Graphics

Graphic Backgrounds are nice to use but to much contrast can cause the user to lose interest and become confused on what's being offered so less is better in this department. A simple background is best especially if you plan to use pictures or graphics as these take the place of a background. You can distract attention away from the object in which you want to bring attention too. A light color in most cases is the best background or one that has very little contrast to the text on the screen. The one used here is a good example of little too much contrast but ok as the letters are still easy to read. Be sure to use a font or text that is easily read and seen, this is as important as the background. Stay away from too many text colors and styles pick a style and stay with it. Another mistake is not to set the background color (see examples below) of your page even if you use a graphic for the background. In some cases on certain browsers the graphic may load slow or not at all. If the text is the same color or of light contrast to the default background which usually is white, then the reader will be unable to read the page. The letters become too light to see on the default colored background. The same is true with a dark background color and dark text, in most cases this mistake is done when the background graphic is light in color and the person uses a dark text and has set the background to a dark color. Look at this example of a background of white and letters of yellow as a bad case of not setting the colors (Example 1, and Example 2.) Set the color to a dark color in case the background doesn't load. If the page comes in slow and on a white background with light text it makes it hard to read until the background image loads. The objective is to make it easy to read even if the graphic background doesn't load soon or not at all.
Example 1. Not very easy to read.	Example 2. Much easier to read.
Another mistake is to use a dark colored background and then put a graphic background of a light color with Dark text like this blue text here and then a black background... see Example 3.	Example 3.. Another mistake is to use black background and then put a graphic background of a light color with Dark text like this.

Graphic buttons: Buttons are a great navigational item on web pages there are many ways to make them and many ways that the button will work on the page these are hover buttons. As you run your mouse over them they change color. The first button just fills in a different color and the second one changes the edges or glows, the third button will bevel in.

When you click on each one they will bring up the page in a different way the first button is the most common way, it brings up the page in the same window that you are on, click home to test and then use the back button on your browser to come back to this page or click graphics on the navigation bar.

The second button or Tutorial button will bring the page up as a separate window this is the preferred way to go to another web site from the site you are working from. It keeps the user at your site so not to lose the user or your site unless they choose to leave.

Links Tips and Tricks

Navigation

New window pop up.
To create a new window you can use "target=" _blank the link would look something like this;
<a href="newpage.html/" target="_blank">New Page</a>
This link if used would bring up another window with that page. The same is true if you used an internet address like this;
<a href="http://www.newsite.com/" target="_blank">New Site</a>

Now you can specify different size windows and weather it has toolbars and if its resizable and were on the page it pops up. This may be accomplished using a java script or using html.