Web Sites That Work®

Design Notes

There are a number of challenges to overcome in designing web sites due to the range of computers on the market.  There are different operating systems (e.g., Windows, Linux, Mac), different browsers, different monitor sizes, different screen resolutions, different colour depths, and so on.  What's more, viewers can customize their web browsers to disable certain features such as JavaScript or "cookies" and choose their own font faces, colours and sizes, font face and more.  Developing a web site that looks exactly the same on every computer is analogous to creating a shirt that fits everyone in the world equally well!

However, unlike many web developers, we use specific strategies to ensure that your web site is as compatible as possible with as many computers as possible:

Default Fonts

We code each page on your web site with standard default fonts are installed on both PC and Mac platforms, and we use standard font sizes throughout the site.

Safe Colours

There are only 216 colours that will display consistently on any web browser and on any computer regardless of the screen resolution and screen colour depth.  This is known as the "browser-safe palette." If your web site uses colours outside of the browser-safe palette, visitors with older browsers and/or older computers will see visual artifacts on your web site graphics (such as dotting and spotting) or may see colours display in a strange way (e.g., as a bright green).  Although this is not as significant an issue as it once was (due to the availability and affordability of powerful computer systems), wherever possible, we use only browser-safe colours in text and graphics.

Standard Resolution

The current industry standard for web site design resolution is 800 x 600. We design web sites to this standard, but we also test web sites in lower and higher resolutions as well to ensure that the web site is accessible at all resolutions.

Non-Proprietary Software

We develop interactivity on your web site using software standard to all web browsers.  We do not use proprietary technologies such as Flash for essential features such as site navigation or the display of basic content. 

Browser Testing

Some web developers design web sites to display properly only in the most recent version of Microsoft Internet Explorer and at a specific screen resolution.  We test your web site in the major web browsers and at different screen resolutions to ensure that your site is accessible to virtually all of your potential visitors.

Meta Tags

Meta tags are special "hidden" phrases that need to be included on all pages on your web site. While not visible to your visitors, meta tags used by search engines and internet directories to index your web site. They are a critical and sometimes overlooked aspect of web site development. During the development of your web site, we will create the appropriate meta tags in consultation with you.

Distribution to Search Engines

As part of web site development, we include the time required to properly prepare your web site for distribution to internet search engines and directories. For more information, see our Distribution page.