It reminds me of how one lays out a newspaper page where you must balance the two constituencies, namely: the reader and the advertiser. The driving question I found myself asking always was: "Why should I scroll further?"

Mary Gillen is WDFM's producer. She designed the new look and feel with lots of input from yours truly. She did a marvelous job and I recommend her to you not only for design but for site maintenance as well. She's been doing that for me for so many years I can't remember how long it's been. Her site maintenance package lets me focus on the business of publishing this newsletter rather than constantly tweaking and updating WDFM.com. You can get in touch with her at 703-339-7400 or mpgillen@mindspring.com.

Many folks asked what tool we used. She recommended HomeSite for most people, though she works in Cold Fusion Studio. Mary advises me that there are a lot of packages out there that offer "drag and drop" HTML templates. WDFM is hardcoded in HTML from scratch and that gives us the leanest code for the fastest delivery. She goes on to say that for a professional template that will last you for a long time, it's important to make the investment to build it from the ground up. Whatever you do, don't get Mary to comment on products that generate plug and play templates that contain unnecessary code. She calls it "spaghetti code" that takes way too long to load.

There are a number of others who had significant input into this new look and feel. It's the first time WDFM's format has changed in its 7.5-year history. To Neil Raphan, Eileen Shulock, Mac Ross, Richard Witt, Kathleen Wallace, thank you much. You were invaluable.

Here now are my Top Ten Tips for Going HTML

1. Remember, Lots of People Still Use Dial-Up Connections: Often, designers are on high-speed connections and forget how tedious it can be to download files in excess of 45K over a 56KB connection. Try to keep the entire file size to 35 or 40KB, if not less.

2. Read Lots of Newspapers: Chances are you'll be using columns in HTML. That's a good thing, because text within them is easier to read and therefore more likely to get read. Newspapers have been formatting in this style for centuries and can teach us lots about how a page is laid out. Note how online designers use terms from newspaper lingo such as "above the fold" or "above the scroll."

3. Get Cozy with Preview Pane: Many email apps offer this feature, whereby subscribers can view an email before it's actually opened. Make sure your masthead fits in there, along with a good reason to keep scrolling. Some people never leave Preview Pane and read the entire document in this short window.

4. Look at Every Single Newsletter In Your Niche: See what you like about it and ask yourself why. See what you don't like and ask yourself why. Ask: " How can I make mine better?"

5. Look at Zines Outside Your Category: Be the first to migrate the best and brightest look and feel into your niche.

6. Don't Rush Into HTML: Let it take weeks or months. You'll be surprised how the look and feel can evolve. I was.

7. Get Input: Solicit input from people in and out of your industry. A fresh perspective is mandatory.

8. Ask yourself Why You're Going HTML Before Going HTML: It's a fair amount of work, and it means more money and time to produce it week in and week out. So be clear why you're committing resources to it before proceeding.

9. Love the Details: If you don't, get someone who does to do the job because there are zillions of details ongoing.

10. Use the Same Tool: If more than one person is involved in producing the HTML final product, make sure they're all using the same tool. Different apps save HTML differently, and the formatting can take some frustrating turns when one version is passed from one app to another. Thanks again to Mac Ross for this ditty. Many headaches avoided.

Bonus Tip: It ain't over till it's over, and even then, it's not over. Nothing is set in stone. Even after launch, it will change, and hopefully for the better, as you get feedback from the field. Thank you, readers for all of your feedback and kind words on our new look.