How to Teach Website Design

With the increase in popularity of the Internet, the design and development of websites has become a common course of study for many students. Given the increased demand for these courses, teaching website design can be a lucrative option for many educators. One of the most important parts of the process is to offer the most current and useful content available. This will ensure that your students gain marketable skills, which will translate to higher salaries and successful careers. Use the following steps to plan a course to teach website design.

Instructions

Teaching Website Design

1. Determine the area or areas of website design to be taught. The design of websites can encompass many technologies, software packages and programming codes. Time constraints, level of student education and cost will often dictate which areas can be addressed and to what level. In many cases, logically related areas of study can be grouped into a single course structure. For example, basic HTML, website image standards, and file management could easily be grouped together, while advanced subjects such as animation, CSS, SQL databases and PHP should be taught at a different time.
2. Consider your target audience. The ability to effectively teach any group of students hinges directly on the instructor's ability to relate to them. If a course is delivered at a level, either below or above the average student, then the information will be largely lost. When designing the course content, take into consideration the age, average level of education, and experience of your audience. For example, a course designed to reach first year college students would be largely useless to a group of experienced programmers looking for continuing education.
3. Choose a delivery method. In today's technologically advanced world, educational choices are no longer limited to finding a seat at the local university. Internet courses, interactive CDs and teleconference-based classes have opened up the educational system to a new world of possibilities. When designing course content and information, take the method of delivery into account and customize the course for the situation.
4. Create a course objective outline. With a good understanding of your audience and area of study established, create an outline of course objectives, time lines and reference material. This outline will provide your students a guideline for what they should expect to learn and what you will expect from them. Outlines can be broken down by time periods or by level of completion.
5. Create or assemble course teaching materials. The course outline will help you select any books, films, recordings or other material to help convey the required information to your audience. Be sure to choose the most recent publications to ensure that you aren't teaching outdated information. In the event that suitable materials cannot be located, it may become necessary to create original course material.

Major 5 Reasons to Avoid Cheap Website Design Services

The main motto behind outsourcing the website designing services is to get the high quality design on time at an affordable rate. Companies generally do not sacrifice with the quality of the services however they always search for the services that are affordable as well as meet their quality expectations. While searching according to the selected parameters, companies most of the time follow the wrong pathway and rely on the company which might give the services at a lower rate but not trustworthy due to various reasons.

Designers nowadays charge a good amount because of their creative work and their demand in today's world. Getting the affordable web designing services at your decided rate is something like cracking the jackpot out of the blue. But business men still get lured when the web designing company offers the designing services at a very cheap rate. They do not even try to find out the reason behind it. Without thinking regarding the consequences of relying over the cheap rated designer companies, people give the contracts.

5 Reasons to Avoid Cheap Rated Website Designer Companies:

There must be certain reasons behind providing the designing services by few companies at a cheap rate. Most of the time we do not bother to search the reason behind it, but that could lead you in trouble in future. The 5 major reasons explaining why you should always avoid hiring cheap website design services are:

• Lack of Creativity
• Lack of Communication
• Awful Copy-writing
• Irresponsibility of the Designers
• Fluctuating Deadline

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How to Create Special Effects for a Web Site

Web site special effects can help make your site stand out from other sites, entertain visitors and draw attention to specific parts of the page. Discover how to use custom cursors, scroll text and make an image on your site blink. Incorporate these methods into your next site redesign to instantly attract attention and engage your readers in new ways.

Instructions

How to Use Custom Cursors

• Log in to your web host using your Internet browser or an FTP program such as Cyberduck (for Macs) or WinFTP (for Windows PCs). Create a new folder on your main hosting drive. Name the folder "cursor."
• Download a custom cursor (see Resources). Rename the file "custom.cur" and upload it to the "cursor" folder on your web host directory.
• Use a standard text editor and open the web page file on which you want to use the custom cursor. Type the following code after the <body> tag if you wish to use the custom cursor on the entire page: <body style="cursor: url('cursor/custom.cur')">. Alternatively, type the following code before a specific paragraph if you wish to use the cursor in only one section of your page: <p style="cursor: url('cursor/custom.cur')">.
• Save the edited page file onto your web hosting drive. Launch your browser and navigate to your site. Your computer's cursor changed to your custom cursor.

How to Create Scrolling Text

• Open the web page in your text editor.
• Type the following code where you wish to see text scrolling: <marquee direction="right">YOURTEXT</marquee>. Edit "YOURTEXT" to the words you want to scroll. Change the direction to "left," "right," "up" or "down" to adjust the direction in which the text scrolls.
• Save the file to your web hosting directory.
• Launch your web browser and navigate to the page you just edited. You now see a little box with scrolling text. This is an eye-catching way to draw attention to an announcement or warning.

How to Make a Blinking Image

• Open the web page in a text editor.
• Type the following code after the <head> tag in your HTML: <script type="text/javascript">function changeImg(){document.getElementById("imgId").src = (document.getElementById("imgId").src.indexOf("PIC1.gif") == -1)?"PIC1.gif":"nopic.gif";}window.onload = function(){var xTimer = window.setInterval("changeImg()",2000);}</script>
• Change "PIC1.gif" to the name of the image in your web page that you want to blink. Save the file to your web hosting directory.
• Launch your browser and view your page. Your image now blinks.

