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Pain Management And The Types Of Treatments Available
Posted on August 31st, 2009 No commentsWhat options are available when pain strikes. This can depend on how severe the pain is, and where in the body the pain is occurring. If the pain is a headache, toothache or a minor pain we all suffer from, then an ordinary analgesic will usually be enough. For toothache pain killers containing Ibuprofen is probably the right choice, toothache is often accompanied by inflammation, Ibuprofen is an anti inflammatory and will therefore help to decrease the inflammation. If the pain continues you should seek medical attention, as the pain could be the symptom of a more serious medical problem. Pain is your body letting you know that something is amiss, don’t ignore this message if pain is persistant.
Pain can be separated into two types, chronic and acute pain. Acute pain is normally a short term pain that recedes without further treatment, has no serious underlying problems associated with it and usually needs nothing more than simple over the counter pain medication. Chronic pain is much more serious, it generally persists and is likely to be associated with an underlying condition or injury. It can often start from something as simple as a sprain or infection that then becomes more serious, or it can be caused by a developing disease or cancer. Chronic pain can remain a problem for months, possibly even years. As well as a need to treat the main cause, pain killers that are stronger than over the counter pain killers is normally required. Among the most prescribed pain medications include tramadol, ultram and ultracet, with tramadol being the most common prescribed. These pain medications aren’t scheduled as controlled substances, it is therefore possible to buy tramadol online. In many cases pain relief medication is prescribed with seperate treatments to treat the cause of the problem.
Probably the commonest form of pain we experience is headaches. Headaches may well disappear without requiring any treatment, over the counter pain relief medication will usually be enough to lessen the pain. Migraine is a more severe type of headache and can be caused by several conditions. A migraine may be accompanied by other conditions, such as mood changes, light sensitivity, one sided headaches and nausea or vomiting. A migraine may only last for a few hours, but can last for a few days. Anyone suffering from a migraine should get medical attention as soon as possible.
For pain associated with muscles and joints, physiotherapy is frequently used, and in many cases can result in the complete cure of the problem. Electrical stimulation is a technique sometimes used, often as a last resort. Electrical stimulation works by interrupting pain signals in the spinal cord. Acupuncture may also be used to help reduce pain, fine needles are place at key points on the body, the needles disrupt the flow of spasms through the body. Fine needles may be placed in areas removed from the source of the pain.
The main thing to consider, is that if a pain becomes serious, especially if it persists, seek immediate medical attention, it could be down to a more serious underlying problem.
Disclaimer: This post is based on information that is freely available in the popular press and medical journals that deal with pain relief. Nothing in this post is intended to be or should be construed to be any sort of medical advice. For medical advice the reader should consult with his/her own physician or a medical specialist.
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Eliminate Rent To Buy Investors With The DIY Rent To Buy System
Posted on August 31st, 2009 No commentsYou find out that your income will support buying your own home and you have submitted your loan application, only to be told your credit is not good enough to satisfy the bank, now what? It wouldlook silly to most families when a bank refuses people who can easily afford to pay off their own house, particularly when they have security over the property, but it happens all the time. So what can you do about this common problem?
Welcome to the extraordinary niche named Rent to buy houses. As the name hints, you rent and buy at the same time. A buyer and seller first agree that they are happy to enter into a delayed purchasing system and once all the terms of the sale are in place, it functions very similar to a regular lease or rental agreement, but the buyer gets to build up equity over an agreed period of time.
The buyer will normally have a problem preventing them from obtaining normal finance because of a bad credit rating but they are making adequate money to easily keep making regular payments on a home of thier own. Quite often, the seller has needed to relocate to another state or country and has not been able to sell their home using the normal channels therefore they are faced with selling the property for a massive discount, or can even be faced with their bank eventually foreclosing on the property.
This is when the rent to buy houses niche comes into its own because the system addresses real problems that both parties require to have addressed. The most common form of rent to buy deals are done with property investors looking to make positive cash flow from buyers who need their services and this can be useful to some buyers, but the problem they frequently face is that they will be paying much more for the property because the investor needs to make a profit.
