1.) Always remember, K.I.S.S.! ("Keep it simple, stupid!") - As insulting as this saying may be, it really helps to remember it if you are designing anything from jet engines to web pages. It doesn't mean that you can't have complex designs. It simply means that if you can do something in a simpler way, do it. Don't add extra complexity to a web-page design if it is not necessary. For instance, when laying out items on a page, use one "table" if possible. Adding extra tables not only takes longer for the page to load, but it makes the HTML code increasingly difficult to read and edit.

2.) Don't use WYSIWYG editors, if at all possible. A "WYSIWYG" editor is an HTML editing program that uses short-cuts to help you create your HTML pages. While this can help many people, especially those new to coding, those editors have a nasty habit of inserting code into your pages THAT YOU CAN'T EDIT. Also, those editors do not follow the first rule above. The resultant HTML code is usually very unwieldy and difficult to edit, in case you ever had to edit the code the old fashioned way.

3.) When writing your HTML code, (providing you aren't using an editor like the ones in rule 2), try to use some kind of convention to make your code easy for you to read. Use indentation to differentiate between different levels of code, and use different capitalization for HTML tags. This will not only make it easier for yourself, but also for anyone else who comes along later and is given the onerous task of editing your code.

4.) Remember browser compatibility! As newer and fancier features are created for web-browsers, keep in mind that not everyone will have the latest versions of the best web-browsers. If you want to use fancier programming in your web pages, remember to include some kind of compatibility check, and have alternate "low tech" pages for people to view if their browser doesn't support all the bells and whistles you so painstakingly designed.

5.) Always preview your web-pages off-line before you publish your mistakes. Nothing is more embarrasing when a viewer calls in or emails you with spelling corrections or with a report of a broken link or image!