Selasa, 22 November 2011
Selasa, 22 Juli 2008
Top Tips for Web Design
This article takes a look at the top 10 web design tips for users at any level. It will give you 10 complete different points to contemplate when you next begin a site design or when talking to your web design consultant/employee.
Design is never straight forward and web design has the additional unpredictable complication of technology thrown in. This means that you need to consider the consequences of your design decisions and how it will effect the most important people who see your site, the users themselves. The following tips should help you consider this and have a positive effect on your site and its users.
1. Navigation & Functionality
You should never sacrifice overall functionality for artistic extravagance. It is highly unlikely your site will ever achieve its purpose if the people who visit it cannot clearly and easily navigate around it.
Your site should look good but first and foremost consider how someone who knows nothing about the site would think when they landed there.
Something occurring in website frequently these days is Mystery Meat Navigation. This is a term coined by Vincent Flanders and it is used to describe site where navigation structures are so obscure and difficult to process that users cannot identify them at all and end up running there mouse across whole sections of a screen just to identify hyperlinks.
2. Images
People say images are worth a 1000 words and in web design that’s true in 2 ways. Firstly an image can do a lot more than text in some situation but secondly they are much, much bigger files with a higher download time.
It is widely accepted users will click away from a page that takes longer than 5-10 seconds to load and every time you put an image in a page you are increasing the likelihood of this happening. Additionally each image you imbed into a page design activates an additional HTTP request to your server so dividing an image into smaller ones or using lots of small images across a page does not solve the problem.
ALT tags should also be factored into the code of a website. They are a huge help to people who have either images turned off in a browse, mobile broswers that can’t read the images or a random error preventing the image from showing. They also hold a small SEO benefit.
3. Tables
It is advised that you use CSS and not tables to format a document but in some cases tables can be necessary. Remember one thing however, a table cannot be displayed until it has fully loaded. This can potentially cause a huge problem for users as they wait for the page to load, nothing appears then out of nowhere the whole page is done.
Someone is much more likely to click away when nothing is loading than when they can see progress.
4. Fonts
Don’t design sites to use fonts only you have, chances are they will be converted into some dull font and ruin the effect you were trying to achieve. Save special fonts for specific headers and convert them to images. Make the rest of your site in standard fonts so that as many browsers as possible will see it in the way you meant it to be. Recommended fonts for high scale compatibility are Arial, Verdana, Courier, Tahoma and Helvetica.
5. Plug-Ins
Plug-ins hold a lot of potential for both users and designers but it can easily be misused and misguided.
Plug-ins have a many forms and uses, the most popular being Java and Flash Player. I have heard a lot of people say that these plug-ins are “safe” and that everyone has them but this is simply not true. Every plug-in has a stack of different versions and connects differently depending on the browser the user is surfing with.
Think if your users will really want to browse to other sites to download a plug-in, restart the browser then navigate back. If the answer is no use other tricks at your disposal to make your page unique and save the big guns that are Flash and Java for times where it is essential.
6. Tags
The “tags” I am referring to hear are meta keywords and description, title, alt and h1 tags. Together these tags help manage your sites search engine optimisation (SEO) potential and this is defiantly something not to overlook. Helping people find your site will bring more traffic in and more conversion if you are a retail site.
The higher search engines rank you the more traffic will filter down and the more successful your site will be. Try to keep a constant theme running through all your tags but do so in a subtle way. Splashing the same word 1000 times on your page will only have negative effects so make sure you strike the correct balance between informative and spammy.
7. Browsers
In a perfect world everyone would use the same browser and your website would look the same on everyone’s screen but unfortunately this is not the case. Every browser has its own specific functions and styles and learning to make you code cooperate with both can present some serious problems.
The three you really need to concern yourself with are Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. These make up a good 95% of the browser market at the very least and while there are some additional popular browser I would not recommend you spend time optimising code for the rest.
The only thing you can do is do your best and stay away from browser specific functions, you’ll never make someone get a new browser.
8. Pop Ups
Something that is very important to remember is that the user should be in control of their browser and desktop. Do not place unnecessary pop ups and window opening links everywhere and the user will feel they have lost control of the site, become annoyed and close the windows.
There are some exceptions to using the (_blank) attribute but I would steer clear whenever possible.
9. Text Layout
Text is part of your design to and positioning it correctly on the page is very important. Try to get all the copy you need as early in the design process as possible. This means you will be able to design around the copy instead of trying to cram it into smaller spaces because someone wrote twice as much copy as they said they were going to.
Use the right alignment for the right situation, remember 99% of people will prefer left align and while justified look aesthetically better it can be very difficult to read in longer bouts.
10. Site Search
In this day and age finding what you want on a website in paramount. After you have followed the first tip on navigation you should also provide a search bar on your site so that a visitor who cannot immediately see what they are looking for can search. Many internet studies have seen the success of these smaller additions to your site and free ones are available from Google and many other SE operators.
