Webady : Filipino Web Designer

BlazeWits Training and Research Services

2011-08-09T03:39:00.000-07:00

My brother established a new company named Blazewits Training and Research Services on February 2011. It provides solutions to training problems and caters both students and professionals who need further development and training along with communication, teaching, English, speech, research, values, assessments, writing, etc.

For those who are looking for an English trainer (especially Maritime English), for those who want to enhance their confidence in public speaking you may consult Blazewits.

You may visit blazewits.com/ for complete information and to request for a training proposal http://www.blazewits.com/proposal-request

Photoshop Secret Shortcuts

2009-10-13T21:11:00.001-07:00

It is proven that by using software shortcuts can boost up productivity. Here are 30 secret Photoshop shortcuts that I’ve learned from years of experience. Well, what I mean by "secret" is that these shortcuts are not documented in the menus. Keep reading and you will find how these shortcuts can speed up your productivity. I bet you don’t know all of them.

Note: this article is written in Mac Photoshop format. If you are using PC, Cmd = Ctrl and Opt = Alt.

1. Drag selection
With the Marquee tool, drag on the document (do not release the mouse yet), now hold down Spacebar, it will let you drag the undefined selection.

2. Navigate the document left or right
Hold down the Cmd key and scroll up or down allows you to navigate the document left or right. For example, hold down Cmd + scroll up will navigate to right.

3. Browse the font list
Put your cursor in the font list dropdown, you can browse the font list by pressing arrow Up or Down key.

4. Scale font size
Select the text that you want to scale the font size, press Cmd + Shift + > or < style="font-weight: bold;">5. Zoom with the scroll wheel
You can zoom in / out by Cmd + Opt + scroll up or down.

6. Drag to adjust numberic value
Mouseover the input box, hold down Cmd + drag left or right to increase / decrease. Hold down Cmd + Opt or Shift key and drag can change the value in decimal or 10 interval. This shortcut works in all dialog palettes.

7. Scroll to adjust numeric value
Put the cursor in the input box, scroll up or down to increase / decrease value. This shortcut works in all dialog palettes.

8. Arrow up / down to adjust numeric value
Put the cursor in the input box, press arrow Up or Down to increase / decrease. Hold down Shift and press arrow Up or Down will change value in 10 interval.

9. Zoom to 100%
Double click on the Zoom tool will zoom document to 100%.

10. Collapse or expand all layer groups
You can collapse or expand all root-level layer groups by holding down Cmd + click on the triangle icon. Hold down Cmd + Opt + click on the triangle icon will collapse or expand all level layer groups.

11. Show / hide in a row
If you need to show / hide more than one layers, instead of clicking one by one, you can click on the visibility icon and drag in a row.

12. Hide other layers
Hold down Opt + click on the visibility icon will hide all other layers.

13. Navigate layer blending mode
Opt + Shift + "-" or "+" key allows you to navigate through the blending mode dropdown.

14. Set specific blending mode
Opt + Shift + C, N, M, S, D… allows to set layer to specific blending mode.
For examples:
Normal = Opt + Shift + N
Screen = Opt + Shift + S
Multiply = Opt + Shift + M
Color = Opt + Shift + C

15. Lock layer transparency
Press forward slash ("/") to lock layer transparency.

16. Load Channel selection
You probably know that Cmd + number keys (1, 2, 3) will activate the channels in sequent. Press Cmd + Opt + number keys will load the selection. For example, press Cmd + Opt + 4 will load Alpha channel 1.

17. Tool panels
Press Tab to toggle tool panels.

18. Precise cursor
Caps lock will display tool cursor in precise mode.

19. Navigate the tool list
You can navigate through the tool list by pressing Shift + tool shorcut. For example: B = Brush tool, if you press Shift + B again, you will switch to Pencil tool.

20. Increase / decrease brush size
With the Brush tool selected, you can increase / decrease the brush size by pressing [ or ] key (square bracket key). Press Shift + [ or ] will increase / decrease brush hardness.

