web server:- examples

Apache HTTP Server

Apache HTTP Server (also referred to as simply "Apache") has, at the time of wri
ting, been the most popular web server on the web since 1996. Apache is develope
d and maintained by the Apache Software Foundation, which consists of a decentra
lized team of developers. The software is produced under the Apache licence, whi
ch makes it free and open source.
Apache is available for a range of operating systems, including Unix, Linux, Nov
ell Netware, Windows, Mac OS X, Solaris, and FreeBSD.
Apache HTTP Server website: http://httpd.apache.org
Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)
IIS is, at the time of writing, the second most popular web server on the web. I
t is however, gaining market share, and if the current trend continues, it won't
be long before it overtakes Apache.
IIS comes as an optional component of most Windows operating systems. You can in
stall IIS by using Add/Remove Windows Components from Add or Remove Programs in
the Control Panel.
Microsoft IIS website: http://www.microsoft.com/iis
Sun Java System Web Server
Based on the Sun One Web Server, the Sun Java System Web Server is designed for
medium to large business applications. Sun Java System Web Server is available f
or most operating systems.
Sun Java System Web Server website: http://www.sun.com/software/products/web_srv
r/home_web_srvr.xml

How Web Servers Work

Whenever you view a web page on the internet, you are requesting that page from
a web server. When you type a URL into your browser (for example, "http://www.qu
ackit.com/html/tutorial/index.cfm"), your browser requests the page from the web
server and the web server sends the page back:

The above diagram is a simplistic version of what occurs. Here's a more detailed
version:
Your web browser first needs to know which IP address the website "www.quackit.c
om" resolves to. If it doesn't already have this information stored in it's cach
e, it requests the information from one or more DNS servers (via the internet).
The DNS server tells the browser which IP address the website is located at. Not
e that the IP address was assigned when the website was first created on the web
server.
Now that the web browser knows which IP address the website is located at, it ca
n request the full URL from the web server.
The web server responds by sending back the requested page. If the page doesn't
exist (or another error occurs), it will send back the appropriate error message
.
Your web browser receives the page and renders it as required.
When referring to web browsers and web servers in this manner, we usually refer
to them as a client (web browser) and a server (web server).
Multiple Websites
A web server can (and usually does) contain more than one website. In fact, many
hosting companies host hundreds, or even thousands of websites on a single web
server. Each website is usually assigned a unique IP address which distinguishes
it from other websites on the same machine. This IP address is also what the DN
S server uses to resolve the domain name.
It is also possible to configure multiple websites without using different IP ad
dresses using host headers and/or different ports. This can be useful in a devel
opment environment and is quite easy to do.
Page Not Found
If the requested page isn't found, the web server sends the appropriate error co
de/message back to the client.
You can create user friendly error messages, then configure your web server to d
isplay that page instead of the usual error page. This can add a nice touch to y
our website. How many times have you (or even worse, your visitors) encountered
a plain white page with some cryptic error message on it?
It's very easy to create custom error pages, then configure your web server to u
se them.
Default Documents
If you've ever created a website, you may have found that if you have an "index"
file (index.html for example), you don't need to specify the name of the file.
For example, the following URLs both load the same page:
http://www.quackit.com/html/tutorial
http://www.quackit.com/html/tutorial/index.cfm
In this example, "index.cfm" is the default document. You can configure your web
server so that any file name can be the default document. For example, you coul
d configure your web server to use "index.cfm" in the event no filename has been
specified, or if you use PHP, "index.php". You could even specify different def
ault documents for different directories if you like.
SSL Certificates
You can apply SSL certificates against a website via the web server. First you n
eed to generate the certificate either by yourself (i.e. using a certificate gen
erator), or by a Certificate Authority (CA). Then, once it has been generated, y
ou apply it to your website via your web server. Applying an SSL certificate to
a website is a straight forward task.
