does your website suck?
* of course it does!
mine does, too. my knowledge of scripting is very basic, my HTML is dirty, i'm too lazy to use 'alt' tags, and my pages are void of any interactive javascript. my site looks hideous on a PC and my text is too lenghty, obviously. yep, i would go on, but i can't type worth a damn either...
 :
many MSNTV sites look as if made by the same person. the black backgrounds, centering, framed images, animated names, you name it . what's up with that? |
:
stop sleeping with your cousins! a site should express your individuality. it's a place to shine your soul, dreams, fears, your unique lack of good taste. |
PC users have it easy. to build a decent website, they have the advantage of the click and drop functions of a mouse and use of editing programs. absolutely no knowledge of HTML is required for page building.
believe it or not, many professional web designers have no idea how to write codes, they totally rely upon expensive programs to do their work. to build websites, msntv users must learn HTML from scratch.
thankfully, the webtv community is tiny and behaves like a village. it is a tightly knit group with an incredible amount of creativitiy and know-how.
knowledge of HTML and other codes are readily shared like family recipes. around every corner lurks a soul willing to help another.
the advantage to writing HTML and other page codes is that one has total control of the format of one's site. many humble users are now virtual masters in table codes, HTML, CCS and javascript. there now are scores of discussion groups and websites hosted by folks who propagate theses tricks of the trade.
put your morals aside, because you gotta steal. to learn, you gotta steal. to get creative, you gotta steal. to achieve quality, you gotta steal. 8images, source codes, text: steal it all.
take a page of tables and add your own dimensions and colors, swipe an image and manipulate the goobers out of it. it's all your for the taking. i said so.
the same concept applies to folks stealing from you. please don't cry, you've been paid the biggest compliment ever.
besides, sharing is caring.
we build our sites as if viewers are going to scope over every nook and cranny, but this is hardly ever the case.
we don't read webpages, we scan them. we scan for anything interesting or familiar. a gif here, a phrase there. if we see nothing of interest we click on.
the way you move around the web has nothing to do with the way other folks surf. some people don't scroll down! some hit the 'back' key after 3 seconds (me).
you know your site inside and out, but the only way to see how others browse your site is to shut up and look over their shoulders. you might be shocked.
the big skinny script font used for a link might be totally ignored because the viewer thinks it is just a decoration. stuff happens.
"
friends
don't
let
friends
build
crappy
pages.
"
there are two groups of professional web designers who are constantly bickering about what a website should be consist of; a vehicle of information or a visual delight. it's the age-old argument of form vs. function. those stupid jerks. just find a happy medium that suits you. if you're happy , then i'm happy.
by the way, most designers agree that a site should have a unifying theme, color scheme and design throughout an entire site. you won't find that here. i've made each page different to try to inspire, and also because it's so much more fun.
you make a brother wanna weep. all those tags you've sweated to learn, but you insist on creating yet another F-key saver, another table wall of links, a collection of lame gifs. there are thousands of those kinda sites, why isn't there a site about you? about you, for you, by you.
