And Finally...

The primary purpose of the tosach site is as an entry point for further exploration. But for the more adventurous, it also attempts to be a good illustration of a small, simple, web site - which you might even use as an example for the construction of your own site.

Notice, in particular, that tosach deliberately avoids many web site "fashion accessories"--frames, animations, musak, virtual ticker tape (yuk!) and so on. Instead it aims to provide clear, useful, textual content, which will download quickly, and be accessible universally. That means you should be able to access this site no matter what your computer, your operating system, your web browser, plug-ins or "helper" applications.

It may seem that that is just common sense, and the way all web sites should be; but in fact, many web site designers restrict access to their site to users with particular computer systems, browsers, plug-ins etc. Sometimes this is a deliberate, calculated, and sensible compromise - because of the specific functionality that the site wants to offer. But more often, such restrictions are completely unnecessary, add nothing to the utility of the site, and are just a result of careless or unthinking design.

So if you are thinking of engineering your own site, and you would like it to be as useful as possible to as many people as possible (and why else would you do it?) then it really is important to be aware of accessibility issues. An excellent starting point--for amateurs and professionals alike--is the Guide to Accessible Site Design by Cari D. Burstein. You might also have a look at Web Accessibility Ireland, a DCU based research group actively working on making Internet technologies accessible for visually impaired users. And of course, do take the time to read Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing - my absolute number one, don't miss it, compulsory reference for all would-be web publishers!

Good luck!