These are a few techniques which will make your pages stand out. You are probably viewing these design pages using frames. If you have scrolling windows on your screen, a table of contents to the left and this lesson page on the right, then you are seeing my pages in frames. I think frames are very handy in maneuvering through a web site with many pages and themes. My web site has over 40 pages covering many topics and frames help you to quickly jump from section to section. That is the purpose of frames, to help you maneuver or view things which are generally too complex to view in a single window.
It is important though that you do not over use frames, for several reasons. The most important is that it is easy to get lost in frames. The back and forward buttons are confusing when too many frames fill the page and you can get lost or stuck in a site without hope of escaping. I limit my frames to two per page. Usually a table of contents and a main page window. This simple use of frames will usually suffice. In some cases, more than two frames work. A good example of this is The Virtual Bartender, where three frames adds the feel of a drink recipe book.
Tables are very different, but serve a similar purpose, but within a
single window. Tables are used to link text or images or links together
in a particular format. Keeping items linked allows the designer to express
a though regardless of the viewers font style, font size or browser type.
I'll cover the importance of these things later.
Web Page design Course
Getting Ideas
Style and options
Frames and Tables
Images
Links and Targets
Theory of Layout
Maintaining your site