IS_YOUR_WEB_SITE_UNFRIENDLY_PARTS_3_and_4_of_9

IS YOUR WEB SITE UNFRIENDLY? PARTS 3 and 4 of 9 Part 3: Sound Files If you must put MIDI sound files on your page make them so that visitors have to ask to hear the file--maybe by pressing the "start" button. Apart from the fact that visitors may find the music objectionable, there's a good chance: 1 they are surfing late at night or early in the morning when other people are sleeping; 2 they are listening to the radio or a CD and will be irritated when your sound file drowns it; 3 they may even be trying to look busy during a lull at work, and the sound could alert the boss. You will be MOST unpopular. I'm sure I'm not the only surfer who (unable to reach the "stop" button because the page is still loading) just bangs on the close window box until the page goes away. I never return. Part 4: Text; the way it's presented can make or break your page 1. Be consistent with your typeface sizes. Body text should usually be the same size type throughout and headings and subheadings should also be consistent. If you keep jumping from one typeface size to another for no real reason your page will look ugly and might even be difficult to follow. 2. It's a good idea to specify type faces throughout your site so that your pages look the same to visitors as they do to you. If you stick to, say, Times, Ariel and Helvetica you can't go wrong: everybody has these. Of course, most browsers allow visitors to override a webmaster's choice of type, so your site could still look ugly to some people. But that's their problem! 3. Never underline text, even headings. On paper underlining belongs strictly to the typewriter and is regarded as bad typography. On the Web it indicates a link-- unless, of course, the link-underlining feature has been disabled. I don't know how many times I click on underlined text only to find it isn't a link! 4. Don't turn whole sentences into links if you can avoid it. Great chunks of underlined text are difficult to read, as well as being very ugly. 5. Use text in all capitals only for headings, and then use it sparingly. Blocks of text in capitals are difficult to read. Most headings look best with Just Initial Capitals. Remember: If it looks ugly on paper, it looks just as ugly on a monitor. About the author: Laraine Anne Barker writes fantasy for young people. Visit her web site at http://lbarker.orcon.net.nz for FREE stories and novel excerpts. Sign up for the NOVELLA OF THE MONTH CLUB, absolutely FREE!