Investors typically market their buying services to motivated sellers. Property owners who have become desperate to sell, end up calling these investors who appear to be able to solve their selling problems fast, and basically give up any possible hope of equity they may of had in their property. You can spot these ads in the paper and on power poles that say We Buy Houses Fast. You can be sure that the intention of these investors it to buy the home cheap, and sell using a rent to buy houses deal for a handsome profit.
The greatest form of rent to buy deals are when a buyer and seller both find themselves in a winning deal. One that they can both feel happy about because it addressed their immediate buying or selling needs. The only thing missing is the knowledge of both the buyer and seller to put the deal together. Their are some really great rent to buy home study courses that can instruct both the buyer and seller how to put together a deal that suits them both. This generally eliminates the need to ever involve a property investor to be the middleman, so everyone involved ends up saving money, and in turn, enters a rent to buy deal that is fair for both the buyer and seller.
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Using Handwriting Practice Sheets To Improve Penmanship
Posted on August 31st, 2009 No commentsTo me, The purpose of handwriting worksheets is to teach people to take pride in their own writing. In school, you address every aspect of writing. Composition, spelling, grammar, and punctuation must all be flawless. By neglecting handwriting practice sheets and other methods of training cursive writing, we do our students a disservice.
I am not unfamiliar with the other side of the argument. When I was a kid, I used to absolutely despise having to do handwriting practice sheets. I had a lot of trouble with my handwriting sheets, and my penmanship was absolutely atrocious. I simply did not want to take the time to develop what I saw as a useless skill. After all, my handwriting was good enough for me to read and for my teacher to read, so what was the problem.
Than one day, my parents took me to an art exhibit of calligraphy. I had never seen calligraphy handwriting before, and I was absolutely awestruck by how beautiful it was. The fact that people could gain that level of skill in making beautiful and original letter art struck me with awe. For the first time, I understood what those handwriting practice sheets had been leading up to. I understood that, after practicing handwriting, I could learn to make my compositions into an art form. After that, I never thought about practicing handwriting sheets again.
Nowadays, I struggle with the same issues with my own child. Recently, he got a failing grade on some of his handwriting practice sheets. His teacher believed that he was not applying himself, and looking at his handwriting work I can see why. Next weekend, I am going to take him to a calligraphy exhibit. I hope that it will have the same effect on him that it had on me. I know that you can grow up and be a model citizen with lousy handwriting. As a matter of fact, some of the greatest thinkers of all time had atrocious penmanship.
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How to get more traffic using Twitter For Business
Posted on August 30th, 2009 No commentsTwitter has carved itself a lot of attention in the last few months with a frenzy of celebrities discussing Twitter on their blogs , and business strategists telling us we should use Twitter to create hundreds of followers , the interest in Twitter is at a record peak . You most likely have friends and work colleagues on Twitter and you may well have received bribes o follow people on Twitter. So the million dollar question is this . What are YOU doing about it for yourself?
Twitter doesn’t look like it will disappear any time soon. In the meantime some are jumping on the band wagon, while others sit in the sidelines bemused.
But however you approach your Twitter strategy and there’s a great FREE training video about that at http://www.TrafficHug.com/twittervideo/ but whatever you do, you should be doing something. The smallest benefit will be extra chances for impressions , ideally with some way of people finding you by your keyword, or your name. Some people will just try to type your name on Twitter and see if you come up.
We have other articles on getting targeted traffic, but let’s look at something we can do in ten minutes We’ll take a more detailed look at building a targeted list but first let’s explore a quick and easy option.
Some business owners perceive Twitter traffic as an internal channel of Twitter itself . A concept most Twitter directories promote . But , the advantages of having your existing clients subscribe to you on Twitter are huge . So beneficial that we need to take action .
The easiest thing is to add a Twitter “badge” to your existing web entities . A badge is just an image showing who you are on Twitter with a link direct to your Twitter identity. In the videos I mentioned , they go in to how you extend that concept , but the badge will get our toe in the water for today .
