Written by :
Brian K. Cortez
bcortez@ccs.neu.edu
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/bcortez/
© 1995 B. Cortez
This document was based on the work performed by: Alan Richmond for DCI's WebWorld Conference.
Tim BL, in his Style Guide for On-line HyperText, stated;
"The web has spread from the grass roots, without a central authority, and this has worked very well. This has been due in part to the creativity of information providers, and the freedom they have to express their information as directly and vividly as they can. Readers appreciate the variety this gives. However, in a large web they also enjoy a certain consistency.
If you are a person responsible for managing the information provided by your organization, you have to balance the advantages of a "house style" with the advantages of giving each group or author free rein. If you end up with decisions in this area, it is as well to write them down (not to mention put them on the web)."
The Cortez Rules of Provision:
· Know the rules, know the community
· Content over visual impact
· Not everyone has a T1 Pipe to their machine
· Design for cross-browser readability
· Automate whenever appropriate, efficiency
Topics covered within this document include:
1. Design
2. Presentation
3. Browser Independence
4. Effectiveness
5. Appropriate and Effective Graphics
6. Navigability
7. Conformity