On the Web

If you're doing something the world should know about, a web site is the way to tell the world. Getting on the web could seem like a major step or a difficult proposition because the technology involved is new and mysterious, but launching a web site is actually a simple process and a very practical way to communicate with the world or any part of the world, even a single town. Of all the forms of advertising that businesses commonly use, the web is the least expensive. The web is flexible and quick. The simplest web sites can be online in a matter of days, and a web site can be changed as often as necessary to keep its message current.

Think of the communication process from the point of view of people looking for information about you. For them, the ideal medium is one that gives them detailed, authoritative information at any time of the day or night, within minutes of the time they decide they're interested or curious, with little or no cost or effort on their part. The ideal medium is the web. When people want to know, there is no other medium that can completely take the place of a web site.

WHAT IS WEB DESIGN?

The purpose of web design is to present a message in a visual form that anyone anywhere can display in a web browser window. A web design uses visual elements such as type, photographs, colors, lines, and space to create the style of a web page. It connects pages to each other with links.

Web design creates a sense of place for a web site. The idea of place is an illusion because a web site could be anywhere. Still, having a sense of place makes it much easier to find your way around the information on a web site. You can see the web site not as disconnected pieces of information, but as a place to go to learn about a particular subject.

WHAT IS GOOD WEB DESIGN?

Communication is the purpose of the web, so a web design has to put the web site's message first. A design cannot be considered successful if its message is incorrect or confusing. But correct facts and good writing and editing are just the beginning of an effective web site. A well-designed web page follows Internet standards so that it can be viewed by anyone with any current web browser. It is a page that makes sense within the range of window sizes that people commonly use.

A well-designed site is organized to make it easy for the reader to find information. A good web design is built with a style carefully chosen to reinforce the image of the web site owner and with the kind of precision and attention to detail that implies credibility and refinement.

And it does all this in a way that takes advantage of the strengths and avoids the weaknesses of the web format. It makes the right compromises in coding and image compression so that pages load quickly and look sharp.

WHY IS WEB DESIGN SO TRICKY?

Web design is tricky mostly just because it is new. People who think they know about design because they have seen it in magazines or on television have to learn to think a new way when they design for the web. That's because, in a web page, the reader has more control over the appearance of the design. The reader, not the designer, decides the size of the window and the relative size of the type that is displayed. Designers who design with web standards and the web medium in mind avoid the most notorious pitfalls of web design.

The web design tools used by some designers can also make web design more difficult than it really is. These tools make it too easy to violate Internet standards, and they create inefficient code. This results in pages that load slowly and that have parts missing or out of place when seen on some computers. Other pitfalls result from browser programs. No current browser fully complies with all current web standards, so web pages that display correctly in one browser may be incorrect in another browser. Designers try to limit themselves to the most robust web coding in order to avoid or minimize this problem.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A WEB SITE?

Design might be the first thing you see in a web site, but content and delivery are just as important. Content is actually the most important part of a web site — you look at a site for the facts, writing, pictures, and other items of interest that it provides. Content is the starting point of a web site. Design then converts the content to a form that people can see.

After you have content and design for a web site, you still have to deliver the web site. A web site is not available to the world until you put it on the Internet. For that, a web site needs two more things: web hosting, which puts the web files on a web server connected to the Internet, and a domain name, which allows people to find the web site. The web server delivers the web pages and images to people's web browsers as people request them. Usually, a web host provides the web server space. A domain name comes from a company that specializes in registering domain names. The domain name is the connecting link that tells the web browser where to find the web server.

A Lion Tour

Every Lion Station web site design is unique because every web site has its own unique message. The sites listed below are examples of this.

bellydancers.us: directory

Breakfast (this site): publisher site that combines a catalog and online content

Rick Aster: entertainer

Fish Nation Information Station: news blog style

Global Statements: technical information site

Soraya's Mid-East Dance and Music Productions: entertainment for events