[introduction] 1. [navigation] 2. [privacy policy] 3. [contact information] 4. [logos and graphics] 5. [fonts] 6. [make it sticky] 7.[newsletter] 8. [browsers] 9.[resolution] 10.[index or home page]

Introduction
Here are just some things that need to be included in your website. Follow these tips and they will help you create a successful web site which visitors will return to time and time again.

1. Navigation

• Keep it simple (KIS) 
  
  
• Make sure your navigation is consistent from page to page. 
  
  
• Always include a small text menu at the bottom of  every page. 
  
  
• Don't design your navigation with Flash. 
  People who don't have or want the Flash plug-in, won't be able to navigate your site. In addition, search engine spiders can't read Flash, so won't be able to spider the individual pages of your site. This means the search engines will not find you!

2. Privacy Policy

• If you collect any type of  information from your visitors (even if it's  just an email address) you must include a  privacy policy even if it is just to say that you will keep their information confidential.



• There are many privacy templates available on the internet. Here is one I have found on the Internet but it is NOT my recommendation:

  http://www.bbbonline.org/privacy/sample_privacy.asp

  Perhaps if you find any useful Privacy Policies, perhaps you could let me know? Email me!

• Once you have created your privacy policy, post a link to it on every page of your site.



• Further reading on Privacy Policies can be found at: 
• http://www.aftab.com/privacypolicyguide.html
• http://www.epic.org/reports/surfer-beware.html - Surfer Beware:
  Personal Privacy and the Internet
• http://www.perfectlyprivate.com/easy_template.asp
• http://www.workz.com/content/81.asp
• http://www.historyhouse.com/about/privacy.asp
• http://www.webmastersdirectory.com/articles/electronic_commerce/312.shtml

3. Contact Information
Nothing drives people more insane than searching through an entire web site to find contact information. Why have a web site if you don't want people to contact you? This is what you should do:

• All contact information should be on the Home Page ie. the first one they see when they arrive at your web site



• The contact information should include:
  Name of School
  

  Address including post code
  

  Telephone Number
  

  Fax Number
  

  Email address

 
• The contact information should be at the bottom of each page



• There should be a simple hot linked email address without a form to fill in if people wish to contact you

4. Logos and Graphics

• Logos, drawings and photographs are referred to as "graphics". Your logo is part of your identity and graphics/photographs are essential to keep your site lively and interesting. Unless you are creating a photographic gallery don't use too many photos. Think about one photo per page. If a number of photos are required for a page, experiment and see how long it takes to appear on your screen.
  
  
• It is important to keep your graphics down to a reasonable size. People who surf the web have the attention of a nanosecond and will not wait for your logo, no matter how beautiful it is, to load on their screen. Think about the following:
  
  

keep the actual size  of your graphic,  (ie. width and height), as small as is reasonable. Re-size your graphics with a program such as Photoshop, PaintShop Pro or Paint (you will find this in Accessories if you are using a PC.) You can also use a free program called 20/20 to re-size photos. You can download 20/20 from: www.hotfreeware.com

compress your graphics using a graphics program such as Photoshop or Paintshop. 

think about using "thumbnails" which can be expanded into larger photos in a separate window. This gives readers the choice of whether they want to view a particular photo.

try to use photos with a file size of no more than 20k

5. Fonts
Use standard fonts which everyone can see. The standard fonts are:

Arial

Verdana

Times New Roman

If you use other fonts the reader won't see your intended fonts.
If you must have a particular font you will have to turn it into a graphic to keep its look. However, if you do this, remember the Search Engine spiders do not "see" graphics and therefore you reduce the amount of text that will be catalogued about your site. This could affect your position in the Search Engines.

6. Make It Sticky
Making your web site sticky means making it interesting enough so that people will want to return it. This is a school web site so there will be lots of ways and reasons for people to return to your site such as:

teaching resources

learning resources 

information for Alumni

school news

a discussion forum

may be even your own chat room etc

7. Newsletter

• If you're going to have a website it's a good idea to offer a newsletter. Many schools already send out regular paper-based newsletters through the children. How many of these get stuck at the bottom of the school bag? It's likely your newsletter will have been word processed so why not send out one electronically? Many parents would appreciate actually getting the newsletter for a change!
  
  
• You could also consider sending out a newsletters to your alumni. 
  
  
• If your site has teaching or learning resources, what about a newsletter for teachers who visit your site? You could send it out when you add something to your site?
  
  
• Electronic newsletters or ezines help to keep your site fresh in people's minds and establish trust and credibility.
  
  
• If you decide to do this, you will have to start collecting emails. The most obvious is to ask people for their email address as part of the regular contact information. For visitors to your site, you will need to collect this information on your web site.
  
  
• For more information and a template on how to start your own ezine see: http://wus0.com/c.go?bc=1182110

and my Resources Page

8. Browsers
Make sure your web site is suitable for all browsers. Your web site will look different in different browsers. Internet Explorer has about 80% of the market. The rest is made up of other browsers such as Netscape and Opera. You will want everyone to be able to view your web site without any problems. You can check what your web site looks like in other browsers at:

Any Browser.com - http://www.anybrowser.com/

9. Resolution

• The size or resolution of your monitor is measured in pixels. Most modern monitors are 800x600 pixels or higher. 



• However we are talking about schools here! There are many schools with old monitors with a resolution of 640x480. Some schools even if they have a modern monitor forget to alter the resolution from 640x480 to 800x600 pixels. 



• (You can alter the setting of your monitor by selecting "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", double click on Display, left click on the "Settings" tab and then moving the slider on the "Screen Area" by holding down the left mouse button and dragging the slider to your required resolution. It would be worth checking to see what resolution your monitor is set to.)



• So which resolution should you build your site for?
  Check what resolution the monitors in your school are. If the majority are 640x480 and you can't alter it, it makes sense to build your site to this resolution. However, if you have modern monitors, I suggest 800x600 is a reasonable compromise for the majority of people out there. A small minority will have to scroll right and left on your site but most people will be able to view it comfortably even those with larger resolutions.



• You could alter the resolution on your own computer and look at your first page in different resolutions. This will give you a good idea how other people will view your web site.

On the very first page or Home page your opening paragraph should answer the "5" Ws:

1. Who you are
2. What you are offering
3. What you do
4. What's in it for me - the surfer?
5. Why you are there

You must answer these questions fast or your visitors will be gone!
Remember these 10 tips when building your website and you will create a successful site that visitors will want to return to, and leave in pure frustration.