Through experience and from reading an excellent book about webpage design
(listed below) I've found that the screen size has a *lot* to do with how
your webpages should be designed. Even though there has been a tendency
toward larger screens in the past few years the majority of available
screens on the average are 13" in diameter. You should plan on having your
message displayed screens of this dimension. Further, as with certain
newspapers (the Wall Street Journal comes to mind since it's the one I read
most frequently), you should make every attempt to have the major points
of the webpage you are designing to appear in the first screenful (remember
13" diag.) and other less important points below (where someone may have to
scroll down to see them). The reason I mentioned the WSJ is that this
paper puts all important points above the fold of the paper and lesser
points below where a reader has to flip the paper over to see them.
Likewise with your webpage design, the pertinent points should be on the
first screen and the lesser ones down where someone will need to scroll to
see them. Also, you should *never* make your pages so long that
someone will need to scroll down 2 or more screen sizes to see all your
points. If your page is going to be long, break it up into subpages with
links off your main page.
I own several books on the subject of webpage creation that you may find
useful to review. Here are the titles (along with the design title I
mentioned above):
Title: Web Sites That Work
Author: Roger Black
Pub: Adobe Press
Copyright: 1997
Title: Web Publishing with HTML 3.2 <--- Used for Reference
Author: Laura Lemay
Pub: Sams Net
Copyright: 1996
Title: HTML: The Definitive Guide
Author(s): Chuck Musciano & Bill Kennedy
Pub: O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
Copyright: 1996
Title: Instant Web Scripts with CGI/PERL <--- Used for Reference
Author(s): Selena Sol and Gunther Berznicks
Pub: M&T Books
Copyright: 1996
-Warren
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Warren Mayer
Internet: wmayer@andromeda.rutgers.edu
wmayer@rci.rutgers.edu
Programmer/Analyst
Rutgers University - Newark Webmaster
Microcomputer Applications, Systems, and Internet Consultant
92 New Street, Rm. 319
Rutgers University-Newark, NJ 07102
Phone: (201) 648-5764 FAX: (201) 648-1246
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