Web Design and Graphics

What is Web 2.0 ? It is something of a keyword among those who enjoy newer things. I will attempt to distill it into some bite-size chunks of information for you. Hopefully when you are through it will be clear that the answer to the question is simple !

The topic of Web 2.0 is literally churning on the web. What will the future hold
for Web 2.0 as a whole ? Read on as I predict the future of the premier
change in the way computing is done soon, and continuing into the next
few years.

Twitter.com. A relative newcomer to the Web 2.0 foray is starting something
of a “cell-phone-myspace” type of service. You and your friends can be joined
through the use of text messages, using Twitter.com. Twitter is using the Web
2.0 model in a very unique way, and one I like in particular because it is
using mobile technology.

Web 2.0 will be fueled by mobile technology. If you have ever heard of “the mobile
web”, then you no doubt have also heard of mobile browsers, smart handheld
computers, and the like. As these devices become commonplace, other devices
will also be joined to the web using the Web 2.0 model. What type ? Well,
microwaves, refrigerators, fax machines and so forth. Web 2.0 will more
than likely be called something different by the time all electronic
items become connected to the ever growing World Wide Web.

One of the most promising developments of the Web 2.0 change will be the
way people work. The change will be subtle at first, and then more robust
soon afterward. One example that people have already been using has
not been classified under the Web 2.0 model but is nevertheless included ;
internet based email. Yahoo! says theirs is best. MSN started with hotmail.
Google joined in with their G-mail. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Soon, when a person wants to open up something similar to a Word or Excel document, they
will not open up a program on their computer. As Web 2.0 unfolds, a person will
open up a website, and start their work there, and save it. It will be opened,
worked, and saved 100 % online. It becomes immediately available to all
on the “network”. The “network” will of course be the world wide web.

Security issues will arise with the advent of the Web 2.0 model. Having
all work done online instead of inside a traditional setting will mean more
jobs for internet security managers. A “local intranet” will not be nearly
as “local” as it is today. As negative as it may sound, the Web 2.0 security
issues will probably be addressed by governments, as the WWW becomes
a “governed” institution.

Web 2.0 will more than likely be led by an international group, instead of
just having Western influences. Currently those on the technological edge
of all technology are in Europe and Asia. I see this trend continuing.

The Number 1 rule that every web designer should follow is to create a fast loading web site. You might have a great design but very few people are going to see it if it takes a long time to load. While designing a web site always think about how long it will take to load. Try out our tips to build a great looking web site that also loads fast.

1. Minimize the use of images - The key to a fast loading web site is to minimize the use of images. Images do enhance a page but don’t make 80% of your web site only images. Instead break it down as much as possible to simple HTML. Notice the popular sites like Yahoo, Google, Ebay, Amazon etc., they have very few images because the load time is more important. Very often simple designs are the best.
2. Optimize images for the web - Once you have decided on the images that you need on your site, make sure that it is optimized for the web. They should be in the gif or jpeg format. You can also minimize the size of the image by choosing the number of colors you need, from the color palette. The less the colors you choose, the less the size of the image. You can also use online tools like Gif Wizard to optimize your images or to get a recommendation on how to cut down the size of an image.
3. Use Tables creatively - You can get some great looking designs by using tables creatively . Tables load very fast because it is just HTML code. Tables can be used in the homepage, menus or anywhere you like. Check out our homepage and our menus to see how we have used tables in our site.
4. Cut down the use of animated gifs - Don’t use animated gifs unless it is necessary. Animated gifs take a long time to load and can also be very irritating. But since they catch your attention you could use small animated gifs to draw a visitor’s attention to a particular section of your site.
5. Design simple icons - Instead of using big, bulky images use simple and small icons that add a little color and draw the attention of a visitor.

1. Use background images instead of big images whenever possible - Use background images whenever possible. This is usually a very useful tip for headers and footers. Instead of using an image of width 580 which is a uniform design you can use just a part of that as a background fill. This reduces the size of the web page as the image is small. The code will look like this : <tr background=”/images/header_backgroud.gif” width=”100%”>
2. Try out CSS Styles - Have fun with CSS styles to get some cool text effects. Again, a CSS Style is simple HTML code so it loads very fast. You can create cool rollovers using CSS Styles.
   Rollover the text on the right menu to see how we have used CSS Styles to get a simple but nice text effect.
3. Use Flash sparingly - There seems to be a lot of hype about Flash but I recommend that you minimize the use of Flash on a site. Don’t make entire sites using Flash. It may look great but it takes hours to load and can really put off visitors. If you do want to use Flash use it within an HTML site and make sure it loads fast.
4. Design most of your site in HTML - As much as possible try to design your site using HTML. You can create great designs by just using HTML code. Use tables, CSS Styles and simple fonts to design your site. Minimize the use of animated gifs, Flash, bulky images etc.
5. Keep checking your load time - Last but not least, before you decide on the final design of your web site, check its load time on NetMechanic. This site gives you a free analysis of your web site which is extremely useful. We kept using it to improve our site till we got a report that said good loading time!

We learnt these tips while building our web site. We’ve enjoyed sharing them with you and hope that you found them