Web creation for beginners - FAQs

Due to budget cutbacks, many campus staff have been asked to take on new responsibilities—including creating and maintaining web sites. We've developed this FAQs list to help you get started. If you don't see your question answered here, please let us know.

Platform

What kind of computer should I buy to create and maintain my site?

PC! More than 90 percent of the campus audience view sites on PCs. You'll save a lot of time if you start by seeing things the way your audience does.

If you don't have the option of deciding which computer platform to purchase, you can still create a great web site on a Macintosh or a Linux box; you'll just want to make sure you have access to a PC to check your work.

Test, test, test!

Regardless of your chosen platform, test your web pages on as many browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Mozilla, Safari, and Opera are some of the most popular) and platforms (Mac and PC are the most common) as you can to make sure it is cross-browser and cross-platform compatible. Be sure to check your site logs so you know which browsers and platforms your audience is using most.

Browsers and resolution

What are the most popular web browsers ?

You should check your site logs (see Analysis below) to find out what your specific audience is using, but to get an overview of the most used web browsers and screen resolutions, check out W3Schools browser statistics page.

Analysis

What's a site log and how should I be using it?

Site logs tell you who is visiting your site, where they come from, and what they download.

Your web server keeps track of all of the site visits in "log files," but you'll want a software package to to analyze those log files for you.

Log-file analyzer packages

Free

Analog and
AWStats are both popular and free
Sawmill (normally costs $139, but faculty and staff can download Sawmill for free from the CITES web store). According to Webmonkey's site-log article, "Sawmill is not as feature-rich as WebTrends, and it may not look as pretty, but it certainly gets the job done. "

For purchase

These high-end packages can help you perform in-depth web analytics.

Want more in-depth information? Read Webmonkey's site log article.

Software

What software should I use to create my site?

Public Affairs professionals recommend using Adobe Dreamweaver and Fireworks together.

Users of Microsoft's FrontPage or Adobe's GoLive are welcome to submit brief testimonials for those options. If you aren't sure what to try, you might want to read this article debating the pros and cons of different packages.

Calendars

I've heard you have a calendar tool. Where can I find it?

Any faculty or staff member can create an online calendar using our free dynamic calendar tool. Customize the calendar to match your site's design or use the predesigned campus templates available through the tool.

Any faculty, staff, or student can create events in the calendar, once the owner gives them permission.

See calendars created by campus departments using the tool
Log-in to use the tool
Read more about the Toolbox

Forms and surveys

I need to run a survey or make a registration form. How can you help me?

With Web Services' form-builder and survey tools you can set-up online registration forms, surveys, feedback forms, or any other type of form you need.

Log-in to use the tool
Read more about the Toolbox

Accessibility

I've heard I have to make my site accessible to disabled users. What do I need to do?

Redesign

If you're creating or redesigning a site, check out the recommended accessibility guidelines by Jon Gunderson, coordinator for Assistive Communication and Information Technology for Disability Resources and Educational Services. You can also view his presentations with OPM online.

Text-only

If you have an existing site and no current plans for a redesign, you can still improve the accessibility of your site. The campus has purchased LIFT, a software package that automatically generates a text-only version of any campus site, and offers this easy-to-use technology free to all departments.

This is also a great solution for making your site accessible to PDAs and cell phones.

Read the instructions on how to use LIFT.

Images

What should I know about creating and editing images for the web?

Check out our image FAQs.

Fonts

Where can I buy fonts? Better, yet, where can I get them for free?

If you want an entire library of fonts, you can contact the MicroOrder Center and get Adobe's full FontFolio.

NOTE: this is not listed on their web site; you must call their office at 244-7938 and fill out a request form. It is extra work, but jumping through a few hoops for the university discount will save you about $4,700.

If you need just a few fonts, you can download free fonts from

1001freefonts.com

or buy them online from

Want more options? See UCDA’s list of font houses.

Colors

Should I stick to the web-safe 256-color palette?

Because of the limitations of the 256-color palette and the ability of most monitors to show more than 256 colors, web designers have largely abandoned it in favor of testing. Public Affairs recommends designing for the needs of the project and then testing on 256-color settings, black-and-white, Macintosh screens, and laptops, to see how your design holds up in all of these environments.

CSS

Where can I find out more about CSS?

From our CSS resources page.

The Campus Webmasters' group frequently has brownbags on CSS as well, so keep an eye on the Webmasters' site.

If you have further questions, or comments, contact Creative Services.