21.Opacity
You can set the layer opacity by pressing the number keys (ie. 1 = 10%, 2 = 20%…). When you have the brush tool selected, pressing the number keys will adjust the brush opacity.

22. Duplicate layer
There are several shortcuts to duplicate layers.
1. You can hold down Cmd + Opt + drag to duplicate the active layer.
2. Cmd + Opt + arrow keys (Up, Down, Left, Right).
3. Cmd + J will duplicate the active layer in exact position.
4. Hold down Opt + drag within the Layers palette can also duplicate layers.

23. Copy visible and paste in a new layer
Press Cmd + Opt + Shift + E will copy the visible layers and paste in a new layer.

24. Change workspace background
By default Photoshop use grey for the workspace background color. You can change that by:
1. select your favorite color
2. choose the Paint Bucket tool
3. Hold down Shift + click on the working area (outside the document area)

Update: right-click on the workspace area to get a dropdown menu - allows you to set the background to black, grey, or a custom color (commented by Todd Patrick).

25. Fill background or foreground color
Opt + Delete (Backspace) = fill the layer with foreground color.
Cmd + Delete (Backspace) = fill the layer with background color

Update:
Cmd + Shift + Delete (Backspace) = Fill non-transparent pixels with background color
Opt + Shift + Delete (Backspace) = Fill non-transparent pixels with foreground color
(commented by André Dion)

26. Switch between document windows
Ctrl + Tab will switch between document windows.

27. Load layer transparent
Cmd + click on the layer thumbnail will load its transparency.

28. Scale proportionally from center
When you are using the Marquee tools or Free Transform, hold down Opt + Shift + drag will scale proportionally from the center.

29. Shortcut to Eyedropper
If you have the Brush tool selected, hold down Opt key will quickly activate the Eyedropper tool. Hold down Opt + Shift will activate the Color Sampler Tool.

30. Finally…
Finally, if you want to check or set your own custom shortcuts, press Cmd + Opt + Shift + K will bring up the Keyboard Shortcuts panel.

No English

2009-07-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

There was this Asian lady married to an American gentleman and they lived in Honolulu ...

The poor lady was not very proficient in English, but managed to communicate with her husband. The real problem arose whenever she had to shop for groceries.

One day, she went to the butcher and wanted to buy a leg of mutton She didn't know how to put forward her request, and in desperation, lifted up her skirt to show her thighs.

The butcher got the message and the lady went home with mutton legs.

The next day, she needed to get chicken breasts. Again, she didn't know how to say, and so she unbuttoned her blouse to show the butcher her breast. The lady got what she wanted.

The 3rd day, the poor lady needed to buy sausages. Unable to find a way to communicate this, she brought her husband to the store... (Please scroll page down.)

What were you thinking?

Helloooooooooo , her husband speaks English!!
Now get back to work........ ...

Physical Exam

2009-07-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

As part of his yearly physical exam, the doctor requested a
Sperm count from his 85-year-old male patient. The doctor gave the man a jar
And said,"Take this jar home and bring back a semen sample tomorrow."

The next day the 85-year-old man reappeared at the doctor's
Office and gave him the jar, which was as clean and empty as on the previous
Day. The doctor asked what happened.

The man explained: "Well, doc, it's like this. First I tried
With my right hand, but nothing. Then I tried with my left hand, but still
Nothing.
Then I asked my wife for help. She tried with her right hand,
Then with her left, still nothing. She tried with her mouth, first with the
Teeth in, then with her teeth out, still nothing.
We even called up Arleen, the lady next door and she tried too.
First with both hands, then an armpit, and she even tried squeezin' it
Between her knees, but still nothing."
The doctor was shocked! "You asked your neighbor?"

The old man replied, "Yep. None of us could get the jar open".