Once you've applied an SSL certificate against a website, you can navigate it us
ing HTTPS (as opposed to HTTP). HTTPS encrypts any data that is transferred over
the internet. This reduces the possibility of some malicious person being able
to read your users' sensitive information.
To navigate a website using HTTPS, you simply replace the HTTP with HTTPS at the
start of the URL in your browsers' location bar ("https://www.quackit.com")
Web Servers - Features
There's a common set of features that you'll find on most web servers. Because w
eb servers are built specifically to host websites, their features are typically
focussed around setting up and maintaining a website's hosting environment.
Most web servers have features that allow you to do the following:
Create one or more websites. (No I don't mean build a set of web pages. What I m
ean is, set up the website in the web server, so that the website can be viewed
via HTTP)
Configure log file settings, including where the log files are saved, what data
to include on the log files etc. (Log files can be used to analyse traffic etc)
Configure website/directory security. For example, which user accounts are/aren'
t allowed to view the website, which IP addresses are/aren't allowed to view the
website etc.
Create an FTP site. An FTP site allows users to transfer files to and from the s
ite.
Create virtual directories, and map them to physical directories
Configure/nominate custom error pages. This allows you to build and display user
friendly error messages on your website. For example, you can specify which pag
e is displayed when a user tries to access a page that doesn't exist (i.e. a "40
4 error").
Specify default documents. Default documents are those that are displayed when n
o file name is specified. For example, if you open "http://localhost", which fil
e should be displayed? This is typically "index.html" or similar but it doesn't
need to be. You could nominate "index.cfm" if your website is using ColdFusion.
You could also nominate a 2nd choice (in case there is no index.cfm file), and a
3rd choice, and so on.
Example Web Server
Here's an example of the "Properties" dialog box from Microsoft IIS. This box is
displaying the properties for a single website. To display the box, I simply ri
ght-clicked on the website and selected "Properties".
You can see that the website has been configured to use the local path of c:\ine
tpub\wwwroot. What this means is that when you update your website, you need to
place your files and folders within that directory. As soon as you do that, your
changes will take effect on your website. Of course, if this is your developmen
t environment, you can simply edit the files straight from that directory.
Web Servers - Advantages
There are many advantages to using a web server within your development environm
ent. Of course, in a production hosting environment, a web server is essential.
And, depending on your website, a web server could indeed be essential in your d
evelopment environment.
When I say "development environment", I'm referring to a copy of your website, u
sually on your local machine, that you use to perform updates before you commit
them to the live (production) environment.
In practice, you could have many copies of your website for different purposes (
such as testing, training, protypes etc), but let's just call it "development en
vironment" for now.
Here are some advantages of using a web server within your development environme
nt:
Your local website behaves more like the live one. For example, you can configur
e directory security, test your custom error pages etc before commiting them to
the production environment.
You can use server-side scripting languages such as PHP and ColdFusion.
Allows you to standardize your coding. For example, you can use root-relative pa
ths for your image references and hyperlinks (i.e. "/directory/image.gif"). In o
ther words, your paths can represent the website structure, rather than the dire
ctory structure of your computer.
Knowledge. The knowledge you gain from using your own web server will help you u
nderstand how it works in the live environment. This will most certainly help yo
u when you need to communicate with your hosting provider - you'll be able to us
e terminology that makes it easier for them to understand your request/issue.
Viewing HTML Files Without a Web Server
When someone learns how to code HTML, chances are, one of the first things they
learn to do is how to view their (newly created) HTML file. They will learn that
you can simply double click on the HTML file, and this will launch it in their
web browser. And from that point on, they can view their web page/website as it
was intended to be viewed.
Here are some examples of what the URL could look like when viewing a web page w
ithout a web server:
file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Homer%20Simpson/My%20Documents/index.html
file:///C:/Inetpub/wwwroot/index.html
These examples are using the file protocol in order to display the files.
Viewing HTML Files With a Web Server
One problem with the above method is that, you're not viewing the website using
the HTTP protocol (you're using the file protocol instead).
