Response to comments

[Bob Cherry]

Style sheets may become common place soon but, they aren't there yet.  Neither is compiled HTML, dynamic HTML and other variants.  While it is true the technology exists, this doesn't imply that now is the time to always use these new capabilities.  Some necessary HTML elements are also absent in the current state of the art such as the ability to "include" html fragments such as forms to a multitude of pages.  These will come to be someday.  In the early days of HTML, graphics were barely supported.  Today, they are present as is audio and other nice add-ons.

I believe its good to be aware of the evolving technologies such as IPV6 and other advances.  I believe its good to become aware of the technologies and to watch them evolve however, experience has shown many times over that what may be cool and available today will not necessarily become a de facto standard down the road.  Tables are a great point of this.  The first use of tables doesn't resemble today's approach at all.

Jeff is right...content is the number one thing to consider.  Without that, the bells and whistles are just toys.  There must be some content and context to bind them together.  Access to all browsers is probably 2nd.  I preview every page with three browsers.  MS Internet Explorer 4.x, Netscape Communicator 4.x and Opera 3.x

Cybergrass, my web site listens to its readers.  That's why there are no frames and other available fancy features.  My readers told me to get rid of them so, I did.  Other items evolved from listening to my readers.  The CGI based menu is one of those as is my CGI events calendar with search functions and other interactive elements.  So, the point is: Have a necessary and valid reason for putting something into the site and make sure that it doesn't cost you readers.  I receive about four or five messages from readers every day (I created a form for comments) and I read every one.  I haven't had a complaint in a long time now.

Roy says to judge a site for yourself.  This is good advice.  Ground rules, guidelines and style guides limit your creativity.  My site breaks a lot of the rules others say to do and don't do.  Why do I do it?  Because I know my audience.  There is knowing your audience and **KNOWING** your audience.  I have a survey run each year, participate in 3rd party measurements, and read about my site in the press quite frequently.  Thus, I get feedback from others and don't necessarily judge it myself.  Yes, I broke one cardinal rule (fast download) but, I also know that the majority of my readers are not on dialup lines and those that are have bookmarked my text based contents page.  Thus, I provide a win-win situation.

Awards are another good way to measure the effectiveness of your site.  For the past two years, my site has placed 3rd each year in a quality contest of over 250,000 different sites around the planet.  We were invited to participate in the United States Government's National Information Infrastructure contest (I don't remember its exact name) where we received recognition but didn't place.  We've received dozens of awards and I don't even post them any more.  We were the media section last year in the Czech Republic's 'Hitbox' magazine (their equivalent of Billboard).  This affirmed our reach to a truely international audience.  A Korean company put our entire web site on a CD for their educational program.

Thus, what you see on my site and other top 1000 sites of the world is not just the addition of neat toys but, rather, their integration into a package that works for everybody.  Keep it simple, uncluttered and appealing/entertaining.

Style sheets and other bells and whistles (ShockWave, VRML, etc.) don't work for everybody.  This is why I say to avoid them.  If they ever become a truely universal standard, that is the time to adopt them.

Bob.