Step 4: Wiring The Lamp and Adjusting The Lens
When the building
proper of
your lighthouse has been constructed, it's time
for the electrical work. You must be certain that the wiring is properly
installed, the lamp itself will light, and the
lens is properly adjusted to send out light in
the proper direction. Simply stated, we have to be sure
that the essential parts won't break down.
It seems strange to say that your site should work, but a lot of
sites don't. If your site doesn't function
properly, then what's the point?
You annoy and frustrate the very people with whom you're trying to communicate.
I'm not interested in letter-perfect, well-formed HTML coding. I do not have the
slightest interest in examining any of the
coding on your site. What interests me is practical
functionality. This is very simple to determine: when your site appears
in my browser, does everything
work?
All of your internal links to graphics and other pages should
function properly. Now, I don't hold you responsible for the technical
quirks of your web site provider. Those things happen. I also don't hold you responsible for
broken outside links, up to a point. (One or two broken outside links
indicate sites that suddenly changed URLs without warning. Multiple broken
outside links indicate a lack of maintenance by the webmaster.) All
I'm looking for is that you have controlled what
it is possible for you to control.
Most people these
days are busy. And busy people do not like
to have their time wasted. Does your site
make viewers wait excessively? For
example, would I have enough time to make a pot
of coffee while your pages load? Do I have
to download some strange plug-in I never heard
of in order to view your site?
Since my vision
of an Internet Beacon includes reaching as many
people as possible, I frown on sites that are
browser-specific and/or resolution-specific.
Not everyone in the world uses our favorite
browser at our favorite resolution, after all. Depending on my mood, I
may look at your site in the latest editions of Internet
Explorer, Opera, Mozilla or Firefox. I may even look at
more than one resolution -- I have been known to
use 800-by-600 and 1024-by-768. (My eyes
aren't good enough for anything smaller than
that.)
Like what you see
so far? Proceed to Step 5:
Interior Work
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