Now, this isn't normally a problem if you're only using client side languages su
ch as HTML, CSS, and client-side JavaScript. But it is a problem if you're tryin
g to use a server-side language such as PHP, ColdFusion etc.
Also, even if you're not using a server-side language, it could still cause you
problems with developing a website that behaves exactly how it should on the web
.
When you view a web page via a web server, the URL begins with "http://". Also,
the URL will consist of either an IP address or a domain name/host name.
Here are some examples of what the URL could look like when viewing a web page v
ia a web server:
http://127.0.0.1
http://localhost
http://www.quackit.com
http://dev.quackit.com
When you first set up a web server, you can usually navigate to your default web
site using http://localhost or http://127.0.0.1. When you add more websites, yo
u'll need to create your own URLs for them (via a DNS server or Hosts file), the
n assign that URL to your websites via your web server.
What Is A Web Server?
A web server is a piece of software that enables a website to be viewed using HT
TP. HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) is the key protocol for the transfer of d
ata on the web. You know when you're using HTTP because the website URL begins w
ith "http://" (for example, "http://www.quackit.com").
You might be thinking "I always thought a web server was a special, high-powered
computer". Well, you'd be right too. Some high-powered computers are referred t
o as web servers as they have been built with web hosting in mind. But in most c
ases, when someone refers to a web server, they are referring to a piece of soft
ware that you install on a computer.
What Does a Web Server Look Like?
That depends on which web server you choose to install. Here's an example of Mic
rosoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.1 looks like:
The left pane represents the various websites, FTP sites, and SMTP virtual serve
rs. When an item in the left pane is selected, the contents are displayed in pan
e on the right hand side.
In the above screenshot, there is one website (called "Default Web Site"), one F
TP site (called "Default FTP Site"), and one SMTP virtual server (called "Defaul
t SMTP Virtual Server").
You can right click on an item to display it's properties. For example, you can
right click on "Default Web Site" to display (and configure) the properties of t
hat website.
Do I Need A Web Server?
If you maintain your own web site I recommend you install a web server on your o
wn development machine. That way you can configure your development environment
to be closer to your live environment.
Also, if you intend to use server-side technologies such as PHP or ColdFusion, y
ou will definitely need a web server.
Web Servers are Easy!
You might also be thinking that web servers are way too advanced for you - that
they are only used by professional web developers and/or hosting companies. Plea
se don't think that!
Think of a web server as simply another piece of software you can install on you
r machine. Once you install it, you can configure it to suit your needs.
And, depending on your computer set up, you may even find that you already have
a web server on your machine.
Now, having declared that "web servers are easy!", there are many advanced topic
s regarding web servers. I won't be going into any detail in this tutorial. You
can get a web server up and running on your machine with a minimum of technical
knowledge. Then once you've done that, you'll start to become familiar with the
various options available to you. Then if required, you can research the more ad
vanced topics to suit your needs (such as security, load issues, logging etc)
How to create a website!
OK, lets get straight into it. Here, you will learn just how easy it is to creat
e a web page. In fact, by the time you've finished with this web page, you will
have created your own web page!
When you create a web page you will usually do something like this:
Create an HTML file
Type some HTML code
View the result in your browser
Repeat the last 2 steps (if necessary)
Creating a Webpage
OK, let's walk through the above steps in more detail.
Create an HTML file
An HTML file is simply a text file saved with an .html or .htm extension (i.e. a
s opposed to a .txt extension).
Open up your computer's normal plain text editor (this will probably be Notepad
if you're using Windows or TextEdit if you're using a Mac). You could use a spec
ialized HTML editor such as DreamWeaver or FrontPage if you prefer.
Create a new file (if one wasn't already created)
Save the file as html_tutorial_example.html
Type some HTML code
Type the following code:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/st
rict.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title>HTML Tutorial Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>Less than 5 minutes into this HTML tutorial and
I've already created my first homepage!</p>
</body>
</html>
View the result in your browser
Either...
Navigate to your file then double click on it
...OR...
