HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 1 Web Navigation Eugene Tiller & Phillip Green AMS Center for Advanced Technologies
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 2 Web Navigation Lay the Groundwork n Identify the goals of the Web site n Identify the target user population
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 3 Web Navigation Web User Interfaces n Users, Goals & Tasks
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 4 Web Navigation All Users Want n Easy, quick navigation n Fast page downloads n Satisfaction
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 5 Web Navigation The User Experience n Information complexity
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 6 Web Navigation Corner Stones of Web Navigation n 1. Site structure n 2. Page navigation n 3. Links and information
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 7 Web Navigation Site Structure n High-level n Tree-top view
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 8 Web Navigation Site Structure n Break a large site into mini-sites (CNET) News.comBuilder.comShareware.com
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 9 Web Navigation Site Structure n Fewer vertical levels are better n Two or three levels are best n A one page Web site is ideal n “Shallow pond”
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 1010 Web Navigation Site Structure n Storyboards help us think clearly n Storyboards help us convey our concepts clearly to others
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 1 Web Navigation Site Structure n Think simplicity n Combine rather than differentiate
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 1212 Web Navigation Page Navigation n Casual visitors won’t memorize your navigation n Visitors are looking for the right information hooks
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 1313 Web Navigation Page Navigation n Visitors don’t read, they scan for a path to their goals. –Books –Fiction –Science Fiction –Arthur C. Clark –2001 A Space Odyssey
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 1414 Web Navigation Page Navigation n Vertical vs. horizontal navigation arguments don’t matter
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 1515 Web Navigation Page Navigation n More scrolling is better than more pages
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 1616 Web Navigation Page Navigation n Use “within-a-page” anchors
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 1717 Web Navigation Page Navigation n Use the Ferris wheel metaphor
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 1818 Web Navigation Questions for Every Page n Who owns this page?” n Where am I? n How did I get here? How do I get back?
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 1919 Web Navigation Links & Information n Push content (data) to the top of a Web site
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 2020 Web Navigation Links & Information n Push pivotal content to the top of each page
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 2121 Web Navigation Links & Information n Edit and edit again n Find a good writer and editor
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 2 Web Navigation Links & Information n White space = good (marketing sites) n White space = bad (information sites)
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 2323 Web Navigation Links & Information n Follow page size guidelines n The 10 second principle
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 2424 Web Navigation Links & Information n Columns keep text lines short
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 2525 Web Navigation Links & Information n Cell coloring “chunks” information
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 2626 Web Navigation Links & Information n Good color usage speeds navigation
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 2727 Web Navigation Links & Information n High content density is good
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 2828 Web Navigation Links & Information n Content links vs. category links
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 2929 Web Navigation Links & Information n Use 7-12 words in a content link
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 3030 Web Navigation Links & Information n Information can be defined in many ways n Use redundant links
HFWEB June 3, 1999 AMS Center for Advanced Technologies 3131 Web Navigation Questions?