Ms P's Web Design – A Tutorial for Educators

Ms P’s Website Design Tutorial

You don’t need special software to create a great website. A great website happens NOT with the tips of the fingers; it happens in the depths of the brain. Outstanding websites result from extensive planning. Planning saves time & avoids frustration during page creation & when updates & additions are required. Professional Web designers recommend 6 areas of focus for good Web design: your identity, your users, navigation, layout, content & graphics. Ms P’s 6-step Design Tutorial helps you develop a dynamic and user-responsive website.

1 – Establish an Identity & use it consistently

Our viewers should know exactly who we are & after linking should know if they’re still within our website.

2 – Know & support your users

Successful websites know who their users are & why they visit, and the site provides an attractive & responsive display for those viewers.

3 – Create User-friendly Navigation

A well-planned website provides quick & easy access to information pages–that’s navigation.

4 – Page Layout for eye-catching display & user readability

The difference between a webpage & a GREAT webpage is that “Oh, Wow!” reaction that catches our attention & then gives information as expeditiously as possible.

5 – Focus on Content

Debate about Web content vs. Web presentation is constant & lively. However, viewers come to our pages for information & if they don’t get what they need, flash & glitz won’t bring them back.

6 – Use Graphics Wisely

Graphics are a special challenge for Web designers, requiring balance between overuse & skimpiness. A site filled with images can have charm & impact, but use graphic images to enhance, not overpower.

With the help of the tutorial, you’ve designed your website & completed phase one of Web work:

Analyzing users to determine website goals, learning information architecture to structure navigation, applying graphic design principles to create visually stimulating pages.

You’ve also devoted your time & ability to provide the information your users need, and so completed phase two of Web work:

Creating & publishing webpages (using HTML and/or WYSIWYG applications) to provide accurate, timely content in a precise, coherent manner.

Now you can sit back & relax…well, not exactly. The World Wide Web is a dynamic, changing entity & there are always new things to learn, to improve the quality & content of your website. Here are 2 suggestions to enhance your Web presence & increase user satisfaction.

Design Enhancement – Use META Tags for Search Engines

META tags are invisible tags–that is, they’re not displayed on the actual webpage. However, META tags are valuable in that they enable search engines to index & classify your pages.

Design Enhancement – Create a Splash Page

A splash page is the digital version of a book cover. Just as a book cover entices us to open a book & read, so can a splash page entice a visitor to enter a website to see more.

Check out my Top 10 tips for a successful webpage, based on many years of reading books and listserv postings.

Finally, keep your Website updated, learn advanced techniques, such as CSS & Javascript, & strive toward the epitome of Web work:

Utilizing computer skills to manage files on the webserver, striving to keep pages current by removing dead links & outdated information, creating ever more interactive webpages for your users.

Thanks for visiting Ms P’s Website Design Tutorial!
Happy Web-Mastering!

EdTech, Jan 2005

Kevin Jarrett, Computer Teacher & Technology Facilitator at Northfield Community School

A while back I started looking for resources designed to help people build and maintain a website. I got many great suggestions, pointers to resources I never knew existed. If you are interested in learning how to design and build a web site, you may enjoy visiting these sites.

Mrs. P’s Web Design Tutorial & Resources: This outstanding collection of tips and resources was created by Barbara Paciotti, School Library/Media Specialist at Barbara Bush Middle School in Irving, Texas. Clean and complete, it clearly lays out the process from start to finish, highlighting the tools and techniques you need to get a first-class web site up and running. Nice work!