Open up your computer's web browser (for example, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Ne
tscape etc).
Select File > Open, then click "Browse". A dialogue box will appear prompting yo
u to navigate to the file. Navigate to the file, then select "Open".
Repeat the last 2 steps until you're satisfied with the result
It's unrealistic to expect that you will always get it right the first time arou
nd. Don't worry - that's OK! Just try again and again - until you get it right.
Explanation of code
OK, before we get too carried away, I'll explain what that code was all about.
We just coded a bunch of HTML tags. These tags tell the browser what to display
and where. You may have noticed that for every "opening" tag there was also a "c
losing" tag, and that the content we wanted to display appeared in between. Most
HTML tags have an opening and closing tag.
All HTML documents should at least contain all of the tags we've just coded and
in that order.
The next lesson goes into a bit more detail about HTML tags.
colour tags
Color Names
The most common methods for specifying colors are by using the color name or the
hexadecimal value. Although color names are easier to remember, the hexadecimal
values and RGB values provides you with more color options.
Hexadecimal values are a combination of letters and numbers. The numbers go from
0 - 9 and the letters go from A to F. When using hexadecimal color values in yo
ur HTML/CSS, you preceed the value with a hash (#). Although hexadecimal values
may look a little weird at first, you'll soon get used to them.
There are 16 color names (as specified in the HTML 4.0 specification). The chart
below shows these color names and their corresponding hexadecimal value.
Color Color Name Hexadecimal Value Color Color Name Hexadecimal Value
Black #000000 Green #008000
Silver #c0c0c0 Lime #00ff00
Gray #808080 Olive #808000
White #ffffff Yellow #ffff00
Maroon #800000 Navy #000080
Red #ff0000 Blue #0000ff
Purple #800080 Teal #008080
Fushia #ff00ff Aqua #00ffff
Link targets:
You can nominate whether to open the URL in a new window or the current window.
You do this with the target attribute. For example, target="_blank" opens the UR
L in a new window.
The target attribute can have the following possible values: _blank Opens the UR
L in a new browser window.
_self Loads the URL in the current browser window.
_parent Loads the URL into the parent frame (still within the current browser wi
ndow). This is only applicable when using frames.
_top Loads the URL in the current browser window, but cancelling out any frames.
Therefore, if frames were being used, they aren't any longer.

Example HTML Code:

Visit the <a href="http://www.natural-environment.com" target="_blank">Natural E
nvironment</a>
This results in:
Visit the Natural Environment
image uploading:
Images make up a large part of the web - most websites contain images. HTML make
s it very easy for you to embed images into your web page.
To embed an image into a web page, the image first needs to exist in either .jpg
, .gif, or .png format. You can create images in an image editor (such as Adobe
Photoshop) and save them in the correct format.
Once you've created an image, you need to embed it into your web page. To embed
the image into your web page, use the <img /> tag, specifying the actual locatio
n of the image.
meta data for linking to a search engine:
What is Metadata?
Metadata is information about, or that describes, other data or information.
If we relate this to a web page, if you think about it for a moment, you could p
robably come up with a lot more information about a web page than what you're ac
tually displaying to the reader. For example, there could be a number of keyword
s that are related to the page. You could probably give the page a description.
The page also has an author - right? All these could be examples of metadata.
Metadata on the Web
Metadata is a very important part of the web. It can assist search engines in fi
nding the best match when a user performs a search. Search engines will often lo
ok at any metadata attached to a page - especially keywords - and rank it higher
than another page with less relevant metadata, or with no metadata at all.
Adding Meta Tags to Your Documents
You can add metadata to your web pages by placing <meta> tags between the <head>
and </head> tags. The can include the following attributes:
Attribute Description
Name Name for the property. Can be anything. Examples include, keywords, descrip
tion, author, revised, generator etc.
content Specifies the property's value.
scheme Specifies a scheme to use to interpret the property's value (as declared
in the content attribute).
http-equiv Used for http response message headers. For example http-equiv can be
used to refresh the page or to set a cookie. Values include content-type, expir
es, refresh and set-cookie.
