NET 11: Module 3 - WWW Standards

5 Rules for writing online (so says me :D)

1. Be concise - This might seem obvious but given that the average user spends no more than 30 seconds on a site before moving on, it's really important to let them know exactly what they're going to find on your site in those 30 seconds. Otherwise they'll just leave and probably won't even bother to bookmark your site let alone remember to come back to it. It may seem a hard task to do for a site that has research essays on it, however just a brief, well worded, synopsis at the top of the page may be enough to entice the viewer to keep reading.

2. Layout - Very important, not just for the text but also for the entire web page. The text needs to be easy to read yes, but the page also needs to have a flow that enables the reading of the text. If the text doesn't look like it belongs then the reader is not only going to have a hard time trying to read it, but they're not going to want to read it.

3. White space - I know, it's apart of layout, however it does deserve a special mention. Having the right amount of white space in between words and paragraphs can greatly change the readability of the text. If there is to much then words become to far apart and the entire text seems fractured. If there is not enough white space then the words start to blend into one and the reader ends up with nothing but a huge headache.

4. Colour - Probably one of the biggest mistakes I've seen in a number of web pages is the wrong colour font for the colour background. If people can't see it, then they won't read it.

Here is a link to show you what I mean.

5. Load time - As I said before, people don't spend much time on a site before moving on. If the page doesn't load quick enough then it doesn't matter how well the text is laid out, what colour it is or how relevant it might be to their needs. If the site is going to take a bit to load, you can write into the HTML to load the text first. This would at least give the viewer something to do while they wait.

Here is a link to the a list of the webs worst web pages for 2007, even Microsoft ended up on the list LOL. Here's one for 2008.

Just about every rule I've come up with is some way based around layout, for me if it doesn't look right then I don't really care what information the site holds. More often than not I'll just move on rather than trying to read through a poorly layed out site.

Legal Issues

Have you used images or words on your web page or website that contravene copyright laws?

For websites that I've done for others, no, I haven't breached any copyright issues as all images and data have been their property and they've owned the copyright.

For my personal blog, that's kinda a grey area. I have images of my avatar and in game items that I've picked up. Now, whilst the avatar and her equipment is technically mine as I pay a monthly installment and I've put the effort into her, in actual fact they still remain the property of the company that owns the game. However, I make no claims to owning copyright and free advertisement is not somthing they commonly turn down. If they were to act on one screenshot of in game items and activity then they'd have to act on all. That would cost them not only the money needed to take such action but also it would decimate the game's community and they'd lose practically all their customers. In short their hip pocket just doesn't allow them to be that petty.

It would probably fall under the 'fair use' clause as there is somewhat of a mutual understanding between the two parties. The game company gets free advertisement and the player gets to put the images on their site so long as there is a note that all images relating to the game are the property of the game company.

Would you be in breach of copyright if you put the Curtin logo at the top of your web page for an assignment?

Technicalities gotta love em.

Technically, yes, you would be in breach of copyright as the Curtin logo is the property of Curtin University and it's affiliates. However, certain allowances are made when it comes to academia and again the 'fair use' clause comes into play. So long as the logo was used for an assignment that was to be submitted to Curtin, then I couldn't see there being a problem. I guess the issue would get sticky if you tried to use that same assignment else where without first removing the logo.