Helpful Advice

This section is aimed to give a little bit of advice about websites to those that sometimes feel a bit lost. I am not trying to tell anyone how to run their websites and I understand the importance of holding on to individuality even in the online world! Hopefully this will be interesting for some people.

General Layout Design
Layout design is a very personal aspect of a website and no one can say what is right or wrong. The only concern is that your website is visible to a range of people using different browsers. You do after all want everyone to be able to see your content and read about what is happening in your life, right? Make sure to think about the width of your layout the colours you are using and also the text size. Not everyone has the same computer as you, and might have a bigger or smaller screen so your website could look different to them. I know a website can be exciting and with so many social networking applications and devices you might have an erg to use them all. You don’t want to overcrowd your site though, so think about what is important and how easy it will be for visitors to browse around your site.

‘Borrowed’ Layout Ideas
Directly copying layout code is not a very nice way to go about creating layouts in my honest opinion. Yes, it is okay to browse source code to learn, but to just steal a layout without any work on your part is wrong. Thinking about this also brings up the concept of borrowing layout styles from others even if you have coded them yourself. We all get inspiration from the sources around us and the sites we most admire, but there is really a fine line between your own creativity and putting your hand in the pocket of someone else’s. Don’t be afraid to try something new and different. Draw inspiration from others but don’t copy them, there is a difference.

Padding And Margins
I am a big fan of padding being used in layouts because it makes areas of content easier to read and understand plus also smoother. I always add padding around images and text and I am not afraid to make that space 15px or more. Give it a try and see what kind of difference it can make to your layout! (If you are using tables to create a layout you will have to use the ‘cellpadding’.)

Comments And Returns
When you blog, blog with the intention of having something to say rather then what others are going to say (unless you have an art or photoblog, obviously that is different). Comments can be lovely but they can also be harsh. I have seen many online fire storms over comments, so think about what you are writing before you hit send. Read the entry and make a comment that actually relates to the entry rather then skimming and commenting just because they left a comment on your blog.

This page was created by Kya on the August 6, 2009 and was last modified on the August 6, 2009.

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