Today I am looking at Smart Webby, which is a design guide web site that has lots of free tutorials. More importantly, the tutorials are written at a very basic level so anyone can follow them; to this end, all web terms are defined at the beginning of the articles so that novices can find what they are looking for without being entirely familiar with the lingo. The articles state that familiarity with the software will help, but honestly they are so clear I feel even a complete beginner can follow along.
The choice of tutorials includes a surprising variety, from Dreamweaver to Flash and Fireworks. Within each category the options are further refined to include specific functions, such as creating rollovers and pop-up windows. I have to admit, I didn't realize that Dreamweaver would write the code for the latter--I thought that was definitely a feature you had to manually enter. Other particularly useful files include the tips lists for effective navigation and layouts. For example, the point is made in the former that too many links will confuse and overwhelm a visitor and therefore extra (secondary) links should be stored in drop-down menus. They also make the point that if you want to remain flexible in your ability to add additional links that drop-down menus are the best way to do this. Truthfully, I wish I had thought more about that point in my own web design. I have an airtight arrangement for my links that looks good, but there is absolutely no room for additional categories later on. This is something I may need to eventually consider as it is likely that new products might demand new categories. For now though, the navigation will stand.
As for the other tips, clean layout, optimum load time, scalability, and compatibility with multiple browsers make sense. As for minimizing graphics, I have mixed feelings. I totally agree that clip art, useless animations, and extra non content-related garbage can go. I also feel, however, that pictures can illustrate many good ideas and that well-placed scripts such as unobtrusive slideshows, forms, etc. are some of what can give your site personality. Slower running, perhaps, but that's where optimizing the code and graphics (another recommendation from the list) can help.
As for the Smart Webby site, it looks pretty good. The text is very large with ample line spacing, which makes it quite easy to read. This is good because it makes it likely users will stick around to view several tutorials. Of course, you could argue that the size is overkill, as a smaller version would be alright as well. Then again, I have great eyesight… The page is also very colorful and rather fun, but not to an obnoxious level. The textures (clouds and vines with flowers) are whimsical and align perfectly with the judiciously placed rainbow background colors. The repetition of those colors in the navigation, account, and news boxes helps tie the page elements together. Even the black top navigation bar, which originally I thought might be out of place, is echoed in the footer. Bottom line, balance and repetition are key to making all the disparate elements on this page gel in a professional manner; it does this, while still maintaining a sense of whimsy and fun, which are nice elements to take the scary out of web design topics.
Check out Smart Webby here:
www.smartwebby.com/
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