Design for the Web		Key Tips
Primary Design	Four Key Concepts of user-centric web design * Avoid long webpages If your webpage requires you to scroll through more than three screens, you've let your webpage get too long! Break your webpage up and offer navigational links to each of the sections. * Stick to one purpose Don't offer a hotlist of sites to see if you're purpose was to create a homepage which should be a menu format. Some webpages need a menu design, while others offer a hotlist or an informational article. * Stick to one audience A webpage designed for students will be different from one that is designed for educators and other adults. If you want to include information for educators on a webpage designed for students, use a link on that student page to the additional resources you want share with other educators. * Don't bury information on your site Beginning at your homepage, how many clicks away are visitors from the information that they are looking for? Most design articles on the web suggest that visitors should not be any farther than three clicks away from the information that they are looking for.
Navigation Design	Here are seven tips for making your website navigation easier: 1. Use standard icons, conventions. A recently published research paper reviewed 10 leading Web shopping sites. In the study, 39 percent of test shoppers failed in their buying attempts because sites were too difficult to navigate. The potential benefit to be reaped by improving a website's usability is staggering. This same research report indicated that $1 spent on advertising during the holiday season produced $5 in total revenue, while $1 spent on customer experience improvements yielded more than $60. 2. Avoid irrelevant links. Screen real estate is precious. Create numerous links to relevant information about each product. Provide an array of relevant links for each item to be sold. 3. Reveal structure, good navigation links can be "self-revealing" Make sure the site reflects the way its users think, rather than the way it's organized internally, use tiers for clear navigation. Navigation toolbars can reveal structure. It's fine to design the toolbar to reveal the contents of an entire site when the site has focused content. Since navigation toolbars let users choose the task or viewing order, they're especially good for Web apps serving diverse user needs and preferences. Use them when you can organize the information or tasks into a hierarchy with two or three levels. 4. Leave "breadcrumbs" or a clear path where the visitor has arrived from. If navigation toolbars don't work for your site, you can still help users find their way back up to any higher level with breadcrumb links. These are a horizontal series of text links connecting to all parent levels of the hierarchy above the current location. These links also add to users' understanding of your website by placing each page in context within the hierarchy. 5. Don't bury information. No page on your site should be farther than three clicks away from any other page. You can also provide shortcuts using site maps, tables of contents, and pulldown menus. 6. Don't be mysterious. Present your information simply and straight-forwardly 7. Provide help. Many websites offer a search tool to help users navigate. This becomes mandatory at large sites.. A well-designed search tool will offer navigation assistance through various useful features. It will link to a help page that explains search options. It will provide an example-based hint next to the search box to minimize trips to the search options help page. Where applicable it will include a drop-down list for searching based on common keywords. And it will let users narrow search results and find related search results.
Bad Design	Eight ways to turn away potential customers. Warning signs of web sites in trouble: 1. Avoid any Annoying Blinking and Animations 2. Stick to one simple set of text fonts an colors- less is better. 3. Avoid any Under Construction Signs. Few Web sites are static. Most are continually being updated with new information and optimized for search engines. In a sense, they're always "under construction." 6. Do not force Background Music on visitors. 7. Horizontal Scrollbars keep to minimum if necessary 8. Color Combinations. The standard Web Palette consists of the 216 colors that both Macintosh and Windows systems display accurately. choose carefully
Visual Design	Create a grid layer for page design * Keep vital elements above the fold * Lay out type in a narrow column * Use subheads for effect * Avoid nested and long vertical tables * Avoid scrolling text * Use white space * Reduce the technology burden * Plan the site before designing it * Build successful teams * Use storyboards * Locate logos consistently * Aim for consistency * Determine content priorities * Offer multiple navigation approaches * Write good text links * Design navigation icons wisely
	Design Checklist --> 4insight :Internet strategic consulting for over twelve years, Internet communication design and development.
	Web 4insight.com copyright ©2005 4insight, LLC all rights reserved Last updated 12/20/05