Successful Web Design
As the internet has grown in complexity and become more competitive marketplace the opportunities for good and bad design have also increased.
Important aspects of site design
Accessibility and usability
Site accessibility concerns how a site is to be accessed by users of limited technology or people with vision difficulties. Accessibility can also influence search engine listings as many of the components that humans have trouble with are also an issue for web crawlers.
A good design should also consider ease of use, site speed and performance and the users ability to locate required information.
In New Zealand, Government websites must comply with the self imposed eGovernment guidelines which aim to provide quality, accessible websites to the public.
If a site targets an international audience then consideration should be given to multiple language support
Sites should provide a similar experience under all of the major web browsers (Internet Explorer 6 & 7, Firefox & Safari for Mac). Depending on the site and target audience type, consideration should also be given to mobile devices.
The following techniques can cause access issues:
- Flash / Animations / Scripts
- Dropdown / flyout menus
Up-to-date and relevant
A website should contain recent and relevant information. Old and out-of-date content can be misleading and a potential liability for site owners.
Print friendly pages
A print version of pages should be available. This is particularly important for events, price listings etc. where printing is likely. This can be achieved simply by using a specific CSS file to control page display during printing.
Graphically memorable
In order to help returning visitors, a site should not 'redesign' itself too frequently as people become familiar with a particular look and feel and unless that design needs considerable improvement, the effect on these users should be considered.
Clear and appropriate domain
While this depends on the nature of the site, a good website should be accessible via an appropriate domain name that has some connection to the purpose or content of the site. This helps make the site more memorable and increase the chance of return visitors
Site search capabilities
This is an important consideration for sites with large catalogues or item listings and where frequent additions or changes would prevent most recent material being available via google or other search engines.
Quality in design and technology
While not contributing to the user experience, valid code will result in a site that is more likely to operate correctly under viewing conditions while being easier to maintain. Professional or quality look and feel will lend credibility to the message and increase the chance of return visitors.
Things to avoid
Splash screen
Splash screens are pages that display when you first come to a site and usually contain some sort of welcome message or animation. A quick look at some of the most successful sites out there will quickly reveal that a splash page does not contribute anything of value; it simply acts as a barrier to your online content. Common uses of splash screens include allowing visitors to select bandwidth for media heavy sites, choose a language or confirm their age to access gambling or alcohol related sites (by law in certain countries).
Force browser requirements
Expecting your visitors to conform to specific browser or screen resolution configurations will result in lost traffic. Ideally all visitors should enjoy a similar experience.
Other common issues
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Playing sounds or music without warning
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Spawn new windows or popups
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Using frames or inline frames causing bookmark problems
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Horizontal scrolling under standard screen resolution (1024 x 768)
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Traffic counters don’t provide anything of value