site is a reprinter that violates copyright. Even though you may have added the content completely unknowingly, if you are hosting plagiarized content, you could be held liable. Always check the sources of your free content - and beware of reprint sites.

02/11/08 - Build a Master Stylesheet
If one of your goals in creating a Web page is to make it look as close as possible across browsers, then the first thing you should do is create a master stylesheet to remove default browser styling. That way, when you build your designs with your design stylesheets, you'll be starting from a clean palette.

02/06/08 - SEO Checklist
This SEO checklist will help you evaluate every page on your site for effective search engine optimization. The SEO checklist is divided into 5 sections - high priority, medium priority, and low priority SEO tips, things to avoid doing, and things to never do unless you want to be banned from search engines.

02/05/08 - 95 SEO Tips and Tricks - Over 90 Factors that Impact Your Site's Placement in Search Engines
Ninety-five things you should and should not be doing on your Web pages to make them rank higher in search engines. This list looks at more than just meta tags and the basics of SEO, so even if you've got some of the factors, you may not have everything. Scroll to the end of the list to look at the things you should never be doing, as well as the things you should always do at the top.

01/29/08 - Create Your Own Dreamweaver Shortcuts
Dreamweaver is very customizable and one easy way to customize Dreamweaver is to create keyboard shortcuts for the commands and actions you do all the time. Use custom Dreamweaver keyboard shortcuts to make your work easier and more efficient.

01/28/08 - What is a Webmaster - Take Three
Back in 1998, I attempted to answer the question, what is a webmaster. I wrote up the duties commonly given to Webmasters and described what I thought a Webmaster did. This generated a lot of feedback, as people agreed or disagreed with my assesment of the job title. Now, 10 years after I wrote that first article, I've got a number of quotes from readers stating what they feel a Webmaster is.

01/15/08 - Flash Websites - Pros and Cons
Writing a website in Flash only can have definite benefits - but it can also have large drawbacks. Use this article to determine if the benefits to your site outweigh the drawbacks. Use Flash when it adds value for your readers, not just when you want to show off your skills as a Flash developer.

01/14/08 - How to Set Up a PHP/MySQL Site in Dreamweaver
It's easy to set up Dreamweaver to work with a testing server so that you can create dynamic websites using PHP and MySQL.

01/08/08 - How to Install Apache, mySQL, and PHP on Windows (WAMP)
Building Web pages in PHP with a MySQL database can be challenging, but if you set up a test server on your local hard drive, you'll be able to test your changes before you push them live. This article explains how to install Apache, MySQL, and PHP on a Windows machine using the WAMP installer AppServ.

01/07/08 - How to Build a 3-Column Layout in CSS - Step-by-Step
CSS layout requires that you think of your Web site layout as a whole, and then take the pieces and put them together. Use this tutorial to go from a simple wire-frame of a basic 3-column layout all the way to a Web page ready for content to be included.

01/01/08 - How to Preview Your Web Pages
Testing your Web pages is a critical part of Web development. But many novice designers don't realize that they can test their pages before they ever go up on the Web for other people to see. It's important to get into the habit of testing your Web pages in as many browsers as possible.

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