We look forward to serving you for years to come.

The Number 1 rule that every web designer should follow is to create a fast loading web site. You might have a great design but very few people are going to see it if it takes a long time to load. While designing a web site always think about how long it will take to load. Try out our tips to build a great looking web site that also loads fast.

1. Minimize the use of images – The key to a fast loading web site is to minimize the use of images. Images do enhance a page but don’t make 80% of your web site only images. Instead break it down as much as possible to simple HTML. Notice the popular sites like Yahoo, Google, Ebay, Amazon etc., they have very few images because the load time is more important. Very often simple designs are the best.

2. Optimize images for the web – Once you have decided on the images that you need on your site, make sure that it is optimized for the web. They should be in the gif or jpeg format. You can also minimize the size of the image by choosing the number of colors you need, from the color palette. The less the colors you choose, the less the size of the image. You can also use online tools like Gif Wizard to optimize your images or to get a recommendation on how to cut down the size of an image.

3. Use Tables creatively – You can get some great looking designs by using tables creatively . Tables load very fast because it is just HTML code. Tables can be used in the homepage, menus or anywhere you like.
Read more on Using HTML Tables Creatively

4. Cut down the use of animated gifs – Don’t use animated gifs unless it is necessary. Animated gifs take a long time to load and can also be very irritating. But since they catch your attention you could use small animated gifs to draw a visitor’s attention to a particular section of your site.

5. Design simple icons – Instead of using big, bulky images use simple and small icons that add a little color and draw the attention of a visitor. We have used small icons in our homepage to highlight the main sections of our site.

6. Use background images instead of big images whenever possible – Use background images whenever possible. This is usually a very useful tip for headers and footers. Instead of using an image of width 580 which is a uniform design you can use just a part of that as a background fill. This reduces the size of the web page as the image is small. The code will look like this :

7. Try out CSS Styles – Have fun with CSS styles to get some cool text effects. Again, a CSS Style is simple HTML code so it loads very fast. You can create cool rollovers using CSS Styles.
Rollover the text on the right menu to see how we have used CSS Styles to get a simple but nice text effect.
Check out our CSS Styles tutorial for more cool tips on CSS Styles

8. Use Flash sparingly – There seems to be a lot of hype about Flash but I recommend that you minimize the use of Flash on a site. Don’t make entire sites using Flash. It may look great but it takes hours to load and can really put off visitors. If you do want to use Flash use it within an HTML site and make sure it loads fast.

9. Design most of your site in HTML – As much as possible try to design your site using HTML. You can create great designs by just using HTML code. Use tables, CSS Styles and simple fonts to design your site. Minimize the use of animated gifs, Flash, bulky images etc.

10. Keep checking your load time – Last but not least, before you decide on the final design of your web site, check its load time on NetMechanic. This site gives you a free analysis of your web site which is extremely useful.

As I see it, one of the fastest growing fields is that of an A+ Certified Computer Technician. Open any newspaper and you will find a company looking for someone with this particular skill.

So, what does it take to be an A+ Certified Computer Technician? http://www.calarttech.com’s Curriculum looks like this..

This course maps fully to CompTIA’s new 2006 A+ Exam objectives. The course is designed to be a complete, step-by-step approach for learning the fundamentals of supporting and troubleshooting computer hardware and software.

You will receive comprehensive materials, instruction, quizzes, practice exams, labsims, projects and online learning resources. At the conclusion, you will prepare to pass the actual CompTIA A+ certification exams using our included Cert Blaster software.

This comprehensive course is taught over a 10 week period.
Specific topic coverage includes:

Introducing Hardware
Introducing Operating Systems
PC Repair Fundamentals
Form Factors and Power Supplies
Processors and Chipsets
Motherboards
Upgrading Memory
Hard Drives
Installing and Supporting I/O Devices
Multimedia Devices and Mass Storage
Installing Windows 2000/XP
Maintaining Windows 2000/XP
Supporting Windows 2000/XP Users and Their Data
Troubleshooting Windows 2000/XP Startup
Windows 9x/ME Commands and Startup Disk
Supporting Windows 9x/ME
PCs on a Network
PCs on the Internet
Securing your PC and LAN
Notebooks, Tablet PCs, and PDAs
Supporting Printers and Scanners
The Professional PC Technician

Did you notice that this is a 10 week course? In jsut 10 weeks, you can be on your way to an exciting new career. Contact calarttech.com today and get started!

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I will be adding more scripts and some CSS design templates over the next few days so keep your eyes on that page!

I love my work and take a lot of pride in it. When I start a site, I try to determine what I can do with the site to improve every aspect of my client’s business.

Check out my work and even if you don’t need a web site, let me know what you think about it.