WHERE CAN I CREATE MY TWITTER BADGE?
You can get your own customised Twitter badge at zero cost from here ;
http://www.TwitterDominator.com/followme_badges.php – Free Twitter badge .You just paste the HTML it provides in to your page .
It works great on Wordpress blogs as a sidebar Text Widget. I’ve placed one on all of my own blogs.
The Badge is provided in its own little HTML DIV tag so should reside easily almost anywhere.
You can create an HTML table or div layer to house it, then you can just paste the code in verbatim . With WYSIWYG html editors, there is usually an HTML “object” box you can place in the desired location and just place the code in to that. Adobe Dreamweaver users can just insert an AP Layer (from the insert menu) and then paste the code in to that using the HTML code view pane.
I think you’ll be surprised at the results a simple Twitter badge will bring you. Do it today and wait a few weeks and you should start to see some results.
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So What’s Your Financial Thermostat?
Posted on August 30th, 2009 No commentsYou ever wonder why some people are able to succeed while others struggle along most of there lives. Well I’ve been an entrepreneur now for over 20 years and the one thing that I’ve noticed about successful people is that they always have a million dollar game plan. In other words they have been able over time to develop abundance mindsets which almost always guarantees them success in what ever they do.
Human behavior can be strange and sometimes complicated subject it always amazes me how some people get it while others make simple things so hard. What’s the difference between someone who makes 20,000.00 a month and someone who make 2000.00 a month? I truly believe it’s all in your mind as evidenced in Napoleon Hills famous book “Think and Grow Rich”
When I joined my primary business opportunity Carbon Copy Pro it was quite refreshing to see industry network marketing leaders Jay Kubassek and Mike Dillard discussing in a video how they were able develop the abundance mindsets necessary to become hugely successful in there given fields. In this DVD called “InsideOut” they are very candid in there approach to the seriousness of changing ones financial thermostat and you should be to.
If you hang around someone long enough you ever notice how over time you begin to emulate them, so why not associate yourself with someone who’s already doing what you what to do, it only makes sense right at least it does to me. So why not take the time to use the tools at your disposal and make it a point right now today to re-set your financial thermostat. This is Kevin Thomas I hope you enjoyed reading this article.
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Secrets to Buyinga New Utility Trailer
Posted on August 30th, 2009 No commentsToday, more and more people are buying small trailers of one sort or another. Considering fuel prices and the common act of downsizing family vehicles, owning a good utility trailer makes sense. The main reasons behind owning a trailer is usually based upon business or a family hobby which requires transporting your large toys. Utility trailers can range from small open bed landscaping style trailers to larger enclosed cargo trailers with locking ramp style doors. There are also snowmobile trailers, motorcycle trailers, camping trailers large and small and of course, and boat trailers to mention some. The first step in shopping for a trailer is to decide which type is best for your personal needs.
If you intend to haul small recreation vehicles or motorcycles, then an open flatbed trailer might serve your needs. Then again, if you need extra space at home for storing your toys, you might consider going with a larger enclosed trailer. These are easily locked and stored next to a house or driveway. You would be surprised at how much space you can find in your garage when you start moving your recreation vehicles and such to a storage trailer.
Through the years, I’ve bought and sold many trailers relating to my business and also my hobbies. As most of us find, locating a good used trailer can be a challenge at times but with the advent of online trailer sales, this problem has been solved. You can almost always find the exact type and size trailer you are looking for if you have a bit of patience. It is also very handy to be able to purchase all your trailer parts and accessories on the web also. You can easily find everything from replacement lighting to axles and brakes for just about any utility trailer without leaving your desk.
If you see a new trailer in your future, you really should click through and read this excellent article that will help you select the best utility trailer for your personal needs.