E-Loading Business

2009-06-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

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prepaid cards available in load.com.ph
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(ex. family members, friends, classmates, etc.)
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credit card or bank deposit
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purchased electronic PIN's anytime
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FOR SALE "THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME" CD ALBUM

2009-03-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

Selling Price: P280
Retail Price: P300
FREE RAFFLE TICKETS:
Get 3 chances to WIN exciting prizes!
Tour Packages, Spa Treatments, or WOW! Magic Sing
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

Click for the M2k Music Website. Click for the Flash Banner I have created on this
site and you may also play the mp3.
Original Music CD. Let us support WOW Philippines and Our music Industry.
For those who are interested you may email me at adyraynes@gmail.com
or visit my ebay.ph selling page

"THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME”
A music album by Sheryl Cruz for the love of WOW Philippines

The album has been produced with the Filipino heart in mind, with special affinity to Overseas Filipino Workers and their families. It seeks to express through words and music the experiences and feelings of these people.

This is also a “woman power” album. The songs are written by an all- women group composed of Bernadette Gutierrez (Luzviminda, Kaibigan Lang Pala, Ikaw Lamang Ang Iibigin, Kahit Ika’y Malayo, There’s No Place Like Home), Marizen Yaneza (Pangarap ng Puso, Higit sa Lahat and Joy- which was co-written by Sheryl Cruz ) and Christine Bendebel (Ligaya).

Each song takes on its own life. For example the song Luzviminda, it expresses one’s longing to be embraced once again by the Philippines (Pearl of the Orient), by its language, its culture, people and places. There’s No Place Like Home, communicates the joy one experiences whencoming home after years of living in another country. Kahit Ika’y Nasa Malayo, a duet with Gino Padilla, expresses the pain of separation, the emotional ordeal husband and wife, lovers, have to endure in order to make a better life. Pangarap ng Puso the carrier single of the album is a song about Sheryl’s love and passion for the country from whom she makes an appeal to love her purely and sincerely in return.

Ms. Sheryl Cruz is the Album Artist of “There’s No Place Like Home” music album. She also co-wrote the song Joy in this album with Marizen Yaneza.

Sheryl Cruz is a known actress, pop singer, recording artist, concert performer, TV Host and movie star. Sheryl’s deep longing for home during the 8-year period that she worked abroad clearly shows in how well she expresses the words and music in the album.

A portion from the sale of this album will be donated to the WOW Philippines Foundation (WOW Phil.) WowPhil is a non- profit organization, aimed at giving recognition and promoting the world-class talents of the Filipinos to the world, and further promote the country as a place where tourists and locals alike can enjoy the serenity of living and the calmness of nature. “There’s No Place Like Home” is produced by M2K Music Corporation, a company under the WOW Music label.

Ipagbunyi natin ang:
Kagandahan ng WOW Philippines!
Kabayanihan at sakripisyo ng overseas Filipino at kanilang pamilya!
Kagalingan at kahusayan ng Filipina singers at songwriters!

Guide to Stay on Top of Web Design Trends

2008-12-03T22:42:00.000-08:00

Let’s Face It, web design trends and fads come and go as fast as you can say the word “Trends”. Staying on top of web design trends can be difficult and time consuming, but it is extremely important to not be left behind. One of the best things any web designer can do is to learn the newest trends or fads and put your own spin to them. To stay on top of web design trends you must visit websites, blogs, read books and magazines, which are sometimes difficult to find. The links below are will guide to stay on top of the latest trends in web design.

Tutorials Sites

Tutorials will teach you new techniques and are even a great source for inspiration. These Tutorials sites cover current trends and past trends.

PSDTUTS - PSDTUTS is a great site with great tutorials added every week।
NetTuts - NetTuts is a new tutorial site that features web design tutorials।

Pixel2Life - Pixel2Life is a great site that has tons of tutorials in many different programs.
Abduzeedo - Abduzeedo has some wonderful tutorials focusing on photoshop, html, and fireworks।
Good-Tutorials - Good-Tutorials is tutorial resource site that links to tons of tutorials that are very useful.
Tutorialized - Tutorialized is another Tutorial resource site that is very popular and you must check out.
N.Design Studio - N।Design Studio is a very good tutorial site and blog that will keep you up to date on the latest ट्रेंड्स
Woork - Woork has some of the best written coding tutorials I’ve seen. They are so in depth and you must check them out.