Conclusion
Taking these 10 tips into account will help you design a more user-friendly and successful website, sometime it may seem like they are hindering your grand design but failing to take notice may result in your site being a very pretty stop sign for browsers. Just because you can find your way around your Flash menu system that takes 6 minutes to load doesn’t mean Mrs Smith who needs the product can.
About The Author
Frank Woodford is a professional copywriter who has a vast experience at producing design based articles. He has worked closely with many businesses over the years including Soula Web Design Nottingham, who keep a web design blog, you can find these at http://www.soula.com
Design is never straight forward and web design has the additional unpredictable complication of technology thrown in. This means that you need to consider the consequences of your design decisions and how it will effect the most important people who see your site, the users themselves. The following tips should help you consider this and have a positive effect on your site and its users.
1. Navigation & Functionality
You should never sacrifice overall functionality for artistic extravagance. It is highly unlikely your site will ever achieve its purpose if the people who visit it cannot clearly and easily navigate around it.
Your site should look good but first and foremost consider how someone who knows nothing about the site would think when they landed there.
Something occurring in website frequently these days is Mystery Meat Navigation. This is a term coined by Vincent Flanders and it is used to describe site where navigation structures are so obscure and difficult to process that users cannot identify them at all and end up running there mouse across whole sections of a screen just to identify hyperlinks.
2. Images
People say images are worth a 1000 words and in web design that’s true in 2 ways. Firstly an image can do a lot more than text in some situation but secondly they are much, much bigger files with a higher download time.
It is widely accepted users will click away from a page that takes longer than 5-10 seconds to load and every time you put an image in a page you are increasing the likelihood of this happening. Additionally each image you imbed into a page design activates an additional HTTP request to your server so dividing an image into smaller ones or using lots of small images across a page does not solve the problem.
ALT tags should also be factored into the code of a website. They are a huge help to people who have either images turned off in a browse, mobile broswers that can’t read the images or a random error preventing the image from showing. They also hold a small SEO benefit.
3. Tables
It is advised that you use CSS and not tables to format a document but in some cases tables can be necessary. Remember one thing however, a table cannot be displayed until it has fully loaded. This can potentially cause a huge problem for users as they wait for the page to load, nothing appears then out of nowhere the whole page is done.
Someone is much more likely to click away when nothing is loading than when they can see progress.
4. Fonts
Don’t design sites to use fonts only you have, chances are they will be converted into some dull font and ruin the effect you were trying to achieve. Save special fonts for specific headers and convert them to images. Make the rest of your site in standard fonts so that as many browsers as possible will see it in the way you meant it to be. Recommended fonts for high scale compatibility are Arial, Verdana, Courier, Tahoma and Helvetica.
5. Plug-Ins
Plug-ins hold a lot of potential for both users and designers but it can easily be misused and misguided.
Plug-ins have a many forms and uses, the most popular being Java and Flash Player. I have heard a lot of people say that these plug-ins are “safe” and that everyone has them but this is simply not true. Every plug-in has a stack of different versions and connects differently depending on the browser the user is surfing with.
Think if your users will really want to browse to other sites to download a plug-in, restart the browser then navigate back. If the answer is no use other tricks at your disposal to make your page unique and save the big guns that are Flash and Java for times where it is essential.
6. Tags
The “tags” I am referring to hear are meta keywords and description, title, alt and h1 tags. Together these tags help manage your sites search engine optimisation (SEO) potential and this is defiantly something not to overlook. Helping people find your site will bring more traffic in and more conversion if you are a retail site.
The higher search engines rank you the more traffic will filter down and the more successful your site will be. Try to keep a constant theme running through all your tags but do so in a subtle way. Splashing the same word 1000 times on your page will only have negative effects so make sure you strike the correct balance between informative and spammy.
7. Browsers
In a perfect world everyone would use the same browser and your website would look the same on everyone’s screen but unfortunately this is not the case. Every browser has its own specific functions and styles and learning to make you code cooperate with both can present some serious problems.
The three you really need to concern yourself with are Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. These make up a good 95% of the browser market at the very least and while there are some additional popular browser I would not recommend you spend time optimising code for the rest.
The only thing you can do is do your best and stay away from browser specific functions, you’ll never make someone get a new browser.
8. Pop Ups
Something that is very important to remember is that the user should be in control of their browser and desktop. Do not place unnecessary pop ups and window opening links everywhere and the user will feel they have lost control of the site, become annoyed and close the windows.
There are some exceptions to using the (_blank) attribute but I would steer clear whenever possible.
9. Text Layout
Text is part of your design to and positioning it correctly on the page is very important. Try to get all the copy you need as early in the design process as possible. This means you will be able to design around the copy instead of trying to cram it into smaller spaces because someone wrote twice as much copy as they said they were going to.
