Tips Archive

University of Notre Dame - College of Arts and Letters - Episode #153
Take a minute to look at your site on a mobile phone. Specifically an iPhone or iPod Touch because they are the most popular devices to browse the web. Don't limit yourself to those two devices but make sure your site is usable on them. A large number of people are turning to them as their primary means on browsing the web. If you have a mobile style sheet that is great, if you tailor it to those specific devices, even better. One simple thing you can do is add a "apple-touch-icon" to the of your document to have your bookmark branded on an iPod Touch or iPhone.
Freed-Hardeman University - Episode #141
Always adapt your web site to the users browsing preferences. If they are using a mobile browser forward them to someplace they will be successful. If they are using a screen reader make sure everything can be accomplished and they will thank you. The experience is something you should be focusing on and not the pixel perfect representation.
Western Illinois University - Episode #130
It is better to combine CSS files that to chain @import files since the browser has to load the initial then parse then load a second and start the process all over again. Try to keep the HTTP requests down to a minimum and include the actual style definitions in a single file for fast download and caching.
Carroll College - Episode #127
CAPITAL LETTERS ARE UNNECESSARY. User regular case and then CSS text-transform to do the rest.
Indiana University East - Episode #125
Make sure you are using progressive enhancement or graceful degradation for every aspect of your site. If IE6 doesn't support something then give them a different experience. There is no need to spend hours hacking something together so a page works in IE. Providing information doesn't mean you have to guarantee the same experience on every device.
University of Richmond - Episode #114
When you need to track actions in javascript attach them after the DOM has loaded instead of attaching them inline. You will save html space and it will be easier to maintain in case you have to change the action or add more functionality. Remember to separate the information structure from the design from the functionality.
Ursuline College - Episode #110
Items that are not part of the actual content of the site should not be part of the structure of the HTML. They should be included with the style of the site. Basically if it should not be printed it is part of the visual design of the site and not the structured information on your page. It not only takes up HTML space but also gets the attention of search engines and screen readers when it is not needed.
Pitzer College - Episode #104
If you have things that are staying consistent through many pages of the site or are large and don't change every page refresh you should include a far future header when serving those items up. This way when someone visits the page again they don't have to re-request the image or asset, it will pull from the browsers local cache.
Georgetown University - School of Medicine - Episode #99
If you have pre-entered text in your search box use javascript to clear it on when the user applies focus to the input field. The more time you can save the user the happier they will be and the more time they have looking at your site. It may not seem frustrating if you know how to double click to highlight all but if click and hit the delete key for each character it is going to get annoying fast. Especially if you use the site multiple times, that is a lot of key presses and wasted time.
The University of Chicago - Episode #98
If possible include all your javascript at the bottom of the page. The longer you delay the download and execution of your scripts the faster your page will appear to the user. Perception is reality and if you can gain a 10-20 millisecond increase just by putting your javascript at the bottom of the page it is huge in the users eyes.
Elon University - Admissions - Episode #93
When using a drop down menu make sure the top menu items are clickable. Just in case the user is not using a mouse they still need to be able to get to the main items. Also if their browser does not support the drop downs at least the main menu items can be reached.
University of Michigan - College of Literature, Science, and the Arts - Episode #91
If you are going to be writing javascript beyond the simple actions it is preferred to use a javascript framework like jQuery or Prototype for example. This will cost some download time up front but it will allow you to write cleaner and more cross browser compliant code.Coding around browser inconsistencies can get nasty very fast, its better to let the framework to all the heavy lifting and you just worry about the functionality.
Ohio State University - Stone Laboratory - Episode #88
If you can use the little know ABBR and ACRONYM HTML tags to explain the actual titles of text in your content. It will not only help people on screen readers but also search engines who can determine when you say ENG if you mean Engineering or English. If possible to setup in the content management system that your institution uses to automatically make thesetags it could save a ton of time.
Hinds Community College - Episode #87
When your site does not respond when a user clicks a link its like you have a prospective student about to walk in to your admissions office but the door is locked. Imagine how frustrating that would be, you want to ask questions, start registering and pay money but you locked the door in their face. Make sure your web server is up and running at all times and responding quickly.
Amarillo College - Episode #85
If you have text on images make sure the ALT attribute reflects the text on the image. If its no where in the HTML a screen reader or Google cannot read it. It might look pretty but that is only to people who can see it. Imagine if you considered Google a visitor to your site, without the ALT text set its just like putting a big black box instead of those images.
University of Arizona - College of Pharmacy - Episode #77
Make sure every page has a print style sheet. If you have multiple ways to get to the print version like a link on the page make sure they all link to the same style. This way the user gets a consistent look and the developer has just one file to update.
The College of Wooster - Episode #76
Tables should only be used for tabular data and not for visually positioning elements on the page. Tables can mess with the order screen readers see your page and search engines have a hard time figuring out the importance of your content. Using div's, span's and other HTML elements to describe your content then CSS to position it on the page is the best route.
Cedar Crest College - Episode #72
When ever you have images on your site that are part of the content or that you think are important enough to be read by a search engine or screen reader you should always supply the alt attribute on the img tag. If you have an image that is part of the design and you don't want it to be referenced just include the alt attribute but keep the content blank. Otherwise if you omit the alt attribute completely the screen reader will still read that there is an image, but a blank alt attribute (alt="") will not be read at all.
Michigan State University - Episode #68
The mobile web is expanding every day. It is important to make your content available to those phones is crucial. If you can customize your page display to be optimized for specific phones your users will thank you. The few major mobile browsers should be your primary targets but at least a base mobile browser view would work. Even if you aimed for just your content without all the fluff it would be a great first step.