| Jun. 01 2007 at 4:33 PM |
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As we read through the 11 steps involved in designing a Web site, the
inevitable point arrives: the actual design. That means layout, one
of the major issues.
A layout is literally the way pieces (elements) of "stuff" on a page or
in a book or magazine are laid on the paper. It's the geographic
positioning, the size of each thing, where are its borders, and what
kind of "white space" separates each thing. White space doesn't have to
be white; it refers to the "in between" that separates things.
Web tools are still in the dark ages, in comparison to modern word
processors, drawing programs, and just about anything else in the
computer world. It's partly due to the absolute requirement of making
things visible to every type of operating system and computer in
existence.
With no standards anywhere in the computer world, and Web sites being
required to meet those "standards," it's one of the most difficult
problems in site design. When you try to do it yourself (DIY), it
becomes a mountainous problem.
One solution is to use something like PowerPoint. If you don't know how
to build a Web site using the megalithic so-called Web editors, then
you have a steep learning curve ahead of you. If you also don't know
PowerPoint, you also have a learning curve. However; to learn
PowerPoint is a whole lot easier than to learn something like
DreamWeaver, Nvu, or FrontPage.
(Note--added: Don't use PowerPoint or
Word to make an actual Web site. This is a recommendation to use
PowerPoint as a learning tool for playing with various layout
possibilities. When you've found something that looks good, then begin
the work of creating it using a standard Web editor.)
The advantage of using PowerPoint is that you can insert each "element"
you think you'd like in your Web page, then quickly move it around to
see the layout. It doesn't matter that you can't animate, do Flash!,
add interactive forms and buttons, etc.
In fact, you CAN put in a
significant amount of hyperlinking from slide to slide. Instead of an
actual interactive box, you can use a "placeholder." That's a box labeled
"Eventual form that does this and that."
If you can't design a useful PowerPoint slide show, including the
linking to different pages, then how would you expect to design a
useful Web page, much less an entire site?
Making key design decisions means the freedom to move pieces of
writing, pictures, letters, banners, buttons, lines, and boxes wherever
you want them. It should be quick and simple, so that you can
concentrate on what it will look like, NOT on the technology and
techniques of the movement itself.
Even if you don't want to learn PowerPoint, and you expect to hire a
designer and developer, you still can make simple drawings on index
cards. Get some cardboard construction paper like that used in
grade-school projects. Lay out your index cards and writing snippets on
that paper. Move it around.
If you tape it down because you believe you have a final solution, you
can do the last step: lay the construction paper against a wall and
stand back about 3 feet. Look at what you've created. Can you read it?
Does it tell a story about what you're doing? Is it understandable?
Invite some 10-12 yearold kids over, and have them look at it. Do THEY
understand what it is you're trying to accomplish? If they don't,
you'll want to go "back to the drawing board." Sad as it is, today's
reading comprehenision level is at about the 7th grade level.
Edited by: CraigL - Jul. 02 2007 at 11:15 PMCraig Landes
---
Defining the undefinable. "There are 10 kinds of people in the world---those who understand binary numbers and those who don't." - Unknown
---
Success = Passion, Patience, Persistence!
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| Jul. 02 2007 at 2:21 AM |
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Your website is just what I need. As a 67 year old soon-to-be entrepreneur, I need all the concise help I can get without having to sort through all types of offers. Thank you!
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| Jul. 02 2007 at 9:34 AM |
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Craig,
It's a good idea for people to use PowerPoint or just some pieces of paper to visualize their concept of the look for their website.
Of course you were not suggesting to use Power Point to actually create the website.. it is not a good tool for that as the code produced is not the best.
~Roland Web Design | Golf videos | ecommerce articles | Golf Lessons
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| Jul. 02 2007 at 2:02 PM |
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Roland,
I hope that wasn't the impression I gave in the comments above. No, I
wouldn't recommend PowerPoint or Word to build a Web site. But if you
DO know PowerPoint, it's really easy to quickly put in text boxes,
pictures, and headlines, then move them around simply by dragging.
(Also, make a custom page size, with 950 pixels wide being 11.2 inches
wide.)
Craig Landes
---
Defining the undefinable. "There are 10 kinds of people in the world---those who understand binary numbers and those who don't." - Unknown
---
Success = Passion, Patience, Persistence!
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| Jul. 02 2007 at 7:29 PM |
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CraigL wrote: Roland,
I hope that wasn't the impression I gave in the comments above. No, I wouldn't recommend PowerPoint or Word to build a Web site. But if you DO know PowerPoint, it's really easy to quickly put in text boxes, pictures, and headlines, then move them around simply by dragging. (Also, make a custom page size, with 950 pixels wide being 11.2 inches wide.)
That's what I thought.
I like the idea of a person putting together a visual representation of a concept for the website. That would be a big help when talking to a web designer. That's one of the things I run across with a new site... coming up with a design concept that the client had in his/her mind all along. 
~Roland Web Design | Golf videos | ecommerce articles | Golf Lessons
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| Jul. 02 2007 at 11:12 PM |
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Another advantage of using PowerPoint is that you can insert hyperlinks
that work when someone views the file as a Slide Show. It's a way to
teach people how to work with hyperlinks, and it's also a way to test
the logic of those links.
How many times does someone link you to a page, then there you
are...stuck. No way to get back to anywhere. Working with a PPT slide
show helps bring that point into focus.
Craig Landes
---
Defining the undefinable. "There are 10 kinds of people in the world---those who understand binary numbers and those who don't." - Unknown
---
Success = Passion, Patience, Persistence!
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