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- Introduction
- Graphics vs. Speed
- Browser Compatibility
- User Enviroment Issues
- Content
- Readability
- Navigation
1. Introduction
The following is
a list of issues that must be considered when creating web pages. Although
this list is not all inclusive, it points out some aspects of web site
design that are better dealt with in the planning stage rather than
the eleventh hour.
Top ^
2. Graphics vs. Speed
The formula is simple:
large graphics files equal long download times. You'll have to decide
at what point the importance of "making an impression" is
outweighed by the need to give visitors what they want, and give it
to them quickly. Typically, what visitors want is information, not pretty
pictures. Web site graphics should be limited to those elements that
serve an important purpose. For example, your logo helps establish your
company's identity, and navigation icons help the visitor find information
and negotiate your site.
Use interlaced gifs;
Interlaced gifs are the most popular perceived time saver. At best they
don't load any faster than conventional gifs, but because the user gets
to watch the image develop it seems faster. Below a certain file size
there really isn't any gain to using interlaced gifs. If the image is
small enough and simple enough, say an icon, it loads so quickly that
interlacing hurts more than it helps.
Specify image sizes;
Specifying the image size in pixels should be required by law. If you
use something like < SRC="image.gif" HEIGHT=50 WIDTH=150
ALT="Tell the reader something in the alt in case they have graphics
turned off"> the browser will know how much screen real-estate
to allot the gif. When the height and width directives are absent, the
browser must wait for the gif to download before it can place the elements
that follow it. The most visible result of specifying the size of all
your gifs is that the scroll bar on the side of the page appears as
soon as the text is downloaded (as opposed to waiting for the gifs).
This allows the user to start scrolling much more quickly than they
could otherwise.
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3. Browser Compatibility
For a generation
of computer users who were raised on WYSIWYG word processors, it's often
difficult to grasp the concept of browser compatibility. On the World
Wide Web, what you get using Netscape Navigator, may be different than
what your neighbor gets with Microsoft Internet Explorer, which is different
than what your customer gets using the browser that he got from AOL
last year.
There are two ways in which browser compatibility may become an issue
for your company:
- Your site is deliberately designed to take advantage of "browser specific" features that not all browsers will recognize or render properly.
- Your site looks good in the browser that you and your designer use, but lousy on another browser, simply because of the way each one interprets HTML tags.
Decisions involving
the first case require that you know approximately what percentage of
your site's visitors will experience the desired effect, and what the
rest of your visitors will experience; and decide whether the desired
effect is worth alienating a portion of your target audience.
In the second case, accidental incompatibility can be avoided by viewing
your site with different browsers and, if necessary, modifying your
site to look as good as possible when viewed with the browsers that
you've decided to support.
While Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer dominate the
browser market, it's not as simple as designing sites for the two most
popular browsers. Several versions of both browsers are currently being
used. Older versions of each have limited capabilities. Even widely
used features such as tables are not supported by all versions of the
"major" browsers.
One way to ensure that your site looks as good as possible is to make
sure that you use valid HTML code. Both Navigator and Internet Explorer
tend to be forgiving when a site's HTML code is invalid or contains
errors. Each browser may attempt to determine what the designer wants
it to display, rather than what the code tells it to display. Thus,
"broken" HTML may appear perfectly fine on your browser, while
other browsers display a page that has very obvious problems. Fortunately,
several validation services are available
on the Web. A validator will tell you whether a web page conforms to
a particular set of rules known as a Document Type Definition (DTD).
The DTD that you choose will depend upon how inclusive you want to be
with regard to browsers.
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4. User Environment Issues
Another factor in
how a visitor sees your site is the system they're using: Operating
system, screen size, display resolution, and color palette all affect
the way your site looks, often dramatically.
For example, a page with a large graphic image may look great on a high
resolution screen, but require viewers with low resolution screens to
scroll horizontally to view the entire page. Horizontal scrolling is
not something that most web surfers enjoy.
If you're publishing a personal web site, you may not care that 20%
(or more) of your visitors are annoyed by your page design. If you're
marketing your business on the web, you probably will care. It may be
best to design for maximum exposure, and leave maximum impact to the
hobbyists and glitter freaks.
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5. Content
Web page design often revolves around style at the expense of substance. For a small business web site, however, the substance, or content of a site will have a far greater impact than any other aspect of "design".
- Decisions about a site's content should be made in the context of your company's Web marketing strategy, which should be an integral part of your overall marketing plan.
- Your web site can be designed to be more search engine friendly.
- While it may be tempting to use existing marketing materials to create your web site, the writing style that was perfect for a brochure may be too heavy handed for the Web. You may want to make the text of your site more conversational and informative than that of a typical advertisement.
- Treat your site like a vegetable stand; keep the contents fresh and appealing.
6. Readability
The mere fact that
your web site appears on a computer screen makes it more difficult to
read than a magazine or brochure. It is, therefore, important to optimize
the viewing experience by making the text as readable as possible.
Dark text on a light colored background is your safest bet. Backgrounds
with patterns or texture are risky. Remember that all eyes are not created
equal. What looks fine to you may be almost painful for another reader.
Perhaps the greatest assault on web site readability is animation. Animated
images exist to draw attention to themselves. If your visitor's attention
is being drawn away from your site's content, what purpose is being
served?
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7. Navigation
The more information
that your site contains, the more important it is to provide an understandable
navigation scheme. In most cases, "understandable" means "consistent".
Visitors will quickly learn how to navigate throughout your site, provided
that the structure of your pages gives them a common "look and
feel" and that links and icons are in a similar location on every
page.
Consistency throughout the site also speeds the loading of pages. If
most of your pages use the same background and icons, the visitor's
browser will have an easier time presenting each new page.
Your site may use a pyramid-like structure, where links take the visitor
"deeper" into a site to to find more detailed information
on each subsequent layer; or a flat structure, where every page is only
a "click" or two away from every other page. Each type of
structure has its advantages, and can be effective if it is well done
and appropriate for the material.
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