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Pellet Stoves: Environment Friendly, Economical and Useful
Posted on August 30th, 2009 No commentsPellet stoves are economical stoves that burn pellets made from garbage such as wood shavings, wood chips and paper from the lumber and paper companies. This minimizes deforestation and filling up of landfills. Other pellet stoves burn corn kernels that have been shelled and various seeds. Pellet stoves are very favorable since it requires a little to zero exertion from the users in terms of temperature modifications and fire starting.
Very versatile and functional, pellet stoves series based on their included thermostat while some even have their own remote controls that can be used to ignite the pellet stoves. Recently developed pellet stoves are more advanced by using computers and LCD screens to run tests in case of problems. To study more about these items check out the best pellet stoves site.
Burning wood and other forms of fuel often give off harmful gases in the environment. Fireplaces also create a highly flammable stuff called creosote. This gummy matter is often the source of various chimney fires. With pellets stoves, all of these issues are eliminated. Also pellets utilized in pellet stoves are deemed smokeless as well as generate little ash content. A single load of 40 pounds of pellets can produce enough ash for clean up only after two weeks depending on the pellets used. High grade pellets produce about 1% ash while lower grade pellets produce about 2 to 4% of ash. Though most pellet stoves often burn any sort of pellets, users who use lower quality of pellets should practice expected maintenance. It is best to be consistent with what kind of pellet to burn since it may cause critical effects on the machine because of unpredictable pellet quality.
Pellet stoves also need a bit of electricity to work. A pellet stove is very dependable and high heating because of its automatic pellet feeds. The auger system of the pellet stove steers pellets from the hopper until it falls unto the combustion chamber for burning. The thermostat is responsible for sending information to add more pellets to the chamber.
Another piece of the wood pellet stove reviews that requires electricity is its fan. For an economical performance, fans need to function properly. The pellet stove’s convection blower forces hot air out and takes highly oxygenated air in making the pellets burn completely without waste. Aside from that, movement of air avoid the pellet stove from overheating which may cause a machine malfunction or fire.
Like all other machines, pellet stoves function more efficiently when they are clean and well-maintained. A uncomplicated cleaning every month with a regular brush will suffice. A vacuum is also very efficient in removing dust and other particles many areas in the pellet stove. It is also advised to let a professional check the motor to guarantee that they are operating properly. Testing your back up battery system every once in a while is also recommended. You don’t want to find out that your battery won’t function just when you needed it the most. When your pellet stove is not used in the summer, make sure to remove all the pellets from the stove’s hopper.
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Rottnest Island Western Australia
Posted on August 30th, 2009 No commentsSitting on the edge of the Australian continental shelf near Perth in western Australia, Rottnest Island is just 11 km (6 mi) long and 4.5 km (2.7 mi) at its widest point. An iconic holiday destination for Perth residents, with 70 per cent of visitors coming for a day out, the entire island is run as a nature reserve and the surrounding waters as a marine park.
Known to local Aboriginal people as Wadjemup, the island is believed to be a place of spirits and is of significance to the Aboriginal communities. Artefacts have been found at a number of sites on Rottnest Island which are at least 6,500 years old, and possibly older, so there were indigenous people living here before sea levels rose and the island was separated from the mainland.
The first Europeans to discover the island were Dutch navigators who were searching for a shorter route from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia in the 17th century. At that time the island was uninhabited. Samuel Volkerson was the first European to actually land on the island in 1658. William de Vlamingh visited in 1696 and named the island Rottnest after the abundance of Quokkas (small marsupials) he saw, mistaking them for rats.
Other Europeans soon followed, believing the island had potential for salt harvesting, farming and fishing. From 1839 for almost a century the island housed a penal colony for Aboriginal men and boys. When the colony closed, the leisure potential of the island was realized and tourism took off.
The island is best explored by bicycle as private cars are not allowed. The 24-km (15-mi) route around the coast runs through some of the most beautiful scenery, passing small, sandy beaches in secluded coves. The island has a total of 63 beaches and 20 bays, some of the finest in the world, and the turquoise water makes swimming here a must.