What do the HTTP error codes mean?

2008-12-03T22:36:00.000-08:00

The following article discusses the meaning of error codes that may appear in your browser window. When a problem occurs loading a webpage, an error code and message will appear in the browser instead of the webpage. The error code and message that appears is determined by the type of error. Typically the error code consists of a 3 to 4 digit number and a brief message describing the error. Below, you will find a list of the common error codes and some suggestions for resolving them.

Note: To see the error code and message, it may be necessary to uncheck Show friendly HTTP error messages in your browser. This is usually found under Tools -> Internet Options -> Advanced.
The following is a description of the most common error messages:

Code Message Description
404 Page Not Found

This error message occurs when the page that is requested does not exist on the server. This can occur if the user mistypes the name of the page, or attempts to load a page that no longer exists. One solution is to create a custom 404 error page that provides the user more detailed information and navigation so they can continue browsing your website.
500 Internal Server Error

This error message occurs when the server fails to process a script that is being run. The error message will typically contain information relating to the script failure. The resolution to this type of error will be based around the additional information provided in the error message. If you do not see additional information, please ensure that Show friendly HTTP error messages is unchecked.
The following is a complete list of client and server error messages:

4xx - Client Error

A client error is one that occurs on the users computer. For example, the user may request a page that does not exist, or the user may not provide valid authentication information.

Code

400 Bad request.
401 Access denied. IIS defines a number of different 401 errors that indicate a more specific cause of the error. These specific error codes are displayed in the browser but are not displayed in the IIS log:
401.1 Logon failed.
401.2 Logon failed due to server configuration.
401.3 Unauthorized due to ACL on resource.
401.4 Authorization failed by filter.
401.5 Authorization failed by ISAPI/CGI application.
401.7 Access denied by URL authorization policy on the Web server. This error code is specific to IIS 6.0.
403 Forbidden. IIS defines a number of different 403 errors that indicate a more specific cause of the error:
403.1 Execute access forbidden.
403.2 Read access forbidden.
403.3 Write access forbidden.
403.4 SSL required.
403.5 SSL 128 required.
403.6 IP address rejected.
403.7 Client certificate required.
403.8 Site access denied.
403.9 Too many users.
403.10 Invalid configuration.
403.11 Password change.
403.12 Mapper denied access.
403.13 Client certificate revoked.
403.14 Directory listing denied.
403.15 Client Access Licenses exceeded.
403.16 Client certificate is untrusted or invalid.
403.17 Client certificate has expired or is not yet valid.
403.18 Cannot execute requested URL in the current application pool. This error code is specific to IIS 6.0.
403.19 Cannot execute CGIs for the client in this application pool. This error code is specific to IIS 6.0.
403.20 Passport logon failed. This error code is specific to IIS 6.0.
404 Not found.
404.0 (None) - File or directory not found.
404.1 Web site not accessible on the requested port.
404.2 Web service extension lockdown policy prevents this request.
404.3 MIME map policy prevents this request.
405 HTTP verb used to access this page is not allowed (method not allowed.)
406 Client browser does not accept the MIME type of the requested page.
407 Proxy authentication required.
412 Precondition failed.
413 Request entity too large.
414 Request-URI too long.
415 Unsupported media type.
416 Requested range not satisfiable.
417 Execution failed.
423 Locked error.
5xx - Server Error

A server error is one that occurs on the server when the page is requested in a browser. The server cannot complete the request because it encounters an error.

