notes on the coding of MHM site development __________________________________________________________________ HTML CODE >>> CONTENT CONTAINER using a specific DIV to contain all content will allow for more stable liquid layout

HEADER TAG tag should remain reserved for main page headers > SEO importance > consistent styling across site MAIN MENU ideally set up as list, using list and individual list items to apply styling to LEFT MENU with SUBMENU ideally set up as list, using list and individual list items to apply styling to >> this setup now involves a list within a list item, targeted specifically within the CSS DIV TAGS DIV IDs should be used for unique occurrences on the page only >> using lists allows targeting of the list item structure, as well as the any contained link for differentiation of individual links (if required) - classes should be used XHTML - future proof.... In order to remain within the latest specs - we should be using XHTML - instead of HTML basically the same thing with a few things written differently - as a space before the forwards slash: HTML XHTML

INLINE STYLES should be avoided - any formatting should be done in the CSS, ie avoid: ... and rather add tjose styles in the CSS CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS ideally applied using tags around the relevant work (ie within its tag whichever that might be) >> this allows implementation across the entire site consistently, works especially well in this case as formatting remains and only colour need to be changed

tag set up for subheadings - with 2 px bottom border as underline FORMS AND FORM BUTTONS => GO buttons form can be styled to suit a site's design but this needs to be done with care out due to some serious browser compatibility accessibility issues. even though standard compliant browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Opera and other modern browsers are able to interpret any CSS styling applied correctly to a form element - InternetExplorer's support is very patchy. Depending on how many browser versions you are planning to gear the site set up for - this process requires then a combination of hacks and work arounds through which it is possible to control appearance and usability of the relevant elements. __________________________________________________________________ CSS CODE >>> FONT SPECIFICATIONS using font-family attribute should be set for overall body tag best to set default size as 1em (to specify default size as user setting) COLOURS + SHORTHAND CODE use shorthand as much as possible, ie: #000000 can be written as #000