3.2 Guidelines

The aim of the first steps of this tutorial will be to create a text-only site consisting in six pages; an index and five pages related to:

We'll follow a pair of simple guidelines.

Provide a common "look and feel" to our site

Many sites keep a consistent "look & feel" throughout their pages in order to provide a better user experience. At the very beginning of the tutorial, we are going to create a pair of standard HTML files containing a header and a footer. These files will be included in every page of the site. They will be completely text-based so don't expect a strong visual impact. When, later in the tutorial, we'll add graphics, every page belonging to our site will have a common, well-defined look.

Provide an easy navigation scheme

Every page's header will display links to other pages; this way, users won't need to go back to the index to reach other pages, nor use their browser's 'back' button. Remember that many users will reach your sites from search engines, or from links published on other sites: it's a good thing to give them an idea of where they are within the site, and where they can go. Otherwise they'll probably simple take a look at the page and go away.

This manual can be downloaded from http://www.g-cows.org/.