Example HTML Code:
Keywords:
<meta name="keywords" content="HTML, meta tags, metadata" />
Description:
<meta name="description" content="Contains info about meta tags" />
Revision date (last time the document was updated):
<meta name="revised" content="Quackit, 6/12/2002" />
Refresh the page every 10 seconds:
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="10" />
The above examples are some of the more common uses for the meta tag.
******************************************************************************
Form Action
Usually when a user submits the form, you need the system to do something with t
he data. This is where the action page comes in. The action page is the page tha
t the form is submitted to. This page could contain advanced scripts or programm
ing that inserts the form data into a database or emails an administrator etc.
Creating an action page is outside the scope of this tutorial. In any case, many
web hosts provide scripts that can be used for action page functionality, such
as emailing the webmaster whenever the form has been completed. For now, we will
simply look at how to submit the form to the action page.
You nominate an action page with the action attribute.
Example HTML Code:

<form action="/html/tags/html_form_tag_action.cfm" method="get">

First name:
<input type="text" name="first_name" value="" maxlength="100" />
<br />
Last name:
<input type="text" name="last_name" value="" maxlength="100" />
<input type="submit" value="Submit" />
</form>
frames:
In HTML, frames enable you present multiple HTML documents within the same windo
w. For example, you can have a left frame for navigation and a right frame for t
he main content.
Frames are achieved by creating a frameset page, and defining each frame from wi
thin that page. This frameset page doesn't actually contain any content - just a
reference to each frame. The HTML frame tag is used to specify each frame withi
n the frameset. All frame tags are nested with a frameset tag.
So, in other words, if you want to create a web page with 2 frames, you would ne
ed to create 3 files - 1 file for each frame, and 1 file to specify how they fit
together.
Creating Frames
Two Column Frameset
HTML Code:
The frameset (frame_example_frameset_1.html):
<html>
<head>
<title>Frameset page<title>
</head>
<frameset cols = "25%, *">
<frame src ="frame_example_left.html" />
<frame src ="frame_example_right.html" />
</frameset>
</html>
The left frame (frame_example_left.html):
<html>
<body style="background-color:green">
<p>This is the left frame (frame_example_left.html).</p>
</body>
</html>
The right frame (frame_example_right.html):
<html>
<body style="background-color:yellow">
<p>This is the right frame (frame_example_right.html).</p>
</body>
</html>

*****************************************************************************
ways and means:
26. Directories: start one. Webmasters pay to be listed in your directory. The b
etter your directory the more you can demand. Niche, hand compiled directories a
re a million times better than the SERPs dross and both companies and users know
that.
39. Sell trinkets to myspace users. They love them. Especially shiny ones. Myspa
ce backgrounds, templates, animations, scripts, icons and other "myspace resourc
es" are a multimillion dollar industry.
affiliates programs:
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http://affiliates.wizardome.co.za/about_affiliate_programs.html

write out newsletters for the website and have the advertising there!
Return to Adult FriendFinder Home Page >>
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referals sites:
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Website
Crocmint
ssl certificates:

marketting gimicks:
24. Mark Alves
Participate in Yahoo Answers and LinkedIn Answers where you can demonstrate your
expertise, get associated with relevant keywords and put your URL out there.
1. The user must know what the site is about in seconds: attention is one the mo
st valuable currencies on the Internet. If a visitor can not figure what your si
te is about in a couple of seconds, he will probably just go somewhere else. You
r site must communicate why I should spend my time there, and FAST!
2. Make the content scannable: this is the Internet, not a book, so forget large
blocks of text. Probably I will be visiting your site while I work on other stu
ff so make sure that I can scan through the entire content. Bullet points, heade
rs, subheaders, lists. Anything that will help the reader filter what he is look
ing for.