There are lovely reefs here, with twenty species of colourful corals and 364 species of fish, which can be explored by snorkelling, diving or a trip in a glass-bottomed boat. There are also a number of shipwrecks close to the shore, making diving here a popular pastime. Look out for humpback whales, green and loggerhead turtles, rays and bottlenose dolphins.
No matter what your travel destination, Student Flights has a deal for you. These deals include cheap flights to London, Vietnam flights and Fiji holidays. Contact Student Travel today.
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How to Get Rid of Skin Tags
Posted on August 29th, 2009 No commentsThere’s a lot of free advise floating around online on How to get rid of skin tags. Some of it good…some not so good.
One article suggested that I just cut it off. Well call me a chicken or anything else for that matter but I just don’t have the guts to take a pair of scizzors and cut my body. It is not just the pain that I am worried about, it’s also the blood stopping techniques the article goes on to describe.
There has to be a better less brutal way to remove skin tags…
Here are two ways I found that seem…well…a little less brutal.
First way to get rid of skin tags is to use fingernail polish. For obvious reasons you will want to use clear. Apply it to your tag mole at least twice a day. Make sure you cover it completely. Try not to miss applications because it can slow the removal process.
In a few days you will see the tag mole start to shrink and in time you will be able to just scratch it off. Try to be very accurate with the finger nail polish because you may experience some minor skin irritation if you get it on your skin.
Another way to remove skin tags is to tie a string around them. Ok…I know this sounds really silly but it actually works. The pressure of the string will strangle the tag mole. Depending on how stubborn the little booger is it should start to dry up and fall of in a few days to a couple of weeks.
Ok…I found it really hard to write about How To Get Rid Of Skin Tags and keep a straight face at the same time…makes me laugh that folks will actually try this stuff. How about you?
If you want a professional to tell you How To Get Rid Of Skin Tags …use this link…If you are like me and tons of other thinking adults, there’s just too much free information available online. Free is good…don’t get me wrong…but when it comes to my health and my body, common sense tells me to seek professional help.
Disclaimer: Nothing in this post is meant to be medical advise. Anyone with a skin condition should refer to medical advise.
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Web Design Processes
Posted on August 29th, 2009 No commentsWeb Design
Web design is the skill of creating presentations of content (usually hypertext or hypermedia) that is delivered to an end-user through the World Wide Web, by way of a Web browser or other Web-enabled software like Internet television clients, microblogging clients and RSS readers.
The process of designing Web pages, Web sites, Web applications or multimedia for the Web may utilize multiple disciplines, such as animation, authoring, communication design, corporate identity, graphic design, human-computer interaction, information architecture, interaction design, marketing, photography, search engine optimization and typography.
- Markup languages (such as HTML, XHTML and XML)
- Style sheet languages (such as CSS and XSL)
- Client-side scripting (such as JavaScript and VBScript)
- Server-side scripting (such as PHP and ASP)
- Database technologies (such as MySQL and PostgreSQL)
- Multimedia technologies (such as Flash and Silverlight)
Web pages and Web sites can be static pages, or can be programmed to be dynamic pages that automatically adapt content or visual appearance depending on a variety of factors, such as input from the end-user, input from the Webmaster or changes in the computing environment (such as the site’s associated database having been modified).
With growing specialization within communication design and information technology fields, there is a strong tendency to draw a clear line between web design specifically for web pages and web development for the overall logistics of all web-based services.Accessible Web design
To be accessible, web pages and sites must conform to certain accessibility principles. These accessibility principles are known as the WCAG when talking about content. These can be grouped into the following main areas.[1]
- Use semantic markup that provides a meaningful structure to the document (i.e. web page)
- Semantic markup also refers to semantically organizing the web page structure and publishing web services description accordingly so that they can be recognized by other web services on different web pages. Standards for semantic web are set by IEEE
- Use a valid markup language that conforms to a published DTD or Schema
- Provide text equivalents for any non-text components (e.g. images, multimedia)
- Use hyperlinks that make sense when read out of context. (e.g. avoid “Click Here.”)
- Don’t use frames
- Use CSS rather than HTML tables for layout.
