Goodies to Go ™
August 19, 2002–Newsletter #194
This newsletter is part of the internet.com network.
http://www.internet.com
Goodies Announcement
Just in case you missed it last week, the new Beyond HTML Goodies book has just been released!
Go beyond the basics and learn how the pros add and use dynamic HTML features
and advanced JavaScript techniques. Beyond HTML Goodies demonstrates dozens of
new and different features readers can add to their existing Web pages using
HTML and JavaScript. The book starts with simple text and image tips, such as
adding a clock to a Web page or causing text to appear when the mouse moves over
an image. It gradually builds to more complex tricks, including manipulating
forms or working with cookies behind the scenes. Throughout the book, readers
enjoy Joe’s snappy style and "to the point" discussion of each "goody" in the
book.
http://books.internet.com/books/0789727803
Goodies Thoughts – No Animations: Be a good Web Citizen
There’s a nasty little trend developing on the Web, and it’s time for us to
nip it in the bud! It’s a road that leads to nowhere, we’ve been down it
before and it’s not confined to novices! I’m talking about some basic
usability issues that we all learned about as the web grew up, but
somewhere along the way a lot of people forgot.
If you’re new to Web development, thank you for being here–I know that you
will read and absorb this and will never subject me to the horrors I
describe! If you’re an experienced web designer/master then I know you’re
not the one committing these crimes– it’s the other guys!
Has it happened to you? You look up something on a search engine, find a
likely web site and click on it to take a closer look and POW! It socks
you in the face! You are nearly blinded by a dazzling array of bright
colors, flashing signs, waving hands, burning lights and then, while you
are still reeling, BOOM! Music! Or should I say "Music"! You
frantically
search for your mouse or the power button or a hammer or something to stop
the horror, you can’t find it because all you can see are the spots of
residual vision from that color blast. As your vision slowly returns, you
notice all your colleagues are staring at you and you can see what they’re
thinking. "It’s not a porn site!" you desperately plead–"It’s about water
buffalo. It’s for my project! Honest!" As you recover your
senses you
make a note of the site address and add it to your "avoid it like the
plague–in fact, look for the plague first" list. I know that wouldn’t
have been your site, but if it had you would have just lost another user!
In the off chance you were thinking of it–let me see if I can make you
feel better. I visited the web site of a well known cartoon and film
company that also operates theme parks in California, Florida and France
(and a national TV network). When I clicked through a few pages I noticed
a link that offered tickets for special circumstances. Upon clicking
through I was taken, not to a form as I expected, but to a flash animation
complete with music–highly recognizable entertainment music! I scoured
rapidly over the page for the "Skip Intro" button, which was mercifully
there. "Going on vacation?" asked the guy two cubicles down.
"Working on
a water buffalo project" I meekly replied.
Here’s the rule:
Keep it simple!
Billboards on the side of the road have to attract your attention and then
deliver a message. By the time they get to your website, you’ve already
got their attention! Your job is simply to deliver the information as
simply and quickly as you can. I know you have great Flash skills–go
ahead and develop a nice Flash intro, then put a couple of hyperlinks on
your home page, one that perhaps says "About us" and another that says
"About us (Flash Version)." When I see that I will get a warm and fuzzy
feeling in my belly, knowing how much you care about my
sensibilities! (I’ll probably take a look at that Flash animation when I
get home and can prepare for it!).
The best pages use small elegant graphics against a most unobtrusive
background (white, for example!) and present the information so that it’s
easy to find. Additionally, don’t overload the eyes either with color or
too much stuff in too small a space. White space rules! I know you
are
trying your best to create user friendly pages, and you would like some
recommendations. Here’s a couple: go to WDVL (http://www.wdvl.com/
) or
Web Reference (http://www.webreference.com/
) and do a search on
"usability." Get the advice of those who have studied the subject
extensively.
Thanks for reading! I know we can all rely on you!
Q & A Goodies
Questions are taken from
submissions to our Community Mentors. You can ask a Mentor a question by going
to
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors/.
Q. I want to have a text box and a "go to" button that the user can insert
a webpage and click the button. I need to have the webpage show up in a
specific frame.
A. You might find a script doing this at
http://www.javascriptsource.com.
What you’re trying to do is use the form to turn the URL in the box into
the value of a variable, and the JavaScript opens a new window in which the
URL is the variable. If you know some JavaScript you may be able to work
this out yourself.
Q. I have a web site already up and would like to add music to it.
A. This tutorial might help:
http://htmlgoodies.earthweb.com/tutors/dynamic5.html
Q. I’m looking for a way to display single characters on a 90degree angle
(i.e. on their side, facing vertically). I don’t know if this can be done
with HTML or JavaScript, or whatever. I don’t want it to be an event,
simply displayed on their side from load time.
A. There might be a way to do it with a stylesheet, but the only way to
make it work in all browsers is to make a graphic.
Q. I have a website with a navigation bar which is on the left side of my
page that contains all the links to my pages like Home, Contact Us, About
us, etc. Everytime I add a new page to my website, I have to update all of
the pages one by one for the navigation bar. Is there anyway to just update
one file so that it updates every page I have for the navigation bar?
A. Yes, make your navigation a server side include.
http://htmlgoodies.earthweb.com/beyond/ssi.html
Thanks for reading Goodies to Go!