3. Do not use fancy fonts that are unreadable: sure there are some fonts that wi
ll give a sophisticated look to your website. But are they readable? If your mai
n objective is to deliver a message and get the visitors reading your stuff, the
n you should make the process comfortable for them.
4. Do not use tiny fonts: the previous point applies here, you want to make sure
that readers are comfortable reading your content. My Firefox does have a zoomi
ng feature, but if I need to use on your website it will probably be the last ti
me I visit it.
5. Do not open new browser windows: I used to do that on my first websites. The
logic was simple, if I open new browser windows for external links the user will
never leave my site. WRONG! Let the user control where he wants the links to op
en. There is a reason why browsers have a huge Back button. Do not worry about sen
ding the visitor to another website, he will get back if he wants to (even porn
sites are starting to get conscious regarding this point lately ).
6. Do not resize the user s browser windows: the user should be in control of his
browser. If you resize it you will risk to mess things up on his side, and what
is worse you might lose your credibility in front of him.
7. Do not require a registration unless it is necessary: lets put this straight,
when I browse around the Internet I want to get information, not the other way
around. Do not force me to register up and leave my email address and other deta
ils unless it is absolutely necessary (i.e. unless what you offer is so good tha
t I will bear with the registration).
8. Never subscribe the visitor for something without his consent: do not automat
ically subscribe a visitor to newsletters when he registers up on your site. Sen
ding unsolicited emails around is not the best way to make friends.
9. Do not overuse Flash: apart from increasing the load time of your website, ex
cessive usage of Flash might also annoy the visitors. Use it only if you must of
fer features that are not supported by static pages.
10. Do not play music: on the early years of the Internet web developers always
tried to successfully integrate music into websites. Guess what, they failed mis
erably. Do not use music, period.
11. If you MUST play an audio file let the user start it: some situations might
require an audio file. You might need to deliver a speech to the user or your gu
ided tour might have an audio component. That is fine. Just make sure that the u
ser is in control, let him push the Play button as opposed to jamming the music on
his face right after he enters the website.
12. Do not clutter your website with badges: first of all, badges of networks an
d communities make a site look very unprofessional. Even if we are talking about
awards and recognition badges you should place them on the About Us page.
13. Do not use a homepage that just launches the real website: the smaller the num
ber of steps required for the user to access your content, the better.
14. Make sure to include contact details: there is nothing worse than a website
that has no contact details. This is not bad only for the visitors, but also for
yourself. You might lose important feedback along the way.
15. Do not break the Back button: this is a very basic principle of usability. Do
not break the Back button under any circumstance. Opening new browser windows will
break it, for instance, and some Javascript links might also break them.
16. Do not use blinking text: unless your visitors are coming straight from 1996
, that is.
17. Avoid complex URL structures: a simple, keyword-based URL structure will not
only improve your search engine rankings, but it will also make it easier for t
he reader to identify the content of your pages before visiting them.
18. Use CSS over HTML tables: HTML tables were used to create page layouts. With
the advent of CSS, however, there is no reason to stick to them. CSS is faster,
more reliable and it offers many more features.
19. Make sure users can search the whole website: there is a reason why search e
ngines revolutionized the Internet. You probably guessed it, because they make i
t very easy to find the information we are looking for. Do not neglect this on y
our site.
20. Avoid drop down menus: the user should be able to see all the navigation optio
ns straight way. Using drop down menus might confuse things and hide the informati
on the reader was actually looking for.
21. Use text navigation: text navigation is not only faster but it is also more
reliable. Some users, for instance, browse the Internet with images turned off.
22. If you are linking to PDF files disclose it: ever clicked on a link only to
see your browser freezing while Acrobat Reader launches to open that (unrequeste
d) PDF file? That is pretty annoying so make sure to explicit links pointing to
PDF files so that users can handle them properly.
23. Do not confuse the visitor with many versions: avoid confusing the visitor w
ith too many versions of your website. What bandwidth do I prefer? 56Kbps? 128Kb
ps? Flash or HTML? Man, just give me the content!