Code

500 Internal server error.
500.12 Application is busy restarting on the Web server.
500.13 Web server is too busy.
500.15 Direct requests for Global.asa are not allowed.
500.16 UNC authorization credentials incorrect. This error code is specific to IIS 6.0.
500.18 URL authorization store cannot be opened. This error code is specific to IIS 6.0.
500.100 Internal ASP error.
501 Header values specify a configuration that is not implemented.
502 Web server received an invalid response while acting as a gateway or proxy.
502.1 CGI application timeout.
502.2 Error in CGI application.
503 Service unavailable. This error code is specific to IIS 6.0.
504 Gateway timeout.
505 HTTP version not supported.

Search engine optimization techniques

2008-11-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

Optimizing your website is not really that difficult, there are many search engine optimization techniques, or SEO techniques, that can be employed even by a novice webmaster with limited html skills and the will to learn new things.

This article will deal with the on page search engine optimization techniques, or seo techniques that you employ on your website to make it more search engine friendly. While off page search engine optimization, or SEO that is performed through the use of other websites, such as with link building; is vitally important. Proper optimization of on page elements of your website should be considered the foundation which you build all other search engine marketing (SEM) methods on.

Page title optimization

Of all of the seo techniques that you can employ on your website, the title tag is largely undisputed as being the most important element of on page optimization. The title tag should be different for every page of your website and it should be keyword focused with the most important keywords at the beginning of the title.

It’s somewhat disputed amongst professional SEO’s whether there should be multiple keyword phrases within the title or only the two or three that directly relate to the page that the title represents; as of this moment in time there seems to be proof that either of these methods can be beneficial.

Use of headings

Using the headings tags are considered an important aspect of your website’s optimization. These start out at
and continue down in order of importance to the
tag. While the content contained within headings tags are not weighted as heavily as the title tag, headings still have considerable power for keyword focusing of your content in the eyes of many search engines.

Headings tags should be keyword focused, and as with the page title, important keywords should be kept towards the beginning of the heading tag. Your most important headings should be used with tag and the less important headings can be used with the
tag, tag and so on. An important note, however: your page title and headings should not be identical. Mixing and matching of keyword phrases is the recommended practice when employing our search engine optimization techniques with the title and the headings.

Content is king - website content optimization

Maybe the phrase “content is king” is slightly overdone, and often times it’s used out of context, however, creating keyword focused and optimized content is one of the more important search engine optimization techniques that you can employ for your website.

Keyword focusing is a big factor when optimizing your website content. For instance, this article is about search engine optimization techniques. If you’ll look back and read though this article you’ll notice the phrase search engine optimization techniques purposely being placed throughout the article’s body. This is the keyword focusing aspect of creating optimized website content.

Search engines are pretty smart, and they’re getting smarter every day. What this means for website content optimization is that keyword focusing isn’t enough anymore. In order to help improve the relevancy of your website’s content for certain keywords and phrases, you should also work to incorporate related keyword phrases as well into the content. Taking our example of this articles keyword phrase focus search engine optimization techniques, you’ll notice that phrase as well as SEO techniques and SEO being used in lieu of search engine optimization. Basically, when you’re looking to optimize your website content, you’ll want to use natural substitutions of your main keywords and phrases that you might find on other websites about the same topic.

Use of sitemaps / link directory

Last, but not least on our list of search engine optimization techniques is the use of a website sitemap. There are actually two types of sitemaps that you can use for your website, and we’ll touch on both of them here.
Sitemaps for search engines

Sitemaps built for search engines, such is the case with Google sitemaps, help search engines to easily find all of the pages of your website so that your pages can be indexed. While the use of Google sitemaps is pretty popular amongst a certain sub-culture in the webmaster world, the need for this type of sitemap really isn’t needed. In fact, you can get the same results or even better results from using a different type of sitemap.
Sitemaps for people and search engines

Let’s say you have a fairly large website; some 30 pages, maybe more. It’s generally recommended that every page on your website is no more than two clicks from your homepage. Maintaining a link to every page of your website on your homepage simply isn’t an option when you have a large website for cosmetic reasons, let alone overall user friendliness. In order to achieve the “two clicks” recommendation, you absolutely need a sitemap.

