John Grove - Web Authoring

	With regards web-authoring I'm self-taught - with a lot of help from books and friends on the internet.
	FrontPage is still my preferred web authoring package. Not as clever as Dream Weaver (the ultimate web software), but quick and easy to use on a day to day basis.
Having created your web site, next you have to upload it to your web server. I find Terrapin to be the easiest to use, and it automatically uploads changes every day in seconds. Terrapin have a very helpful technical team, who've done an awful lot to sort out problems in the past.
One of the most important things is to have a site that doesn't take a week to download. In fact, any page that takes more than a minute to download, and you've lost your audience! Always play to the lowest common denominator. Assume your visitor has the most basic facilities, has the slowest connection on the planet, and knows almost nothing about the internet! Forget all the flashy animated graphics. All you want is some attractive little pictures and some text that works! And the emphasis is on little pictures - oversize images could be your biggest downfall.
	Some popular misconceptions about images: Just because the image size is small on the screen, it doesn't mean the file is! All the images on this page are around 40K. Click here for a quick demo of image sizes. It's important that you sample your image to the size you intend keeping. Resizing an image more than once has a tendency to degrade the image. I capture my images with 10% compression, but at only 72dpi - the internet cannot display any higher than 72dpi. Scan your photo image in true colour, with some sharpening of the image as you do so. It's better to scan an image all over again, rather than try tweaking an image you're unhappy with (see above).
Some useful tips about organising your web site: Organise your site logically. Try juggling the pages about on pieces of paper first, starting with the index page and perhaps sub indexes if you've lots to say. If any of your pages start getting too long, or involve too many images, split them up into sections. It may be a logistical nightmare for you in the development of your site, but it'll make it far easier for the reader! Always make sure you've sensible links to each page. Web authoring packages like FrontPage make this task easier with navigation tabs.
	I would not recommend using frames in the design of your site. Web search engines have a nasty habit of finding pages on a frame site WITHOUT the index page to make any sense! Create your web site in stages - you can always tweak and add things later, as indeed I do all the time! The beauty of web design, is that it's so easy to change things! Choose a fairly neutral background, and use a font in an appropriate colour. It's important to keep the same colour and format theme throughout your site - please resist changing formats from page to page. Remember - your site may not look the same on other people's computers! It's very important that you make friends with other web designers (preferably with a similar level of understanding as yourself). We're always passing helpful comments on each other's sites.