24. Do not blend advertising inside the content: blending advertising like Adsen
se units inside your content might increase your click-through rate on the short
term. Over the long run, however, this will reduce your readership base. An ann
oyed visitor is a lost visitor.
25. Use a simple navigation structure: sometimes less is more. This rule usually
applies to people and choices. Make sure that your website has a single, clear
navigation structure. The last thing you want is to confuse the reader regarding
where he should go to find the information he is looking for.
26. Avoid intros : do not force the user to watch or read something before he can a
ccess to the real content. This is plain annoying, and he will stay only if what
you have to offer is really unique.
27. Do not use FrontPage: this point extends to other cheap HTML editors. While
they appear to make web design easier, the output will be a poorly crafted code,
incompatible with different browsers and with several bugs.
28. Make sure your website is cross-browser compatible: not all browsers are cre
ated equal, and not all of them interpret CSS and other languages on the same wa
y. Like it or not, you will need to make your website compatible with the most u
sed browsers on the market, else you will lose readers over the long term.
29. Make sure to include anchor text on links: I confess I used to do that mista
ke until some time ago. It is easier to tell people to click here . But this is not
efficient. Make sure to include a relevant anchor text on your links. It will e
nsure that the reader knows where he is going to if he clicks the link, and it w
ill also create SEO benefits for the external site where the link is pointing.
30. Do not cloak links: apart from having a clear anchor text, the user must als
o be able to see where the link is pointing on the status bar of his browser. If
you cloak your links (either because they are affiliate ones or due to other re
asons) your site will lose credibility.
31. Make links visible: the visitor should be able to recognize what is clickabl
e and what is not, easily. Make sure that your links have a contrasting color (t
he standard blue color is the optimal most of the times). Possibly also make the
m underlined.
32. Do not underline or color normal text: do not underline normal text unless a
bsolutely necessary. Just as users need to recognize links easily, they should n
ot get the idea that something is clickable when in reality it is not.
33. Make clicked links change color: this point is very important for the usabil
ity of your website. Clicked links that change color help the user to locate him
self more easily around your site, making sure that he will not end up visiting
the same pages unintentionally.
34. Do not use animated GIFs: unless you have advertising banners that require a
nimation, avoid animated GIFs. They make a site look unprofessional and detract
the attention from the content.
35. Make sure to use the ALT and TITLE attributes for images: apart from having
SEO benefits the ALT and TITLE attributes for images will play an important role
for blind users.
36. Do not use harsh colors: if the user is getting a headache after visiting yo
ur site for 10 consecutive minutes, you probably should pick a better color sche
me. Design the color palette around your objectives (i.e. deliver a mood, let th
e user focus on the content, etc.).
37. Do not use pop ups: this point refers to pop ups of any kind. Even user requ
ested pop ups are a bad idea given the increasing amount of pop blockers out the
re.
38. Avoid Javascript links: those links execute a small Javascript when the user
clicks on them. Stay away from them since they often create problems for the us
er.
39. Include functional links on your footer: people are used to scrolling down t
o the footer of a website if they are not finding a specific information. At the
very least you want to include a link to the Homepage and possibly a link to th
e Contact Us page.
40. Avoid long pages: guess what, if the user needs to scroll down forever in or
der to read your content he will probably just skip it altogether. If that is th
e case with your website make it shorter and improve the navigation structure.
41. No horizontal scrolling: while some vertical scrolling is tolerable, the sam
e can not be said about horizontal scrolling. The most used screen resolution no
wadays is 1024 x 768 pixels, so make sure that your website fits inside it.
42. No spelling or grammatical mistakes: this is not a web design mistake, but i
t is one of the most important factors affecting the overall quality of a websit
e. Make sure that your links and texts do not contain spelling or grammatical mi
stakes.
43. If you use CAPTCHA make sure the letters are readable: several sites use CAP
TCHA filters as a method of reducing spam on comments or on registration forms.
There is just one problem with it, most of the times the user needs to call his
whole family to decipher the letters.