AS A TEACHER YOU SHOULD be able to produce your own educational Web page. But the demands of Web page design and content are increasing—you can not just "put it out there." This article will make you aware of some common mistakes that risk spoiling your home page. Based on Williams & Tollett (1999).

Make sure that the web page lists an author. Provide a contact point so students can get in touch with you—this will increase the page's credibility.

Frames help organize your web page, but they have to be done thoughtfully so they don't cause confusion.

Make your web page clear and easy to navigate. Don't forget to make a link back to your start page.

A twinkling image or continously running GIF animation will get all the attention, and your users will become irriated and miss important information.

There is nothing wrong with colored links, but avoid garrish colors and be consistent.

Check the links on your site regularly. If a link doesn't work, your students probably won't go back and try it another day.

Don't put a lot of text on one page. Divide long pages into shorter ones without much, if any, scrolling. That makes for better design and better readability.

Making a web page also means having a web page. You have to look after the site so the information never gets old and out of date.

Sure, it looks great with advanced animations, but remember the medium's purpose—to inform people in an easy and rapid way.

As cool as some features like animation and sound may be, they're not necessary for creating a great web page. Keep the web page small and fast-loading. A few seconds loading is an eternity on the web and for your waiting students.

Beatrice Stahle

Stahle, B. (2001). Ten don'ts of Web design. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology.