Web Design

Plundered from Lynch and Horton

© 2004 the University of Greenwich 2

10 x don't use• Frames• Leading edge technology• Scrolling text, marquees, animations• Complex URLs• Orphan pages• Long scrolling pages• Lack of navigation support• Non-standard link colours• Outdated information• Long download times

© 2004 the University of Greenwich 3

Layout, avoid tables?• Use CSS for position

• Often difficult to maintain• Inflexible

• % width vs specified width• Browser differences

• Nesting takes longer to render• Search engine optimisation• Accessibility• Printing

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Interface Design Issues

• Web pages versus conventional documents

• Page independence• Author – validity of information• Title• Revision date• Home page/site reference• Target audience needs

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• User centred• Navigation• Direct access• Bandwidth• Consistency• Sitemap feedback• Accessibility• Organisation of information

Interface Design Issues

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Navigation

How does page 6 in this sequence deal with this situation?

Patrick J. Lynch, Sarah Horton, 2001Patrick J. Lynch, Sarah Horton, 2001

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Consistency in Page Layout

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Use of Tabs

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Direct Access - Dead Ends

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Graphics as Navigational Aids

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Site Structure• File and folder structures• Hierarchy

Patrick J. Lynch, Sarah Horton, 2001Patrick J. Lynch, Sarah Horton, 2001

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Site Elements

• Home page• Menu based• News based• Path based• Splash screens

• Page templates• Site guide/map• Search facility• Contact• Feedback

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Intranet Use/Cost

• Sun Microsystems Intranet – mid 1990’s• Employees accessed average of 12 pages

per day• Redesign: saving of 5 minutes per week per

employee = 10 million dollars per year

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Page Design

• Visual hierarchy• Consistency• Dimensions• Length• Layout• Frames• Cross platform issues• Accessibility

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Typography

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Justification

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Case

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Anti-aliasing

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Style

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Balance

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Gutters

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Visible Area

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Browser Screen Size

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Links

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Link to Homepage?

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Graphics

• Is it a picture?• Is it a map with links?

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Bandwidth – Page Load Time

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Multimedia

• Audio• music• speech

• Video• streaming• format (plug-ins)

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Accessibility• Guidelines

• WWW Consortium W3C standards

• User tools• e.g. Large Print Viewers

• Authoring tools• A-Prompt, Web Accessibility Verifier, see:

http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/• WebXACT Web Page Accessibility Verifier, see:

http://webxact.watchfire.com

• Browsers with Built-in Voice Feature• Home Page Reader – IBM, see: http://www-3.ibm.com/able/

• Government initiatives• section 508

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References• Patrick J. Lynch, Sarah Horton, 2001, Web Style Guide 2nd Ed, Yale

University, see: http://www.webstyleguide.com

• Accessible Web Page Design, 2003, see: http://www.makoa.org/web-desin.htm

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, 1999 and 2.0 (working draft), 2003, see: http://www.w3.org

• Designing More Usable Documents, 2003, see: http://www.trace.wisc.edu/world/doc_access/index.htm

• Designing More Usable Web Sites, 2003, see: http://www.trace.wisc.edu/world/web/index.htm

• Websites That Work (video – 15 mins), RNIB, see Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI): http://www.w3.org/WAI