- Author the page so that when the source code is read line-by-line by user agents (such as a screen readers) it remains intelligible. (Using tables for design will often result in information that is not.
However, W3C permits an exception where tables for layout either make sense when linearized or an alternate version (perhaps linearized) is made available. Website accessibility is also changing as it is impacted by Content Management Systems that allow changes to be made to webpages without the need of obtaining programming language knowledge.
History
Tim Berners-Lee published what is considered to be the first website in August 1991.[2] Berners-Lee was the first to combine Internet communication (which had been carrying email and the Usenet for decades) with hypertext (which had also been around for decades, but limited to browsing information stored on a single computer, such as interactive CD-ROM design). Websites are written in a markup language called HTML, and early versions of HTML were very basic, only giving a website’s basic structure (headings and paragraphs), and the ability to link using hypertext. This was new and different from existing forms of communication – users could easily navigate to other pages by following hyperlinks from page to page.
As the Web and web design progressed, the markup language changed to become more complex and flexible, giving the ability to add objects like images and tables to a page. Features like tables, which were originally intended to be used to display tabular information, were soon subverted for use as invisible layout devices. With the advent of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), table-based layout is commonly regarded as outdated. Database integration technologies such as server-side scripting and design standards like W3C further changed and enhanced the way the Web is made. As times change, websites are changing the code on the inside and visual design on the outside with ever-evolving programs and utilities.
With the progression of the Web, tens of thousands of web design companies have been established around the world to serve the growing demand for such work. As with much of the information technology industry, many web design companies have been established in technology parks in the developing world as well as many Western design companies setting up offices in countries such as India, Romania, and Russia to take advantage of the relatively lower labor rates found in such countries.
Website planning
Purposing web design is a complex, but essential ongoing activity. Before creating and uploading a website, it is important to take the time to plan exactly what is needed in the website. Thoroughly considering the audience or target market, as well as defining the purpose and deciding what content will be developed are extremely important.
Context
Web design is similar (in a very simplistic way) to traditional print publishing. Every website is an information display container, just as a book ; and every web page is like the page in a book. However, web design uses a framework based on digital code and display technology to construct and maintain an environment to distribute information in multiple formats. Taken to its fullest potential, web design is undoubtedly the most sophisticated and increasingly complex method to support communication in today’s world.
Purpose
It is essential to define the purpose of the website as one of the first steps in the planning process with a web design agency. A purpose statement should show focus based on what the website will accomplish and what the users will get from it. A clearly defined purpose will help the rest of the planning process as the audience is identified and the content of the site is developed. Setting short and long term goals for the website will help make the purpose clear and plan for the future when expansion, modification, and improvement will take place. Goal setting practices and measurable objectives should be identified to track the progress of the site and determine success.
Audience
Defining the audience is a key step in the website planning process. The audience is the group of people who are expected to visit your website – the market being targeted. These people will be viewing the website for a specific reason and it is important to know exactly what they are looking for when they visit the site. A clearly defined purpose or goal of the site as well as an understanding of what visitors want to do or feel when they come to your site will help to identify the target audience. Upon considering who is most likely to need or use the content, a list of characteristics common to the users such as:
- Audience Characteristics
- Information Preferences
- Computer Specifications
- Web Experience
Taking into account the characteristics of the audience will allow an effective website to be created that will deliver the desired content to the target audience.
Content
Content evaluation and organization requires that the purpose of the website be clearly defined. Collecting a list of the necessary content then organizing it according to the audience’s needs is a key step in website planning. In the process of gathering the content being offered, any items that do not support the defined purpose or accomplish target audience objectives should be removed. It is a good idea to test the content and purpose on a focus group and compare the offerings to the audience needs. The next step is to organize the basic information structure by categorizing the content and organizing it according to user needs. Each category should be named with a concise and descriptive title that will become a link on the website. Planning for the site’s content ensures that the wants or needs of the target audience and the purpose of the site will be fulfilled.
