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Download
time -- how long it takes for your page to appear on a visitor's
browser -- is one of the most important issues to consider
in your design process. Web surfers have notoriously short
attention spans. If they have to wait longer than 10-20 seconds
for a page to load, they'll move on. All the work that you
put into a web page is useless if no one waits around to see
it. Also, remember that people using dial-in modems (prospective
students, say) will have much longer download times than people
on campus. In general, you should keep your pages under 50k
(If you're using Dreamweaver, it can tell you how large your
page is and how long it takes to load, or you can check out
the WebSite Garage,
which will perform the same function).
Vertical
Page Size: The larger your page is, in terms of both length
and memory, the longer it takes to load. When possible, try
to keep your pages short enough to fit on a single browser
screen, so that your visitor doesn't have to scroll down for
half an hour to reach the end of the page.
Tables:
Tables are a great way to organize your page, but be careful:
too many nested tables can seriously increase your download
time. Also, try to avoid tables with large borders. If you
must have borders on your tables (and it usually looks better
if you don't), keep them down to 1 pixel wide.
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