Here is a collection of some useful [or not, depending on how you look at it] web design tips that I have picked up over the years of surfing and designing - they're mostly from the point of view of Trinity the web surfer, because that's who you're making your pages for, right? Other people, who will access your pages and see what's cooking :)

This is the first and the most important web design tip: Less is more. The less sophisticated stuff you put on your pages, the more visitors will be pleased. Before uploading your files [or saving them if you're using an online editor], always ask yourself: "Is there anything in these pages, anything at all that isn't really needed?" If you can answer `yes,' get rid of it. I'm not suggesting you make your pages all text with no pictures, sounds, or fancy JavaScripts, or what have you. :) That would be a little boring. Well, take a look at the tips below and make what you want of them.

The second most important web design tip I'm going to share with you is as follows: the best way to learn HTML is to look at other people's source! If you see something really cool done on a website, and you want to learn how to do it, just click Source in the View menu, or right-click and select View Source. I'm not suggesting you steal other people's work. That's downright nasty. If you look at someone's code and it has a copyright notice, honour it and don't steal their design. If you see a neat little trick, make sure you don't just grab it from there. Figure out how it works and you'll feel a lot better about using it. And never simply take someone's code and substitute your own words in. That's incredibly unethical and deplorable. Now that I've scared you half to death, you can move on :)

Frames
Frames are EVIL! Just kidding. However, there is a reason why I don't teach you how to make frames. An inexperienced HTML author will probably botch up their frames, put too many in [get frame-happy] and considerably slow down their pages' loading. Not only that, but frames aren't supported by a lot of browsers out there [like Lynx, for example], so it's in your best interest to avoid frames as much as possible. And between you and me, the thing I hate most about frames is getting stuck in them. People will have a links page, for example and specify TARGET="_self" just to keep people on their pages. Newsflash, Sherlock! If I want to stay on your page, I won't click a link that goes somewhere else! Keep that in mind :) If you're absolutely hell-bent on keeping people on your page, use the TARGET="_blank" attribute - it opens a new window, and who knows, maybe by the time your visitor is finished browsing there and closes this new window, they'll be interested in what else you have on your site.

Sounds
Sounds are a nifty addition to your site, they can bring life into your presentation, but... the larger ones load forever, and you can't stop a sound from loading if you feel like it. And not all people will like your sounds. Remember, just because you think the way a gorilla's mating call sounds is cool, that does not mean everybody shares your view. And never, ever, ever put a looping background sound on your page that your visitors cannot stop. That is the most annoying and obnoxious thing you can do.

Java
There's a lot of debate about Java. Some people say it's a godsend, some say it's the devil. I personally quietly click on the "back" button when I see that I have been referred to a page that uses Java [if I wasn't warned there would be Java there] Java can add a lot of life into your pages as well, but it slows some computers to a crawl, and crashes others. It can easily crash an older browser, and it can very much upset your computer, causing it to screech [if you have a dinky old one like I do :)] Bottom line: If you can't compile it yourself, don't use it. If you must use it regardless, at least warn people and provide a Java-free alternative or a way to skip the Java.

Images
Images are a wonderful addition to the Internet, but you have to keep in mind that there are many people out there who have their graphics turned off. What does that cause? Well, if all your site consists of is a bunch of picture links without ALT text, they'll have to load those images [that's only if they're really interested in what your site promises to deliver]. Which can be irritating if you have large images on your site. If you don't provide HEIGHT and WIDTH attributes in your images, your site will look stupid once the images load, because the text will move around to include the images and most likely get all skewed. So what's the bottom line here? Don't make images a primary component of your site, always provide ALT text [if you don't, your HTML will not validate :P], always specify WIDTH and HEIGHT for your images, and always reduce your images as much as possible to speed up loading [check the links page for an online image shrinker].

Plugins
I'm sure you've come across sites that say "You need this and that plugin for best viewing." How many times did you actually download the plugin? And how many times did you just say "stuff it, I'm outta here"? Think about that when you decide to make a really cool Flash- or RealPlayer-enhanced page. No doubt, they're extremely cool and they allow you such creativity, but alas! They're not universal, and you'll lose a lot of visitors if you do not provide a plugin-free alternative. As a rule, it's usually a really nice thing to do to provide a whatever-free alternative, especially if that whatever is a fancy-schmancy plugin, frames, or sounds galore.

Resolution
I cannot stress this point enough. If you think that just because your page looks good in 600x800 resolution ['standard' screen dimensions], it will look good in every other resolution, think again. I have seen so many, but so many sites, that looked downright ugly because the authors probably made their pages in one resolution and never thought about it again. As a rule, if a page is made at a low resolution, in all likelihood it will also look good at higher resolutions. This resolution problem becomes apparent if you use tables and specify widths for them in pixels. Bad move. Always try to use percentages, unless you're aligning images. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, resize this window. See what my pages look like at a lower resolution, or a higher one. You probably won't see much difference, except if you select a really tiny resolution. You can't cover them all, so make sure your page looks good in three different resolutions [smallest, standard, and fullscreen] and you can breathe easy.

Background images and colours.
The only thing you need to know here is that if you specify a background image, for God's sake, don't forget the background colour! If your background image is black, and you make your text white, do you know what people who view your page with graphics turned off will see? Nothing. Unless you specify BODY BGCOLOR="#000000" [black background]. And have you ever seen a page with light-blue background, off-white text and limegreen links? Garish, no? Keep that in mind.

Layout
In layout, pretty much anything goes, except you shouldn't put too much stuff onto one page. Don't lump everything together on one page because you're scared people won't be interested enough to click on your links. If they're not interested, it's their loss. :) What does this mean? Don't make your page a forever-scrolling one. As an example, I can use my text organization pages. I could have put all that stuff on one page, but as a result, I would have had one HTML file that was incredibly long and would load for over a minute. This is where I get to chant, "Less is more, less is more"...er...um... nevermind :)

That's it?
I'm afraid not, but I can't think of any more stuff right now. I'll be sure to update if I think of something else. :) Click on the Home button to return to the main page.