WEBnME - Deadly Sins of Webmasters

Always test your design using different browsers and operating systems - what looks good in Internet Explorer may be a mess in Netscape and what works in the current version, may not work on an older browser used by your visitor
Know your audience - don't add "bells and whistles" to show you can do it, if in doing so you end up exclusing a part of your audience
Design for the monitor resolution of your potential audience -

if most of your visitors are likely to be using older equipment, make sure your site can be viewed with monitors set at a resolution of 640x480.
Most webmasters design so that their websites can be viewed with a monitor set to a resolution of 800x600.
Watch your visitor statistics - if a lot of your visitors are using MSN browsers, you can be that they have a chunk of screen taken by the side panel. The effective viewing area is probably going to be closer to 640x480.

Monitor Resolution Planning Tips

Count the pixels, if you are specifying absolute widths.
Make sure to add 16 pixels for the scroll bar.
Make sure to allow for vertical button bars; e.g., Office Tool Bar

Keep images to a minimum to improve download time
Blinking objects are distracting and may be counter-productive
If you must use animated images, make sure the image is slow enough to see
Use color carefully - too many colors causes a visitor to lose focus or become confused
Settle on a consistent color scheme for all of your pages - this way your visitors don't have to relearn your website on each page
Try to avoid the need for a plugin to view your content - you will lose some people who are afraid to load the plugin or not savvy enough to do the job
Plan your navigation before you design or re-design your site - where do you want your visitors to be able to go? How do you help them get there?
Visitors tend to expect navigation to be in the left column
Make sure your navigation scheme is consistent through out the site and in the same place on each page
If you use images or javascript for your navigtion links, make sure to incude text links at the bottom of the page
Make sure to have a search facility on your site - if you don't have the ability to set up your own, get one from Atomz, Excite, Google, or other sites that allow you to set up a search on your site
You should make it a goal to keep content separate from formatting-by using style sheets
Speaking of format - try to limit the number of fonts that you use to three or less
Don't use capital letters - it is considered to be "shouting" and impedes reading - most people read by the tops of letters
Make sure that you have good contrast - this is especially important if you have a dark background - red text on black is hard to read for many people
If you must use a background image, make sure it doesn't steal the show or make it difficult for a visitor to read your pages - muted or subdued images are best
Make sure to give a visitor some means of giving you feedback, even if it is just an e-mail link - forms are better
Consider community building by adding a live discussion area or a web forum where visitors can leave comments or answer questions (for you)
Change your content - add new things - don't let your site get dull

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