Teaching Web Development Continued

Graphics and Multimedia

When you explain images to your boss or other less Web-savvy person, the concept of different graphics formats is probably not one of his main concerns. He'll probably just leave it up to you! But you will want to explain that jpegs are better for images with many different colors fading into each other (like photographs of people or landscapes) and gifs are better for line drawings and images with few colors (like bar graphs). Pulling up an example photograph and an example line drawing, and showing the difference in file sizes when they're put into the correct format, might help get the point across. You also might want to mention that a new format, PNG (pronounced PING) is coming soon, and will be the replacement for the patent-encumbered GIF format. Several of the more recent graphics programs already support this format, although most browsers do not.

Another common point of confusion for the beginning developer is the way that graphics and other typically embedded objects (sound for one) are never merged with the HTML file like they are when using OLE (object linking and embedding). The files are displayed in the same browser window, but the files themselves remain separate and distinct. This is a crucial point because many fledgling developers will upload their HTML files, only to be disappointed that their beautiful graphics have not appeared as well. They don't understand that each individual graphic, sound, etc. will need to be uploaded to the server, and pathed correctly to be able to be displayed "inline".

In adding graphics and multimedia files, you'll want to emphasize that there are certain guidelines.

• The file should add significantly to the site, while supporting your message
• The file size of your HTML plus all graphics should not exceed 100k for the "home" or first page, and not exceed 75k for internal pages(*)
• Always use ALT tags on images - so users waiting for them to load will know what is coming up, and to comply with the HTML 4.0 standard
• The files should be optimized for the potential audience, yet maintain quality of color and resolution

(*) This is a guideline, and is consistently broken by many sites. The student will determine the best practice for their own site.

If the student is interested in adding other types of files, he will need to be aware of plug-ins and issues regarding inclusion of things such as sound, Shockwave, Flash, QuickTime, etc. Browsers will display graphics inline, but they may not recognize a proprietary file type, and will need some sort of helper application. For example, if you do not have a sound card and speakers, you will not be able to hear a sound! That seems obvious to experienced developers, but it is an issue when people embed sound files on their site. The user may get an error message, or it could even crash his browser (typically on older machines using older browsers).

I have found that lots of people have surfed using their own equipment, and gotten confused when they went to someone else's machine (with different settings and capabilities) and seen different results. Often this is because of the plug-ins and helper applications that have been added to the student's own browser. It may also be because his web browser is different from his office-mate's. There is also a significant difference in how the two major browser makers -- Microsoft and Netscape -- handle plug-ins. Microsoft generally includes the most popular third party plug-ins when they release a new browser version, while Netscape is more open to allowing third party vendors to develop for their browser, and has a new way for users to upgrade their version using "Smart Download".

Overall Site Planning

Finally, the developer needs to answer a number of conceptal questions when developing a site, and then decide on a standard of practice for that site. Several of the questions that a student should consider are:

• What is the fundamental purpose of the site?
• Who will the audience be?
• What type(s) of equipment will that user have?
• What transmission speed will be the standard developed toward?
• What level of sophistication and education will the majority of users have?
• What conventions (i.e. copyright on each page, logo placement, navigation) will be used throughout the site?

These questions, and others, will direct all decisions regarding the development of the site, and will be justification for not adding the inevitable "hey, include this neat spinning globe thingy because it looks cool" (which, of course, he may need to do anyway)!

Encourage students to enjoy the process and learn as much as they can. Developing for the Internet requires a unique combination of marketing, writing, graphics, technical and communication skills. They can use this experience to improve each of these areas, and help advance their career as well.

Have you ever had to teach a boss, intern, or anyone how to write web pages? Come discuss what helped your student, and what they just couldn't grasp.

Amy Poe is a senior technical instructor and Internet Developer for Kajax Engineering, Inc. in Arlington, VA, and a member of DC WebWomen.

view a printable version of this article