On this page I would like to share some of the things I have learnt about web page design.  I don't pretend to know everything and I'm sure that not everyone will agree with all my views! 

Rule One 
Remember the KISS principle: 

Keep 
It 
Simple 
Stupid!

Some of the worst web pages seem to be designed by computer experts who want to show you how clever they are!

Rule Two 
Make it fast to load. 

This can generally be achieved by following Rule One! 

Rule Three
Keep it up to date.

There's nothing worse than "What's On (Last Year)" or pages full of out of date links

Rule Four 
Remember, not everyone has your software. 

Pages which look great in your browser could look quite different in other people's browsers.

Rule Five 
Spend some time designing your web site. 

What do you want it to do? 

Do you want new customers, or is it to inform existing customers/members of what is going on? 

Use META tags to help people find your pages and don't forget to tell the search engines it's there.  Get as many other sites as you can to add links to your site.

    

 Internic
One of the most important decisions you make is what your domain name will be. Internic is the UK direct online domain name registration service.

 .Net
Many computer magazines give guidance on web sites.  .Net magazine's site is one of the best.

3D Text maker 
 http://www.3dtextmaker.com
Make your own animated 3d text!

81X
 http://www.81x.com
Build you own site on-line.

ABC Giant
 http://www.abcgiant.com
Fonts, backgrounds, buttons, arrows, links and more.

Animation factory
 http://www.animfactory.com
Free animated gif library

Animation station
 http://www.animation-station.com
Various animations

Arcadia animations
 http://www.arcadia-animations.com
Animations & backgrounds free to download.

Atomz
 http://www.atomz.com
Free search engine for your site

Barry's Clip Art Server
 http://www.barrysclipart.com
Here you will find thousands of images, all free for you to download.

Clip Art
 http://www.clipart.com
One of the largest searchable, categorized set of clipart, photos, fonts, web graphics, and sounds available on the Internet.

CNET Builder
 http://home.cnet.com/webbuilding/0-3880.html
Articles on web page building

Cool Text
 http://www.cooltext.com
A free online service which provides real-time generation of graphics customized exactly the way you want them.

The counter
 http://www.thecounter.com
Free hit counter

Domains
 http://www.domains.com
Domains for sale

Elated
 http://www.elated.com/toolbox
Tool kits for web designers

Free Graphics
 http://www.free-graphics.com
A site with access to over 15,000 free clipart images such as animated gifs, icons, backgrounds, bullets, clip art, and pictures; all free for you to download

HTML
 http://www.davesite.com/webstation/html
An interactive guide for beginners

Icon Bazaar
 http://www.iconbazaar.com
Icons and other images

 Idocs guide to HTML
 http://www.htmlcodetutorial.com
My favourite HTML reference point

Internic
 http://www.internic.co.uk
Check availability of your .co.uk site.

KompoZer
 http://www.kompozer.net
Free Web Authoring System 

Nameroute
 http://www.nameroute.com
Domain name registration with domain name hosting

.Net web builder
 http://www.netmag.co.uk
Advice and software

NetNames
 http://www.netnames.co.uk
International Domain Name Registry

NVU
 http://www.nvu.com
Free Web Authoring System (now being replaced by KompoZer)

Open Source Web Design
 http://www.oswd.org
Download free web design templates

Realm Graphics
 http://www.ender-design.com/rg/index.html
Wide selection of web graphics

Script Search
http://www.scriptsearch.com
5458 CGIs & Scripts Listed

Search Positioning
http://www.searchpositioning.com
One way of getting more hits from search engines

W3 Schools
http://www.w3schools.com
Web building tutorials and more

World Wide Web Consortium
http://www.w3.org
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards.

Some sites for E-Commerce

http://www.cubecart.com

http://www.oscommerce.com

http://www.zen-cart.com

http://www.ekmpowershop.com

Back to Bill Pearson's guide to web page design