Web Design Part 2
Page Size, Screen Layout and Content
Screen Size
http://www.w3schools.com
2006 Higher 1024x768 800x600 640x480 Unknown
January 17% 57% 20% 0% 6%
2005
July 14% 55% 25% 0% 6%
January 12% 53% 30% 0% 5%
2004
July 10% 50% 35% 1% 4%
January 10% 47% 37% 1% 5%
2003
July 8% 43% 44% 2% 5%
January 6% 40% 47% 2% 5%
2002
October 6% 38% 49% 2% 5%
Best bet?
Design for multiple screen resolutions Frames, Tables etc. – Use % not fixed
pixels Make sure design works well with different
font sizes and different resolutions Use style sheets for layout Min width and max width (But not work in
all browsers yet)
800 x 600 real size
Page Layout
HTML was designed by engineers..before you could put a graphic on the web..
If you place a chunk of text on a Web page, the dimensions of the viewer's browser window will determine the line length.
When the user resizes his or her window, the text reflows to fill the new space.
But the graphic does not resize http://www.soc.staffs.ac.uk/flk1/test/flow.htm
Fixed versus Flexible
http://www.webstyleguide.com/page/examples/4.24a.htmlhttp://www.webstyleguide.com/page/examples/4.24b.html
Page Design
Interesting To The User Try blocking the areas of your web
page Not too much on navigation Content should be 50 – 80% of
page Be careful about the amount of
white space Try different size monitors
Page Layout
Grids / Panels
The Scroll factor…
Never horizontally!!! Try and avoid vertically… Most important information should be seen..
One way…
If you have to…
Have jumps..
Short Versus Long Pages
Shorter Web pages should be used for: Home pages and menu or navigation pages Documents to be read online Pages with very large graphics
Longer pages are: Easier to maintain (content is in one piece,
not in linked chunks) More like the structure of their paper
counterparts (not chopped up) Easier for users to download and print
Consistency
A graphic theme or blocked colour theme
Content Design
The actors can be well dressed and good at their job, but the play is the important thing!
Be succinct - Write for scanability People read the first sentence, then scan for hyperlinks If you have lots of information – give them a print version
Use things like Concise text / Bullet points or scannable text Neutral language
Quality content is one of the most important factors in web usability What’s in this site for me? Keep it up to date!
Plan for scanability..
Credibility
Don’t fill your pages with junk Don’t be amateur – animated gifs
everywhere etc. It’s the visual appearance that the user
sees first Don’t open new windows all the time! – It
pollutes the screen Tell the user things – don’t assume they
know what your site is about.
The Home Page
The most important Links to on every page - Some people use the
logo..but do not assume! Types
Menu News Path based – specific target audience drill down Splash Screen Combination of the above
Graphics or Text????
Site Maps
Would you have a book without an index or contents page???
A web site can be so much bigger
Finding your way about – search / a-z pages
Graphics Versus Text
A good balance…
Think of the audience
Think of small graphics or slices
Navigation Navigation
Where am I? / Where have I been? / Where can I go?
Heading bar..the same each page..not too wide Menus..same place, same order each page Hyperlinks - use groups of words for a link
Not For background information on the whale, click here
Use We have background information on the whale
Keep non visited and visited links different colours
Headers and Footers
Time to Load
‘Lets give them better design and they are happy to wait for it!’ – wrong!
Everyone does not have a broadband connection! If it takes longer than 10 sec, people will go elsewhere! Keep those download times consistent for each re-visit
to the site
What is accessibility?
"The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect." -- Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web
For a website to be accessible, its content must be available to everyone, including people with disabilities.
Type it in a web browser…you will see the results you get..
Why do it?
A proportion of your audience is disabled That should be enough reason why…. And if its not…it’s the law
America – Section 508 http://www.section508.gov
UK http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-
resources/web-acc http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/
documents/PublicWebsite/public_caseforaccessibility.hcspessibility/uk-website-legal-requirements.shtml
Discussion…
How do we make things accessible? Where can we look for more information on
accessibility? Full page - http://www.w3.org/WAI/ Quick Tips -
http://www.w3.org/WAI/References/QuickTips/ Full checklist - http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/full-
checklist.html and http://www.w3.org/WAI/gettingstarted/
How they view the web - http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/PWD-Use-Web/
Quick Tips from W3C
Images & animations: Use the alt attribute to describe the function of each visual.
Image maps. Use the client-side map and text for hotspots.
Multimedia. Provide captioning and transcripts of audio, and descriptions of video.
Hypertext links. Use text that makes sense when read out of context. For example, avoid "click here."
Page organisation. Use headings, lists, and consistent structure. Use CSS for layout and style where possible.
Quick Tip 2
Graphs & charts. Summarize or use the longdesc attribute.
Scripts, applets, & plug-ins. Provide alternative content in case active features are inaccessible or unsupported.
Frames. Use the noframes element and meaningful titles. Tables. Make line-by-line reading sensible. Summarize. Check your work. Validate. Use tools, checklist, and
guidelines at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG Also use accessibility testers such as
http://webxact.watchfire.com/
Quick Tips 3
Allow the user to personalise http://www.drc-gb.org/accessoptions/index.asp
Check site in different browsers to make sure it’s the same
Use the text size changer in the browser to make sure the text size increases Use ems for sizes not pixels
Evaluation – Testing the Usability
Test It!
Don’t assume its right just because you do it
Show it to people Get them to use it Ask them to perform a task
Get to the screen with the history of Berlin on
Watch how they do it and ask them for feedback
Improve it!
Why Evaluate?
To see if it suits its purpose To see if it is “useable” To see if the user understands the
navigation To see if the web interface works To see if it hits its target - what it aimed
to do
How do you evaluate
Decide what you are evaluating Decide how you are going to
evaluate it Decide who is going to evaluate Perform the evaluation Measure reactions / results Analyse results Report on results
Web sites For HCI / Design Hints
http://www.webstyleguide.com/ http://www.useit.com/alertbox/
designmistakes.html http://www.nomensa.com/resources/
articles.html http://www.csszengarden.com/ http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-
resources/web-usability/