Article Resource:- How to Create Special Effects for a Web Site | ehow.com

Awesome New Website Designs To Inspire You – 30 Sites

Web sites have changed since the appearance of HTML5 and CSS3 and also after the latest jQuery releases. They now have interesting features which make them more dynamic and also easy to load and navigate because most of the graphics that were previously jpeg, gif or png files are now mostly done in code. Most of the sites in this article are making use of these new technologies and that can be seen easily when navigating. It’s a pleasure to see wonderful sites like for which people worked carefully and with a clear strategy.


Read More:- http://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/awesome-new-website-designs-to-inspire-you-30-sites/

HTML website designing with CSS

The rule could be applied to a single HTML, HTML For this reason, while XML was originally designed for use as a more sophisticated document representation language to supplant HTML on the Web this particular aspect of XML (the creation and application of vocabularies) has been slow to take off, for a number of reasons: To date only internet Explorer 5 supports the use of XML within the browser but it does so inconsistently with the standards. To create a full document description language, you need to be able to break a document in abstract into multiple logical units this is often a more difficult undertaking when working with document than dealing with well-defined data.

There is typically more than one mapping of a document that's appropriate for the situation and resolving what makes up the best such mapping can typically be a time-consuming and a frequently politically perilous occupation. Documents are more likely to have a requirement for a consistent display and because of the sheer scope of such documents this can mean creating highly complex display mechanisms. When XML itself was in development, most of the working group responsible for creating XML came from a background in SGML in SGML a technology that is highly geared toward document creation and management so it is neither surprising that much of the early focus on XML concentrated on XML document aspect (especially as a replacement for HTML) nor surprising at least in retrospect that this usage of XML has yet to really take off.

For the record document-based XML is usually referred to as being loosely structured; elements typically can be placed in nearly and order text can mix freely with elements within container elements and elements can usually have fairly complex sets of attributes with many of the attribute values defaulted. In SGML the relationship between the elements is defined in a separate document called a document type definition which XML also supports. However in the future DTDs will almost certainly be deprecated in favor of XML schemas. (See the "XML as a Data Format" section later in this chapter of details.)
Perhaps the best example to demonstrate a document-centric approach is XHTML which is an XML-complaint version of HTML. With XHTML you have the mixed benefits of being able to parse the structure as an XML document (scanning for heads and subheads for example) while still being able to read it in a Web browser. XML as a Document Management Format. I want to make a distinction here between document formats and document management formats. Document management formats are very closely allied to the other current rages in computing circle these days' directories.

While the conventional example of a directory is something like a phone book, I personally have had more than my share of problems with this description. In computer circles a directory is essentially a hierarchical structure that can be queried to retrieve information about a computer system the file structure on a network drive, user information and so forth.

Read More: HTML website designing with CSS | Articlebase.com

Tips on How to Design Websites

Designing websites successfully takes practice and patience, but with the right motivation, anyone can learn to be good at it. There's a distinctive process to designing a website, a number of hard-and-fast rules to follow, and you'll need to know web programming languages. The most encouraging thing, however, is that there are a lot of tools at your disposal these days, and most of the best ones are free.

The Site Plan

Before you touch a computer, make sure you know the answers to some of the big questions: What's the point of this website? Who's the audience? Then, write out a site plan: Note down everything you want your site to contain, then organize all those things into a structure: for example, you might have a "news" section, which might have an "entertainment news" subsection.

The rule of thumb is to never have more than seven choices at a time: aim for seven or less main sections, give each of those sections seven or less subsections and so on. Also decide how many layouts your site will need. Most sites have a main template they use for articles but a different template for the homepage.

Preparing Your Workspace

To have a safe space to design and test your site, you'll need to set up a private home server before you buy a domain name and a commercial hosting plan. You can do this for free with the software suite XAMPP. You'll also need a better text editor than Notepad or TextEdit: free programs like Aptana and Notepad++ color-code your code to make it easier to manage.

Finally, you need to know web programming languages. You don't necessarily need to fully understand PHP and SQL, but you should at least be comfortable with HTML and CSS. Check out the tutorials at W3 Schools.

Structuring Your Site

A content management system is a program you install on your site's server that provides a clean user interface for creating new sections, writing new articles, and organizing layouts. It's a must-have for most websites because it does an enormous amount of the legwork and technical stuff for you. There are many free CMSs, and they all approach websites in slightly different ways: WordPress is optimized for blogging, for example, while Joomla! works well for large company sites. For beginners, try CMS Made Simple.

Each CMS has a set of pre-existing design templates (or "layouts" or "themes") at your disposal. You have three choices: revise your own layout plans to fit a pre-existing template, choose a template to use as a "base" and then alter it to fit your own style, or create a template of your own. When you're just starting, option two is probably your best bet as it'll give you an idea of how the templates are organized.

