How to design and write web pages today
HOW TO DESIGN AND WRITE WEB PAGES TODAY Recent Titles in Writing Today How to Write about the Media Today Raúl Damacio Tovares and Alla V Tovares How to Write Persuasively Today Carolyn Davis HOW TO DESIGN AND WRITE WEB PAGES TODAY Karl Stolley Writing Today Copyright © 2011 by Karl Stolley All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stolley, Karl How to design and write web pages today / Karl Stolley p cm — (Writing today) Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-0-313-38038-9 (hardback) — ISBN 978-0-313-38039-6 (ebook) Web sites—Design I Title II Series TK5105.888.S76 2011 006.7—dc22 2010051317 ISBN: 978-0-313-38038-9 EISBN: 978-0-313-38039-6 15 14 13 12 11 This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook Visit www.abc-clio.com for details Greenwood An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC ABC-CLIO, LLC 130 Cremona Drive, P.O Box 1911 Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911 This book is printed on acid-free paper Manufactured in the United States of America To Patricia Sullivan CONTENTS Series Foreword ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xxi PART I WHAT AM I WRITING? Chapter Why Write for the Web? Chapter Reading the Web 13 Chapter Creating Web Content 25 Chapter Standards-Based Web Pages 33 Chapter Preparing to Write and Design 43 PART II ISSUES AND CHALLENGES Chapter Accessibility 57 Chapter Usability 69 Chapter Sustainability 81 viii CONTENTS PART III STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS Chapter Structured Content: XHTML Overview 91 Chapter 10 Presentation and Design: CSS Overview 103 Chapter 11 Rapid Prototyping 121 Chapter 12 Writing with Source in a Text Editor 133 Chapter 13 Page Metadata 147 Chapter 14 Page Branding 159 Chapter 15 Navigation 177 Chapter 16 Text Content 189 Chapter 17 Page Layout 205 Chapter 18 Multimedia Content 225 Chapter 19 Performance and Interaction 235 PART IV PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Chapter 20 Site Architecture 249 Chapter 21 Reusing and Dynamically Generating Content 257 Chapter 22 Dynamic Sites in WordPress 267 Chapter 23 Going Live 275 Chapter 24 Tracking Visitors, Sharing Content 281 Resources for the Future 289 Glossary 295 Index 299 SERIES FOREWORD Writing is an essential skill Students need to write well for their coursework Business people need to express goals and strategies clearly and effectively to staff and clients Grant writers need to target their proposals to their funding sources Corporate communications professionals need to convey essential information to shareholders, the media, and other interested parties There are many different types of writing, and many particular situations in which writing is fundamental to success The guides in this series help students, professionals, and general readers write effectively for a range of audiences and purposes Some books in the series cover topics of wide interest, such as how to design and write Web pages and how to write persuasively Others look more closely at particular topics, such as how to write about the media Each book in the series begins with an overview of the types of writing common to a practice or profession This is followed by a study of the issues and challenges central to that type of writing Each book then looks at general strategies for successfully addressing those issues, and it presents examples of specific problems and corresponding solutions Finally, each volume closes with a bibliography of print and electronic resources for further consultation Concise and accessible, the books in this series offer a wealth of practical information for anyone who needs to write well Students at xviii PREFACE material that you post to your site easier to share with others on Facebook and elsewhere, so as to broaden your identity across the Web • And finally, “Resources for the Future” provides a topical list of additional print and digital publications to consult to extend your knowledge of writing and designing for the Web It also lists links to galleries of Web design to peruse for inspiration, and some suggested Google search terms to help you discover even more resources Because this book is about Web design, it will necessarily cover many technical topics and terms A glossary is provided to help you manage the book’s many technical words and concepts A NOTE ABOUT SCREEN CAPTURES To add visual interest and to illustrate certain concepts or techniques, I have included screen captures of different views of Web pages throughout the book These are all of my own making, because I subscribe to graphic designer Paul Rand’s view that words about art and design are best explained in the presence of the artist’s work The reader, then, can more readily understand what the writer is talking about, and whether opinions expressed are based on empirical or theoretical values.6 The examples I’ve provided from my work are not necessarily great In fact, I’m just as likely to showcase something that I’ve done previously that was bad design as I am to show off an example that was good But in all cases, because the examples are of my own making, I can talk honestly and accurately about how they were made, and why The limitations of print being what they are, I encourage you to look at the live versions of all screen captures, which are available via this book’s companion Web site In the “Resources for the Future” section, as well as on the companion site, there are links to some amazing Web design galleries that you should browse for examples that are far more inspiring than mine PREFACE xix HOW (AND WHERE) TO READ THIS BOOK I have written this book in an environment similar to what I hope you’ll read it in: near the computer, with Web editor and Web site handy, browser open, and ready to try new things, learning at every step You will also want to use your browser to open this book’s illustration- and example-rich companion Web site at http://sustainableweb design.com/book/ The companion site features • a Rapid Prototyping Kit (RPK) for building your Web site, • live versions of the examples in this book (plus others), • up-to-date instructions for working with different technologies, and • notes about any corrections or modifications to the content of this book You can, of course, read this book straight through But I suggest you begin with the “What Am I Writing?” section Next, read quickly through the “Issues and Challenges” section, so that you at least expose yourself to some of the key concerns of Web writing and design Then, download the RPK and, with your text editor and Web browser handy, start working through the “Strategies for Success” section, planning and building your own basic pages, fixing any mistakes (we all make them!), and sketching out page designs for your Web site You might want to revisit the “Issues and Challenges” section before moving on to the early chapters of “Problems and Solutions.” As you get down to the work of building your site, work through Chapter 20 to learn how to develop an organized architecture for your site Refer also to the Web-available instructions mentioned in that chapter for getting your own local Web server set up on a USB drive, so that you can better test and design your pages before going live If you’re enthusiastic about the idea of running your own WordPressdriven site, read through Chapters 21 and 22; otherwise, save those for later and look at Chapter 23 and how to go about publishing your Web site to the open Web Finally, Chapter 24 will guide you in ways to both technologically and legally simplify how others may share your content, extending your identity and reach across the Web .. .HOW TO DESIGN AND WRITE WEB PAGES TODAY Recent Titles in Writing Today How to Write about the Media Today Raúl Damacio Tovares and Alla V Tovares How to Write Persuasively Today Carolyn... topics of wide interest, such as how to design and write Web pages and how to write persuasively Others look more closely at particular topics, such as how to write about the media Each book in... Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stolley, Karl How to design and write web pages today / Karl Stolley p cm — (Writing today) Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-0-313-38038-9