• What to do,
  
  
• How to do it, and
  
  
• Taboos from a dozen different schools of thought.
  
  

Everybody seems to have the best answer. The advertising and graphics gurus are out there with their "expert" approach, programmer's turned Web Designer, and virtually anyone else inclined to think they have the artistic knack or simply the need or want to have a Web page. It's a place where artistic expression tends to rule, though there are people who call it other things. For an ideal example of the minimalist approach look at Google’s classic design.

The designs vary dramatically. Goggle uses an almost blank page to take you into your searches, while the typical commercial page covers the range of color intensity with items of information jammed in everywhere. Many pages have flashing banners, advertisements, and audio/video. The key is what content and depth the site offers, and whether it will prompt visitors to return. A kaleidoscope, carnival side-show look may be amusing for the first visit, but annoying later.

Probably the best way to get an idea about what you want your Web pages to look like is to take a self-guided course and look at the work of others – go out on the Net and see what's there. You'll find the good (cool), the bad (bizarre, chaotic, no substance), and the ugly (cacophony, kaleidoscope, carnival look, or worse) in short order. It's worth the time. If you take this approach, you'll acquire your own point of reference and maybe some ideas about what you do and do not want for yours site.