Design Principle - "Websites without Fat"

I tend to focus on functional layouts. With Web 2.0 this has become the natural thing to do. Minimalism in design is my focus. Another thing I'm focussed in is reducing clutter in html code - the 'code junk'.

Beauty is not skin deep

Many automatic html code generating software tend to generate repetitive & unnecessary html codes. In some cases, generating as many as 900 lines of code, for just 15 line content. How it looks on a browser alone mattered.

This clumsiness under the hood might hurt in more ways than one.
1. Considering the file size, the page might took more than double the time it needs to appear.
2. The 'code junk' forces the browser to workout extra codes while processing the page display, eating out precious seconds in the process.
3. And more importantly, it can impede the progress of Search Engine robots, trying to assess the content.
4. PDAs & mobiles might display a broken layout due to complex codes.

Hand coding - the way it's done here

Whether it is a template for a dynamic site or layout for html, I always do it with hand coding using various text editors.

The result is individual attention on the finer parts of design. And just the absolutely required html code will find a place in the layout. Essential for websites without fat.

Separating design from html

It will need a full page to discuss the separation of design from html. I'll put it briefly here.

I tend to keep the entire design on the external CSS file while the html will retain just basic html codes like h1, h2 tags, paragraph etc & content text.

This will help in the following ways...
1. Search Engine bots will find properly emphasized (like h1 tags) and structured content. Aiding for better assessment of page content.
2. With design kept entirely on CSS. Different CSS can be used for different media (like plain look for printing, simple & narrow layout for mobiles, etc.). Without changing the html file.
3. You can keep important Search Engine Optimized content near the top of html file, while it actually appears in another place on screen - according to design. (for example, the left side menu & top ad banner need not appear before the SEO-ed content in html file.)
4. Re-design can be done just by changing the CSS. Leaving the html file untouched. No big worries about loosing your position in search results.

Web standards layout

I generally code my layouts for XHTML1.0 Strict/Transitional and CSS2.0 web standards. This will ensure proper display of pages in all browsers & devices.

Cross-browser compatibility

The layouts will be tested for compatibility in the latest versions of Firefox, Opera & ofcourse Internet Explorer.