Second Generation Web Site Design
David Siegal's philosophy continues in
his description of second generation web sites where they
are base on first generation design concepts except for the
following characteristics:-
 icons replacing words
tiled images for
backgrounds
buttons with bevelled
edges
banners replacing
headlines
and use of a top
to bottom, bullet-list menu driven system to present a hierarchy
of information.
Many of these characteristics where driven
by the development of html. The web sites created at this
stage tended to be overdone with technology, without respect
to, or consideration of the web site purpose. Use of technology
for technologies' sake, with no treatment for clean layout
reflecting the desire to communicate. Pages were over-crowded
with flashing icons and rainbow coloured graphics and
backgrounds. However, there were a few designers such as David
Seigal, who were able to utilise the html code in ways that
it were innovative in order to acquire the page layout they
desired. One example of this new approach occurred when the
html tags for tables were introduced for statistical data
layout. These designers used the table code for pouring in
the columns of text and graphics just like you see in magazine
and books. Tables were used to acquire greater control over
element positioning; it was essentially a work around.
These sites were still adapting to technology
that was constantly changing, for example, computer monitors
used to view the web could be 640x480 pixel's, 800x600 pixels,
or 1024x768 pixels. Also the designer needed to know whether
viewers monitor was 8bit or 24 bit?, As this knowledge influenced
the colour depth of the images on the web. The other problems
were that Microsoft had their rules and Netscape had their's
even within the guidance set by the 3WC.
While being aware of the web medium's
capability and limitations, the main drawback of the web is
speed of downloading information. People may not be interested
in waiting for content to appear on their computer screen,
and even if the information does appear, will they be motivated
to read off the screen. Web text is not easy to read because
of the inherent browser characteristics. It is easier to read
from books, magazines and papers; why?, because of the designer's
input to the amount of leading between the lines of text and
the controlled length of text in a measure within a horizontal
space. These controls do not exist on the web, unless the
designer actually insert the texts as a pixel graphic. The
text and font size can be set on the browser, but how many
people know how, or even if they do, they probably do not
know what aspects are important for legibility, readability
and clarity.
Second Generation sites
The HitMill, History of the web
http://www.hitmill.com/internet/web_history.asp
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