Good Web Design
Although there
is no right and wrong in web design, having spent a number of years in
industry involved with the design, specification and use of the Internet, my
colleagues and I have come across a number of areas that annoy people.
There are a
number of articles on the Internet that talk about what constitutes good
design and what the common mistakes are. One of my favourites is that of
Jacob Nielsen. (See http://www.useit.com/alertbox)
Summarising, I
have come up with the following top ten mistakes:
1 |
Overly Long
Download Times |
Generally reckoned
to be the most prevalent problem with web design. In a web survey 84%
of sites exhibit long download times. Most people will only wait about
10 seconds for a web page to download. This means web design must take
this download time into account. |
2 |
Using Frames |
Splitting a page
into frames is very confusing to users. You can't bookmark the current
page, URLs stop working and printouts become difficult. |
3 |
Splash Pages |
You know, those
useless front pages that take ages to download and have no content,
except an "Enter" button. |
4 |
Scrolling Text,
Marquees and Constantly Running Animations |
Page elements that
move incessantly should be avoided. Moving images have an overpowering
effect on the human peripheral vision. Users should be given peace and
quiet to actually read the text. |
5 |
Complex URLs |
Making URLs simple
and human readable, with directory and file names that reflect the
nature of the information space can help people understand where they
are in your web. In addition sometimes users need to type a URL, so
the use of short names and all lower case characters with no special
characters and spaces is an advantage. |
6 |
Orphan Pages |
All pages should
include a clear indication of what web site they belong to. Every page
should also have a link to the home page as well as some indication of
how they fit into the web structure. |
7 |
Moving Pages to
New URLs |
How many times
have you gone to a bookmarked page or clicked on a link to find the
page is no longer there. Changing or modifying the URL of a page could
lead to people finding it more difficult both through search engines
and referrals from other web sites. |
8 |
Outdated
Information |
When pages are out
of date then it is essential to remove them from the web or at least
see that they are updated. |
9 |
Including and
Linking to Non-Standard Files Without Warning |
Including non HTML
files in your web can in many circumstances simply be laziness on
behalf of the web designer. When you have to include such files it is
essential to provide an explicit warning as the user may not have the
necessary software installed or it will start up a new application
with additional delays. |
10 |
Lack of
Navigational Support |
Don't assume that
users know how to navigate your site. Webs should be designed with a
clear sense of structure and this should be communicated with the use
of a site map and explicit navigation. |
So what constitutes Good
Web Design? Well the key element is to avoid anything that makes for bad web
design, and addressing the following requirements of Good Web Design:
Download Times |
Pages should
download quickly, and definitely in less than 10 seconds under normal
circumstances. |
Site Navigation |
The web should
contain neat, consistent and intuitive navigation, such that visitors
to the site will be able to answer the questions: "Where I am?" and
"Where do I go from here?". |
Page Layout |
Being aware of the
practical limitations of web page format, laying out the information
in a way that the readers eye is led from one item to the next. Every
page in the site should look like it belongs to the same site, with
repetitive elements that carry throughout the pages. |
Text / Typography |
The background
must not interrupt the text and the text must be big enough to read.
Columns of text should not be too wide for reading on the screen.
The imaginative
use of different fonts, e.g. decorative and stylised typefaces for
headings and logos, and conventional serif and sans serif fonts for
body text. |
The Use of Colour |
Colour is
subjective. What one person likes another detests. Colour must take
into account the basic link colours, which should be maintained as the
web standard, and the contrast between text and background.
|
Textures |
The use of
textures can enhance a web site by giving it a "feel". A texture can
be rough, smooth, warm or even cold. |
Use of Photographs
and Images |
Photographs and
Images can
really enhance a web page whilst helping to illustrate the product,
location, person, etc. Framing, softening edges, multiple images are
all ways they can be displayed with wrapped text if desired. The key
use of graphics is to break up large areas of text. |
Who is the
Audience |
What is your
audience expecting? An electronic version of a brochure? A way of
booking on line? Purely as a source of additional information? What is
the age of the audience? All of these can impact on the design of the
site. |
How will it be
Maintained |
Information must
be kept up to date. If it contains dates or prices, then these should
be accurate. If information becomes out of date then it must be
removed or updated. |
Copyright © 2007 "your-own-page" |