Not only will a sitemap help users find the less popular pages on your website, in terms of search engine optimization techniques, the use of a static sitemap is just a good idea. You also have the ability to work on keyword focusing for the anchor text used to link to your internal pages, another one of the many search engine optimization techniques that will help you improve your website for SEO.

While the search engine optimization techniques listed on this page are not exhaustive, the seo techniques listed here will give you a much needed advantage in improving the overall search engine friendliness of your website. All things considered, using the techniques outlined here will give you a solid foundation for any off page search engine optimization methods that you choose to employ.

7 Basics of Good Web Design

2008-11-06T17:11:00.000-08:00

By: George Peirson

Whether you are just starting a web design project, looking at revamping an existing site, or just wanting to double check the usability of your current web site you should consider these 7 Basics of Good Web Design.

These Basics are aimed at new visitors/customers, your repeat customers will be judging your web site on different values. Just like wearing the appropriate clothes for a job interview, these basics will help you pick out the “look” of your web site so that you make a good first impression.

1. Fast Loading Web Site – Any way you look at it, a fast loading page should be your number 1 concern. The web is all about speed, fast searches, fast purchases, fast information. You can’t have any of that with a slow loading page. Ask yourself this question, have you ever been on Google doing a search for something important and a link you clicked on didn’t open up immediately? What did you do? Patiently wait for the page to open or move onto the next link on the list? My favorite sites open almost immediately.

So, a few suggestions: Make sure that your images are properly optimized. Don’t use very many large images, save those for a different page. Keep any auto-running multimedia to a minimum, offer links to run media instead. Check your code for anything else that could affect your page loading times. Since text loads almost instantly go ahead and use all the text you want, just keep everything else under control.

2. No Meaningless Splash Page – Do you appreciate a fancy animation page that doesn’t tell you anything and you have to wait for before the web site will open? Neither do I. The last thing I want once I find an interesting site is to wait through some animation before getting to the first page. This doesn’t mean that I don’t want multimedia on a site, I do. I just don’t want an animation before the first page that forces me to wait for it to finish before getting onto the site. Its like having to wait for a salesperson to finish their memorized speech before you can ask them a question. No thanks! I like animation, just in the right place and at the right time. Plus if I am a returning customer I will have already seen that animation and don’t need to see it again.

My recommendation is to use a smaller animation contained in your main landing page which also includes your main message and links to the rest of your site. It will make for a faster loading page (smaller file) and your visitors can go ahead with accessing your site without having to wait for the animation to finish.

One final note, never, ever put your logo as the only content on your landing page with a link that says “Enter Site”. This just screams Unprofessional and will drive away potential visitors in droves. The last thing I want to do is to click on another link just to get into the site. This is a total waste of my time. I usually will skip a site if I see this.

3. No Annoying Web Gimmicks – Now that you have your visitor on your site quickly the one thing you don’t want to do is to drive them away just as quickly. So, don’t put anything annoying on that first page. No loud background music that makes them quickly hit the volume control or the back button on their browser. No flashing animations while they are trying to read your content. No popup, flyout, expanding ads that cover your home page. Basically leave the gimmicks alone until you are sure that your visitor will stay on your site. Most casual visitors will leave your site in just a few seconds, no sense on driving them away more quickly.

Multimedia is great on a web site, just don’t bombard your visitor with it first thing. If you want audio then put in a nice picture with a link, like a picture of yourself with text saying something like “Let me tell you how to make $50,000 this month!” If they are interested they will click on the link and listen to your message, if they are not interested in audio then you should be using a different pitch anyway.

Also, monitor what advertisers are putting on your site if you sell ad space. I am sure you have seen those ads with the animated dancing figure, cute the first time you see it. But after seeing it 10,000 times with every imaginable character I have added the company to a list I keep of companies I will never do business with. So their animation has gone from “look at me” to “you annoy me” in my mind. Ads like these will impact your visitor’s experience. So even if your site is perfectly designed, one misplaced ad can ruin all of your hard work.