Use the right alignment for the right situation, remember 99% of people will prefer left align and while justified look aesthetically better it can be very difficult to read in longer bouts.
10. Site Search
In this day and age finding what you want on a website in paramount. After you have followed the first tip on navigation you should also provide a search bar on your site so that a visitor who cannot immediately see what they are looking for can search. Many internet studies have seen the success of these smaller additions to your site and free ones are available from Google and many other SE operators.
Conclusion
Taking these 10 tips into account will help you design a more user-friendly and successful website, sometime it may seem like they are hindering your grand design but failing to take notice may result in your site being a very pretty stop sign for browsers. Just because you can find your way around your Flash menu system that takes 6 minutes to load doesn’t mean Mrs Smith who needs the product can.
About The Author
Frank Woodford is a professional copywriter who has a vast experience at producing design based articles. He has worked closely with many businesses over the years including Soula Web Design Nottingham, who keep a web design blog, you can find these at http://www.soula.com
Create Your Own Website: A How To Guide
Nothing is as invaluable as a website when it comes to airing your ideas, authoring opinion pieces, distributing photos, or marketing your business products. Having your very own website can be a boon to you, but there are a few things you should know first before setting out to create your own website (http://www.buildyoursite.com/).
Decide why you want to create your own website. Do you want to let others know of your political leanings, do you want to write fiction, or are you looking for an online store? Each of these will lead to a different kind of website, and each will have a different audience.
Next step is to determine how comfortable you are with web page creation. If you are not proficient in computers, try to hire a professional. If, on the other hand, you enjoy learning how to do new things on the Internet, then using a free or inexpensive do-it-yourself type of hosting should be enjoyable.
You need to determine what level of control you desire. Utilizing the free hosting will provide you with a few different background colors and styles. If you have further needs or wants, you may have to pay additional fees, or even use the services of a professional.
Another thing to consider when you create your own website is to choose a template. Many free hosting vendors have a variety of templates that you can choose from. You can decide which colors and style will be most attractive to your future audience. You will probably be able to alter the template in minor ways, but the overall style will remain the same.
You will want to think about obtaining a domain name. There are many companies that sell domain names. If you want to make a website, you will need software. This software will help you design your website, and it is important if you want to control a lot of different areas of your site. It is possible that you will need some knowledge if you want to make a webpage from software.
If you don't know what to do first, choose one of the free step-by-step instructional guides found on the Internet outlining how to create a website. For other ways to learn about how to create a website (http://www.buildyoursite.com/), many e-books are offered that incorporate free HTML tutorials, website software, information of registering domain names, guides to website design, and more.
Decide why you want to create your own website. Do you want to let others know of your political leanings, do you want to write fiction, or are you looking for an online store? Each of these will lead to a different kind of website, and each will have a different audience.
Next step is to determine how comfortable you are with web page creation. If you are not proficient in computers, try to hire a professional. If, on the other hand, you enjoy learning how to do new things on the Internet, then using a free or inexpensive do-it-yourself type of hosting should be enjoyable.
You need to determine what level of control you desire. Utilizing the free hosting will provide you with a few different background colors and styles. If you have further needs or wants, you may have to pay additional fees, or even use the services of a professional.
Another thing to consider when you create your own website is to choose a template. Many free hosting vendors have a variety of templates that you can choose from. You can decide which colors and style will be most attractive to your future audience. You will probably be able to alter the template in minor ways, but the overall style will remain the same.
You will want to think about obtaining a domain name. There are many companies that sell domain names. If you want to make a website, you will need software. This software will help you design your website, and it is important if you want to control a lot of different areas of your site. It is possible that you will need some knowledge if you want to make a webpage from software.
If you don't know what to do first, choose one of the free step-by-step instructional guides found on the Internet outlining how to create a website. For other ways to learn about how to create a website (http://www.buildyoursite.com/), many e-books are offered that incorporate free HTML tutorials, website software, information of registering domain names, guides to website design, and more.
About The Author
Tem Balanco
A personal website can really increase your audience. Determine the purpose of your website before you create your own website (http://www.buildyoursite.com/). When you create a website (http://www.buildyoursite.com/), consider using a template. A lot of free hosting companies will have several templates to choose from. You will need a domain name. There are many companies that sell domain names. If you want to make a website, you will need software. This software will help you design your website. If you need help creating your website many e-books are offered that incorporate free HTML tutorials, website software, information of registering domain names, guides to website design, and more.
A personal website can really increase your audience. Determine the purpose of your website before you create your own website (http://www.buildyoursite.com/). When you create a website (http://www.buildyoursite.com/), consider using a template. A lot of free hosting companies will have several templates to choose from. You will need a domain name. There are many companies that sell domain names. If you want to make a website, you will need software. This software will help you design your website. If you need help creating your website many e-books are offered that incorporate free HTML tutorials, website software, information of registering domain names, guides to website design, and more.
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