html commandments

[Cathy Carr <ccarr -at- OVID -dot- COM>]

To:   techwr-l @ listserv.okstate.edu
cc:
Subject:  html commandments


--Thou shalt know whom thy audience is and keep their concerns, needs, and
desires first, if you want them to return to your site;

--Thou shalt go in and view all pages before posting to make sure all
graphics show up and all links work;

--Thou shalt view thy work on as many different browsers and from as many
platforms as possible, and be amazed at the differing results;

--Thou shalt keep thy links current and (if appropriate) keep thy content
up-to-date;

--Thou shalt proofread the pages, even though--verily--this be a pain in
the posterior, and correct the spelling and grammatical errors found
therein;

--Thou shalt remember that not all surfers surf from an ISDN connection;
thou shalt remember those with low modem speeds, and honor them by keeping
large and unnecessary graphics and midi files off the first page of your
web site (and warning users when when these bandwidth-eaters do appear);

--Even better, thou shalt consider offering a low-bandwidth site, if your
main pages muncheth bandwidth and your resources allow maintenance of both
sites;

--Thou shalt use such design tools as frames, blinks, and animated gifs
cautiously and appropriately, and only after taking the advice of a person
with artistic good taste, if none of your own you find;

--Thou shalt remember that often pages with colored text on black
background do not print;

--Thou shalt remember that people come back most often to web pages they
find genuinely useful.

Cheers,
Cat

Cathy Carr
Documentation Specialist
Ovid Technologies, Inc.
1/212/563-3006 or 1/800/950-2035 (ext. 323)
http://www.ovid.com

 TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot-  Send commands
   to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
  Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/  or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html