Compatibility and restrictions
Because of the market share of modern browsers (depending on your target market), the compatibility of your website with the viewers is restricted. For instance, a website that is designed for the majority of websurfers will be limited to the use of valid XHTML 1.0 Strict or older, Cascading Style Sheets Level 1, and 1024×768 display resolution. This is because Internet Explorer is not fully W3C standards compliant with the modularity of XHTML 1.1 and the majority of CSS beyond 1. A target market of more alternative browser (e.g. Firefox, Safari and Opera) users allow for more W3C compliance and thus a greater range of options for a web designer.
Another restriction on webpage design is the use of different Image file formats. The majority of users can support GIF, JPEG, and PNG (with restrictions). Again Internet Explorer is the major restriction here, not fully supporting PNG’s advanced transparency features, resulting in the GIF format still being the most widely used graphic file format for transparent images.
Many website incompatibilities go unnoticed by the designer and unreported by the users. The only way to be certain a website will work on a particular platform is to test it on that platform.
Planning documentation
Documentation is used to visually plan the site while taking into account the purpose, audience and content, to design the site structure, content and interactions that are most suitable for the website. Documentation may be considered a prototype for the website – a model which allows the website layout to be reviewed, resulting in suggested changes, improvements and/or enhancements. This review process increases the likelihood of success of the website.
The first step may involve information architecture in which the content is categorized and the information structure is formulated. The information structure is used to develop a document or visual diagram called a site map. This creates a visual of how the web pages or content will be interconnected, and may help in deciding what content will be placed on what pages.
In addition to planning the structure, the layout and interface of individual pages may be planned using a storyboard. In the process of storyboarding, a record is made of the description, purpose and title of each page in the site, and they are linked together according to the most effective and logical diagram type. Depending on the number of pages required for the website, documentation methods may include using pieces of paper and drawing lines to connect them, or creating the storyboard using computer software.
Some or all of the individual pages may be designed in greater detail as a website wireframe, a mock up model or comprehensive layout of what the page will actually look like. This is often done in a graphic program, or layout design program. The wireframe has no working functionality, only planning, though it can be used for selling ideas to other web design companies.
Website design
Web design is similar (in a very simplisitc way) to traditional print publishing. Every website is an information display container, just as a book is a container; and every web page is like the page in a book. However, web design uses a framework based on digital code and display technology to construct and maintain an environment to distribute information in multiple formats. Taken to its fullest potential, web design is undoubtedly the most sophisticated and increasingly complex method to support communication in today’s world. “Design Issues for the World Wide Web”. public domain. World Wide Web Consortium. 2009-06-09. http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/. Retrieved on 2009-06-10.
For the typical web sites, the basic aspects of design are:
- The content: the substance, and information on the site should be relevant to the site and should target the area of the public that the website is concerned with.
- The usability: the site should be user-friendly, with the interface and navigation simple and reliable.
- The appearance: the graphics and text should include a single style that flows throughout, to show consistency. The style should be professional, appealing and relevant.
- The visibility: the site must also be easy to find via most, if not all, major search engines and advertisement media.
A web site typically consists of text and images. The first page of a web site is known as the Home page or Index. Some web sites use what is commonly called a Splash Page. Splash pages might include a welcome message, language or region selection, or disclaimer. Each web page within a web site is an HTML file which has its own URL. After each web page is created, they are typically linked together using a navigation menu composed of hyperlinks. Faster browsing speeds have led to shorter attention spans and more demanding online visitors and this has resulted in less use of Splash Pages, particularly where commercial web sites are concerned[citation needed].
Once a web site is completed, it must be published or uploaded in order to be viewable to the public over the internet. This may be done using an FTP client. Once published, the web master may use a variety of techniques to increase the traffic, or hits, that the web site receives. This may include submitting the web site to a search engine such as Google, Bing or Yahoo, exchanging links with other web sites, creating affiliations with similar web sites, etc.
