- Provide kids with lots of scaffolding. Think about how you teach kids to make a cake. You need the same amount of scaffolding to make a website. Learn together. Be directive. Talk through everything. Ask questions. Explain. This is the stuff of learning.
- The best software in the world is between your ears. You can make quality websites with simple equipment. It takes quality ideas.
- The three most important things on a website are content, content and content.
- Web builders underestimate the users need for information and overestimate the users desire for graphics.
- Keep the design simple – it’s about the content not the container
- Keep it small – even in the days of broadband small is still good. Repeat elements that have already been used and cached.
- Don’t break the navigation rules (eg underline means a link so don’t underline other stuff, visited links are a different colour to un-visited links, don’t link a page to itself, make the link name clearly describe the destination page.)
- Look at other people’s websites. What makes them good?
- Learn a bit of code. Look at other people’s code (even borrow some).
- Frames suck.
- Anything that flashes or scrolls sucks as well.
- Anything that looks like a banner ad sucks
- Websites are a form of publishing. Many of the same rules apply. Look at magazines. See what works and what doesn’t.
- Be very tidy. Organise your files carefully.
- Get on board now. It will never be easier.
- Remember: Content, content, content.
Hot Air Balloons TVNZ NetGuide winning site from 2008
For the Nelson ICT Cluster seminar - April 2009