Design Tips

The most important advice is to keep things simple: make sure your website's navigation system is clear, your text is readable, your graphics aren't obnoxious, and every page is linked to from somewhere else. Clarity is more important than anything else.

Styling text is an important but oft-overlooked step for beginning web designers. In the CSS file, if you increase the "line-height" attribute and make the text dark gray instead of black, you'll discover that words have suddenly become more pleasant to read. Another reliable tip is to make the font of your articles a sans-serif font (such as Arial or Verdana) and the headings of your articles a serif font (fonts with little lines on the ends of their letters, such as Times New Roman or Georgia).

For graphics, backgrounds and borders, use lots of shades of the same color. Instead of a solid blue background, for example, create a gradient between a dark shade of blue and a slightly darker shade of blue (using an image editor like Photoshop or Gimp); this can give sites a subtle professional sheen. Likewise, if you had a blue box on your site with a background color code of #222299, for example, don't make the border black. Make it something only slightly darker, like #111188.

Finally, take cues from your audience. A site for a large corporation is likely not going to have lots of pinks and neon yellows, but a modern art site might. And while a programming blog might get away with a really small font, an entertainment site for teenagers will need something that's readable even when you lean way back in your chair. Use common sense and you'll be well on your way.

Article Resource: Tips on How to Design Websites | ehow.com

Qualities of A Successful Flash Website Design

Flash website design, from the time of its inception has faced lots of allegations. For some of the people, it is a sheer waste of time and for some others it does not add much to the design of the website and its total efficiency. Whereas some other section of people says that that it doesn't do anything for the website design and its overall efficiency. But in today's day and age Flash based websites are becoming quite popular and some section of people believes that they are doing lots of right things also. With passing time, the popularity of this software is rising very much and with a number of people who favors it and who opposes it is also increasing.

Here we are not going to have a look at the positives and negatives in Flash website designing rather we will have a look at the qualities that this software provides to its users and can achieve its purpose and objectives.

The flash website design must look purposeful: You should take utmost care that you don't use it just because others are using it. Avoid using it just for the hack of it. The design which you have created must have an objective and should add a lot towards delivering the message of the website to the customers in a very efficient and effective manner. Most of designers who use flash just because it looks good. It should not be the main criteria of using and applying them. Of course it contributes a lot to the overall look of the website but you shall use it primarily for increasing the quality of the website and to reach out to as many customers as you can. The good looks should be the least mattered criteria. You should take it as an added benefit of using flash based websites.

Shall look credible: The next use of using this software is to make the website look credible and visually enticing. You shall use the graphic elements of the website in such a way that they showcase your website with credibility. The designer whom services you have taken shall make sure that the message of your website should be transferred to the customers in an effective manner. Proper use of graphics and content should be there and should look visually enticing to the visitors who are visiting the website.

Should not confuse the customers: You should make sure that you use this software in such a way that is shall not confuse the visitors visiting your website. This is the trap most of the designers fell into, while trying to create an attractive website, many a times they end up creating websites that are confusing and customers does not prefer websites which are confusing and not easy to use. So if you are thinking of using flash website design then take care of the above mentioned things and you will get success in this field for sure.

Article Source: Qualities of A Successful Flash Website Design | Sooperarticles.com

Benefits of Having a Custom Website Design

Custom Website design uses the combination of images and web contents to deliver the right identity and purpose of the company. With custom website design a company can place their products and services strategically to attract customers and expand business. If you want your business to stand out in a critical competition, opting for custom website design would be the most effective and right decision.

A custom website design has a high importance and should not be underestimated and taken for granted. Creating a custom website design is not an easy task. It needs proper preparation and implementation as it requires years of expertise. A skilled professional who has acquired abundant training and proficiency in this field is the appropriate person who can give your website the desired professional look. A custom web design that sells!

A good custom web design is not merely a combination of colors, graphics and content along with its great look there are other aspects that make your website well-balanced in order for it to carry out the message for your business efficiently and effectively.

The following should be considered in creating a custom website design:

• Easy navigation. An easy navigation helps visitors stay on your site. This is one of the most important points to be taken into account while designing your website. It assures smooth experience for its browsers. Simultaneously, proper navigation helps search engine in indexing pages of website.
• The Logo of the website should have a link to the Homepage of the website.
• One more very important aspect is having a site map. It helps the visitor to understand about the layout of your website like what are the main menus and submenus.
• Communicate your requirements clearly to make sure you get the right custom web design for your company. "About Us" and FAQ or frequently asked question page let the people know who you are and how they can contact you.
• A professional look makes the site more acceptable to its user. Select the proper color combination, page backgrounds, page size, graphic design, word/content etc.
• Delayed uploading time might lead to losing important and valuable customers. So it is important that the loading process is fast.
• You must update the content of your website from time to time.

Most importantly you need to put in mind the fact that your website primarily targets your visitors, who seeks help or some kind of information. A professional website will manipulate the visitor's insight and convince them to explore deeper into your website. Your website serves as the spokesperson of the entire company so it is a must to expose your business and the products or services that you provide.

For more information visit : Benefits of Having a Custom Website Design | Ezinearticles.com