I believe that my web site should be a pleasant place for people to visit, easy to navigate, and that it should be free of spelling mistakes.
The very first award that I applied for was from Sandshifter. I was interested because as part of getting the award, Sandshifter would check out my pages and tell me if there were any spelling errors. It was well worth it. Basically, my site was okay, but there was a typo or two. I am a pretty good speller, and strive to fix any errors that get by me (so if any errors show up, please let me know!) I'm only human, I do make mistakes. (Thanks, Joanne!) Now, if only I could get my son to have Sandshifter check out his web page. He doesn't share my concern for spelling correctness...
Care to take a Spelling Test? (50 of the most commonly misspelled words)
I have also learned some things about Netiquette (Net Etiquette)
along the way, too.
One thing is to never write in all capital letters. That is the equivalent to shouting, and I avoid it, unless I want to SHOUT!
, I learned is very annoying, but some otherwise very good web sites insist on using it. I have managed to avoid it on my pages, until now!
It seems like bright red letters would probably be more effective anyway.
Frames are another thing I generally don't care for. You can do some really great pages using frames, if they are done well. Otherwise, they can be very confusing and cluttered.
I have not used any background on my pages, as I am still busy setting up new pages. I want to be very careful in choosing a background so that it is not too dark or too busy. Some otherwise wonderful sites are too hard to read when the background comes in. I wish I could choose to eliminate the background because many times I just have to leave the site, and that is a real shame. On the other hand, I have seen some really nice sites where
the background is used well, and it enhances the site. I also like to use graphics, and they may clash or are too busy with a background. Personally, I like to see the border sets (like these from Kelly). They seem work quite well as the print is not over top of a pattern, but along side and easy to read. There are many different ones available. I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do or not do, this is just my 2 cents and what I like.
Many people don't use the "ALT" command with graphics. I am in the process of putting an "ALT" command on all my graphics, because it is
necessary for those people who use readers for the blind. I strive to have my site as accessible as possible to all people. It is my understanding that only words are read, and it simply tells them that there is a "flower" or whatever on my page. It also comes up if the graphic fails to show up. It will say "Graphics Barn" or whatever, so you can click on it if you want to move to that site.
This was my very first graphic, and I thought it was so neat. But, I was afraid I might not be able to use it because it might be copyrighted. So, I double checked and found out that you can have it from this neat little erupting volcano free from this "volcano cam site". Visit them by clicking on the active volcano graphic. Their motto is: "Forget java, we've got lava."
SPAY or NEUTER all pets 
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