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Web Authoring Resource Page
RESOURCES
The following sites provide a variety of resources for Web
site developers. They include resources for Front Page users, basic descriptions of HTML and HTML tags, procedures
for publishing Web pages at Murray State, general style guides for Web authors and
resource sites for more advanced design tools. You will use these sites throughout
the semester for help in the design process.
STYLISTIC STANDARDS
You should design your site and all its constituent pages to the following
stylistic standards. Specifically, your site should;
- clearly identify yourself and/or your organization in the first screen of each page,
- be linked with a clear internal navigation system, which appears
in the first screen of each major page,
- communicate important information in the first screen of each
page,
- on each page, accomplish a communication objective prior to
offering external links,
- provide information in a clear, organized manner,
- include update, copyright and author contact information at bottom
of each page,
- use a common graphic design, incorporating several images,
- use fonts and color schemes in which all text and images are easily legible,
- be stylistically consistent across pages,
- provide for one-click Email communication with you, and
- be free of spelling and grammatical errors.
UTILITIES AND JAVA APPLETS
The following utilities are available free of charge
These are samples of the types of resources you can find from a variety of resources, not
necessarily the best implementation of each. Please contact me by Email when you
find additional available utilities for addition to this list.
- Web Tracker - offers a
counter and basic visitor analysis service
- Mapuccino - an
IBM utility which allows you to create a Java site map for your site
- List.bot - allows to
maintain a database of Email addresses of your users for future communication
- GuestWorld - offers a
free guestbook service which automates the process of collecting user information
- Cooltext.com - allows you
to create simple, text-based logos
- Come.To - provides a redirection
service which can shorten URL addresses
Though Java programming is not required in this
course, there are several Java and JavaScript resources that allow you to improve your
site design. These are available through a variety of sources which allow you to
download and use applets for use in your pages. For example, the following pull down
menu button is such an applet and contains several Java related links. Feel free to use
these resources to improve your pages and design skills.
eBUSINESS PLUG-INS AND APPLICATIONS
Several firms make utilities available which you can use to add
eBusiness functionality to your Web site. Some of the most useful
functions are included below. The only one that you MUST use is the
JustAddCommerce plugin for Front Page 2000. This package allows you to add
shopping cart, checkout and order fulfillment functions to your site. The
complete package adds these functions to Front Page eBusiness sites at modest
price points.
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A hosting site which offers its own
development tools, Front Page and ShopSite support, a variety of
supplemental services and access to discussion forums on practical
eBusiness topics |
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a demonstration version of a
commercial plug-in to add eBusiness functions to Front Page 2000 Web
sites. This site also offers a gallery
of actual eBusiness sites which are implemented with the Front Page
2000/JustAdd Commerce combination. |
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a demonstration version of Rich
Media Technology's package for managing email promotions to a firm's
customer base for cross-selling and relationship building |
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a profiling system which provides aggregated (as
opposed to individual-level) tracking data on users of your Web
site. The "Lite" version is free while the more extensive
services are fee based. |
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a tool in the UPS suite of free eCommerce
utilities. This one allows user to calculate the cost a a specific
shipment using various alternatives from Murray, KY to their ZIP
code. It provides designers (you) the ability to make some
customized additions to the response form users receive from UPS. |
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another tool in the UPS suite of
free eCommerce utilities. This one allows user to track their
shipment from you via a UPS tracking number. It provides
designers (you) the ability to make some customized additions to the
response form users receive from UPS. |
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provides access to a 30 day
demonstration version of Store Front's eBusiness software, which requires
Personal Web Server to operate |
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an orientation site for Open
Market's software products for eBusiness sites |
SITE EVALUATION AND PROMOTION
As you complete your site, you should review the following resources for
evaluating your site and promoting it to potential visitors and appropriate search engines
and indices. The following tools are useful in that process
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a collection of links to sites which support
various aspects of ECommerce including registration, hosting, evaluation
and promotion |
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offer free evaluation of your site as a sampling mechanism for their Web
services, |
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provides information on search engines, how they accumulate information on
Web pages, and what design features attract them to your pages |
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provide the opportunity to purchase lists of Email addresses for people
who might be interested in your site |
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site registration services which facilitate the process (for
a fee) of registering your site with multiple search engines and indices, some of which
offer a scaled down version of their service at no charge |
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offers an excellent overview of the Web
advertising industry, including terminology and sample rates |
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These sites which describe the practice of advertising your
site through banner ads which you post on other web sites. They cover the general
procedure, some design guidelines for banners and pricing approaches for sites hosting
banner ads. |
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