新サイト最適化講座1−画像編 (第1回)

百聞は一見にしかずじゃないけれど、その分量の対比という意味では、同じ読み込み時間で、テキストなら何ページ分も表示できるのに、大きな画像は1枚表示するのがせいぜい、というインターネットの世界を良く表しているね。ウェブサイトを巡っていれば、最後に出てくるのは画像だというのは知ってるだろ、読み込みにかかる時間の大半を画像ファイルに費やしちゃってるから、表示が最後になっちゃうんだ。

Cook, Jason. Webmonkey (2003). Design>Web Design

新サイト最適化講座1−画像編 (第2回)

PNGとGIFの圧縮は可逆圧縮といって、JPEGとは違い、画像の詳細部分がぼやけたりしないんだ。とても細かい地図なんかをスキャンしたり、小さなテキスト付きの画像を作るんだったら、GIFかPNGのどちらかを選んだ方が良いね。ただ、大きな写真をGIFやPNGで保存すると、ファイルサイズが巨大になって、読み込み時間も長くなっちゃうからね。

Cook, Jason. Webmonkey (2003). Design>Web Design

Adding Search to Your Site

As long as there's been a Web, there's been a need for search engines. Because of the volume of information that's available out there, people will always need help finding what they want. Nowadays, it's commonplace for individual sites, even personal homepages, to have their own search capabilities, and so a slew of new services have appeared to help you quickly and easily add search to your site.

Rappoport, Avi. Webmonkey (2000). Design>Web Design>Search

Authenticate and Track Users with PHP

Learn how authentication, cookies, and sessions can add security and a personal touch to your site.

Meloni, Julie. Webmonkey (2000). Design>Web Design>Server Side Includes>PHP

The Basics of QuickTime 5

This article focuses on Apple’s latest release, QuickTime 5, both from a user’s and developer’s perspective. I'll also describe the tools you'll need, the creative possibilities, and how to best deliver a project to your intended audience.

Marioni, Reno. Webmonkey (2001). Design>Multimedia>Streaming>QuickTime

Browser Chart

One of the biggest pains about making Web pages is having to keep track of which browsers support what features. Wouldn't it be nice if there were some way to keep track of it all? Well, we've whipped up a few articles and charts to make things easier for you.

Webmonkey. Design>Web Design>Standards>Web Browsers

Building a Photo Gallery

Got some righteous digital pics that you want to display on your site? Todd shows you how to create a photo gallery using PHP.

Kennedy, Todd. Webmonkey (2001). Design>Web Design>Server Side Includes>PHP

Building with Flash and MySQL

Building a blog is cool, but building a blog with Flash, MySQL, and PHP is so much cooler. Scott guides you through two days of coding and querying.

Gilbertson, Scott. Webmonkey (2003). Design>Web Design>Server Side Includes>Flash

Choosing the Right Database System

The Web-surfing public doesn't really care about flashy-yet-useless technology. They want Web sites that do something for them: provide a service or entertainment; help get a job or a date; check bank account balances, stock prices, interest rates, availability of airline tickets, today's weather ... and so on.

Dice, Richard. Webmonkey (1998). Design>Web Design>Databases>Adaptive

Design Basics

The first thing you need to do is ask yourself a few questions. What is the point of the site? What are your goals? Do you want to show the world pictures of your cat? Are you trying to sell worms through the mail? Are you promoting your new major motion picture? The answer will help you begin to focus your page. As you edit your material, you will quickly see that the picture of your cat has no business on the homepage of your new blockbuster.

Frew, Jim. Webmonkey (1997). Design>Web Design

Designing for Different Resolutions

So you've designed a startling site. It looks great on your computer, and you're bucking convention by putting the navigation bar on the right side. But if you don't pay attention to monitor resolution, some of your audience may never see that navbar and won't get past the first page. Since I work full time on the computer, I prefer to use a Macintosh with a large screen and good color resolution. But many people are surfing the Web with an old PC and a smaller screen. What they see is dramatically different from what I see, so I must account for those differences in everything I create.

Kay, Michael. Webmonkey (1999). Design>Web Design

Designing Web Sites for PDAs

Imagine that you're riding on the local urban underground railway. It's the morning commute, and the train is packed. The stranger next to you flips methodically through the Times Tribune Chronicle in a way that lands half of the paper in your lap. You want to teach this space invader a lesson. So you tear the paper from her grasp, ball it into a mass, and squeeze with the transformative might of Superman until the lump is shaped into a perfectly readable, rectangular object that can be held comfortably in one hand. This is similar to the challenge of designing content for the PalmPilot. I came upon this analogy while designing a Wired News mini-site for the PalmPilot's AvantGo browser. During the project, I learned some fundamental guidelines that should be kept in mind when designing Web content for a PDA audience, which I'll share over the next few pages. But first I want to put in a word about the importance of the Web to the PDA.

Stowell, Carter. Webmonkey (1999). Design>Web Design>Wireless Web>PDA

Digital Photography for the Web

Like digital photography? Here's a look at tools and tricks you can use to create great photos for your site.

Calore, Michael. Webmonkey (2003). Design>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Web Design

Director MX Versus Flash

Director, which hit the scene way back in 1988, was always considered the ultimate multimedia authoring tool. Then the Web came along and Shockwave, a format that translated Director projects for the Web, was born. It was pretty wowie in its day (circa 1995), but the size of Shockwave files, along with the browser plugin users needed to see them, really slowed Shockwave down. Enter Flash's SWF format, which was designed solely for the Web so it was faster and easier to use than Shockwave. And the rest is history: Flash is everywhere, and whipper-snapper Web developers are all, 'Shockwave who?' But Shockwave has its uses. Flash may be better than ever these days, but you can still outgrow it. Say you need better video performance, or you want to create a game or educational tool that uses a joy stick. Or maybe you're looking for the depth of 3D animation. When it comes to interactive projects in the non-Web world (yes, it's true, there is life outside the Web) — such as CD-ROM games, educational materials, reference books, and presentations — sometimes Flash just isn't enough. If you're tackling a big-league, off-Web project, or a particularly intricate website, then perhaps it's time to take another look at Macromedia's Director MX.

Kay, Michael. Webmonkey (2003). Design>Multimedia>Web Design>Flash

Dynamic DNS Basics

A machine on a DSL or cable line without a static IP is connected to the Internet, but only one way. People from the outside can't initiate communication with that machine except through an intermediary, because they simply can't find it! This makes hosting from home impossible ... except through trickery. For there is a solution, a clever one. It is called dynamic DNS.

Adams, Paul. Webmonkey (2003). Design>Web Design>Hosting

Embedding Fonts Tutorial

We really don't have to be stuck in bland land anymore. Font embedding is here, which means that we can use just about any font we want to on our Web pages, and users will actually see it.

Mulder, Steve. Webmonkey (2002). Design>Web Design>Typography