Environment
Layout is a double edged sword: on the one hand, it is the expression of a framework that actively shapes the web designer. On the other hand, as the designer adapts that framework to projects, layout is the means of content delivery. Publishing a web engages communication throughout the production process as well as within the product created. Publication implies adaptation of culture and content standards. Web design incorporates multiple intersections between many layers of technical and social understanding, demanding creative direction, design element structure, and some form of social organization. Differing goals and methods resolve effectively in successful deployment of education, software and team management during the design process. However, many competing and evolving platforms and environments challenge acceptance, completion and continuity of every design product.
Collaboration
Early Web design was less integrated with companies’ advertising campaigns, customer transactions, extranets, intranets and social networking. Web sites were seen largely as static online brochures or database connection points, disconnected from the broader scopes of a business or project. Many Web sites are still disconnected from the broader project scope. As a result, many Web sites are needlessly difficult to use, indirect in their way of communicating, and suffer from a ‘disconnected’ or ineffective bureaucratic information architecture.
Form versus function
A web developer / web design agency may pay more attention to how a page looks while neglecting other copywriting and search engine optimization functions such as the readability of text, the ease of navigating the site, or how easily the visitors are going to find the site. As a result, the designers may end up in disputes where some want more decorative graphics at the expense of keyword-rich text, bullet lists, and text links. Assuming a false dichotomy that form and function are mutually exclusive overlooks the possibility of integrating multiple disciplines for a collaborative and synergistic solution. In many cases form follows function. Because some graphics serve communication purposes in addition to aesthetics, how well a site works may depend on the graphic design ideas as well as the professional writing considerations.
When using a lot of graphics, a web page can load slowly, often irritating the user. This has become less of a problem as the internet has evolved with high-speed broadband connections and the use of vector graphics. However there is still an ongoing engineering challenge to increase bandwidth and an artistic challenge to minimize the amount of graphics and their file sizes. This challenge is compounded since increased bandwidth encourages more graphics with larger file sizes.
When faced with a large database and many requirements, a design group may throw far too much information for a server to manage. Alternative technology or additional structure (even another server or site) may be required to fit the demand.
Layout
Layout refers to the dimensioning of content in a device display, and the delivery of media in a content related stream. Web design layouts result in visual content frameworks: these frameworks can be fixed, they can use units of measure that are relative, or they can provide fluid layout with proportional dimensions. The deployment flowchart (a useful tool on any design project) should address content layout. Many units of measure exist, but here are some popular dimension formats:
- Pixel measure results in fixed or static content
- Em measure results in proportional content that is relative to font-size
- Percent measure results in fluid content that shrinks and grows to “fit” display windows
- Proportional, liquid and hybrid layout are also referred to as dynamic design.
Hybrid layout incoroprates any combination of fixed, proportional or fluid elements within (or pointing to) a single page. The hybrid web design framework is made possible by digital internet conventions generally proscribed by the W3C. If any layout does not appear as it should, it is very likely that it does not conform to standard design principles, or that those standards conflict with standard layout elements. Current knowledge of standards is essential to effective hybrid design.
The earliest web pages used fixed layouts without exception. In many business pages fixed layouts are preferred today as they easily contain static tabled information. Fixed layout enforces device display convention, as viewers must set their display to at least a certain width to easily view content. This width can include display of coporate logos, cautions, advertisements and any other target content. Design frameworks for fixed layout may need to include coding for multiple display devices.
Hybrid design maintains most static content control, but is adapted to textual publishing, and for readers, to conventional (printed) display. Hybrid layouts are generally easy on the eye and are found on most sites that distribute traditional images and text to readers. For some sites, hybrid design makes an otherwise cold text column appear warm and balanced. A good example of hybrid layout is Wordpress, where liquid design is now optional, and movie and auditory media is stretching the envelope.
Fluid design is useful where content is delivered to an ‘unknown device’ population. Appropriate liquid code displays images, text and spaces proportional to display size. Someone with a handheld can see view and interact with the same content as someone using a large desktop monitor. Fluid display is the future for most layout projects, but let’s consider obstacles to this current direction.