4. Have a Clear Message – Too many web sites are a mish-mash of content. This is especially true of blog pages. Certain types of sites lend themselves to stream of consciousness content, but most don’t. Make it easy for your viewer to understand what your web site is about, don’t make them guess. Have a clear topic headline, followed by clear and concise text. This is also where a picture is worth a thousand words, but only if the picture directly pertains to your message.

You want your visitor to be able to quickly understand what your message is. If they like your message they will take the time to read the rest of your page and look around your web site. If they don’t like your page, then it won’t do you any good having them stay on your site anyway. So, don’t make your visitors guess, let them know what you are about quickly and cleanly and you will have happy visitors. And when thinking about a sales page, a happy customer is a buying customer.

5. Coordinated Design – This one should be self evident, but it is surprising how many sites change their design for every page. You want your visitor to be comfortable in your site and one way to achieve that is by having a coordinated web design. Having a consistent logo, using a consistent color scheme, keeping your navigation in the same place. All of these help to create a coordinated design. This does not mean that you can’t change colors or the “Look” on different segments of your site, but if you do, the changes should not be so drastic that it feels like you have moved on to a different site.

If you select one place for your logo, one place for your navigation, one look for your buttons or other common graphic elements and stick with those then you will be well on your way to a coordinated design. If you change colors for a different section, but keep the same logo location, the same navigation location, the same button shape then your visitors will not become lost as they move from page to page.

6. Easy Navigation – Once you have grabbed your visitors attention you want them to be able to easily move around the different areas of your web site. This is done with easy to use navigation. There are three standard, accepted locations for navigation elements on a web page: along the top, on the left side, and at the bottom. I will usually put my main navigation either along the top or along the left side. I will then put text based navigation at the bottom of the page, this text based navigation is more for the search engines than anything else, but it also makes it easy for your visitors to move to the next page when they have reached the bottom of the current page.

Most people start reading a page from the top left and then read towards the bottom right. So navigation at the left or top will be seen as soon as someone enters your page. Also navigation at the left or top will not move or change position if the browser window is adjusted in size. The worst thing you can do is to put your main navigation on the right side of the page and have your page set for a large screen size. Let’s say that your page is set for 1024 across with the navigation on the right, and someone views your page at 800 across, they will not see your navigation at all. The left side of your page will show perfectly, but the right side will be hidden outside of their viewing area. Of course by using floating or popup menus you can overcome some of these design limitations and keep your navigation visible at all times.

Unless you know that your audience will enjoy it, don’t use Mystery Navigation. This is where your navigation is hidden within images, or spaced around the web page in some mysterious random order. This can be fun on gaming sites, or social networking sites, but in most cases the navigation should be easy to see and easy to use. If you do want to use Mystery Navigation I would recommend keeping the text based navigation at the bottom of the page, just in case.

7. Have a “Complete” web site – And finally, no one wants to go to a web site only to find that the site is “Under Construction” and the content they are looking for is not there. These are words that you should never use. If a section of your web site is not ready for prime time yet, then simply don’t show it yet. It is better to have your site look complete and professional, then to have it look like a work in progress that should not be up on the web yet.

You can easily tell your visitors that you will be having more content in the future without looking like your site is unfinished. Just use phrases like “Content Updated Weekly” or “New Products Added Monthly”. Both of these will tell your visitors that it would be worth their time to come back and visit at later, but neither one will make your site look unfinished. So no matter how small your web site is, give the impression that you have taken the time to complete the site before putting it up on the internet, this makes for a more professional presentation and a better visitor experience.

In Closing – By following these simple 7 Basics of Good Web Design you will be well on your way to having an easy to use and successful web presence. Just keep in mind what you look for when you first land on a web page after doing a web search in Google or Yahoo, or other search engine. If you want fast loading pages, make sure your pages load fast. If you want to be able to find what you are looking for quickly and easily then make sure you have easy navigation. Just keep your first time visitor in mind, put yourself in their web shoes and make your web site an enjoyable place to visit and success should follow.