Avimanyu Datta, Ph.D. Candidate Washington State University Corporate Website The Bigger Picture Avimanyu Datta, Ph.D. Candidate Washington State University Designing Your Web Site Chapter 8

Web Site Planning Process Identify the site’s business objectives Selling products or services Educating consumers Providing technical support Collecting information from visitors Offering a virtual community to customers Directing consumers to other useful sites Recruiting talented employees

Web Site Planning Process (continued) Understand who will visit the site Demographics is necessary. Do Market analysis. If possible collect demographics Understand what visitors will do at the site Primary audience consists of the targeted customers identified in business plan Secondary audiences Vendors Strategic partners Investors General public

Web Site Planning Process (continued) Design the site to accommodate the most common technological constraints Experienced or novice users Try customizing cite according to the expertise of the user level of expertise CREATE SHORTCUTS Browser and version commonly used Internet connection speeds Too much dynamic content slows data retrieval speed Screen resolutions used Fixed-width pages Pages that resize with the browser window

Web Site Organization Home page should answer basic visitor questions: Who are you? What do you do? Where can I find what I want or need? Why should I be interested in your products or services?

Web Site Organization (continued) Secondary pages Customer login page Products or services pages “Shopping cart” page Shipping and return policy pages Customer support pages Contact information pages “About Us” pages

Web Site Organization (continued) Secondary pages (continued) Privacy policy and acceptable use pages Frequently asked questions (FAQ) pages Employment opportunities pages “What’s New?” pages Customer stories or case studies pages Affiliate program pages Help pages

Web Site Organization (continued) Linear structure A series of pages linked in sequential order

Web Site Organization (continued) Webbed structure Pages are linked together without regard for how the content fits logically

Web Site Organization (continued) Pure hierarchical structure Similar to business organizational chart Information is organized in levels Home page at Level 1 (top-level) Main topic pages at Level 2 Additional details about main topics at remaining levels

Web Site Organization (continued)

Web Site Organization (continued) Mixed hierarchical structure Combines structured organization with cross-linked pages

Web Site Organization (continued) Should enable visitors to find actionable content quickly and easily Be neither too flat nor too deep Logical and intuitive Avoid a structure that is either too flat or too deep Try not to go beyond 4 levels of depth. Structure that is too flat is uninteresting Structure that is too deep is difficult to navigate

Web Site Organization (continued) Web site storyboard Used to test a Web site organizational plan Manual mock-up of site’s organization Index cards, sticky notes, sheets of paper represent individual Web pages Use push pins or tape to fasten cards, notes, of sheets of paper to white board or corkboard Create connecting lines indicating links Look for illogical links, orphan pages, missing pages

Web Site Organization (continued)

Useful and Attractive Web Pages Web accessibility – Designing Web pages so that Web resources are available to people with disabilities W3C guidelines for accessibility Visual or auditory content is supported by alternative content Color alone should not indicate a link 10% of users are color blind Adequate contrast for background/foreground colors

Useful and Attractive Web Pages (continued)

Useful and Attractive Web Pages (continued) W3C guidelines for accessibility (continued) Simply worded text Movement, scrolling, and blinks can be turned off without loss of information or navigation Navigational links are clear and consistent Page content is consistent across all pages

Useful and Attractive Web Pages (continued) Web usability Designing Web pages to help all visitors accomplish their goals at a site quickly and easily Consistency across all pages All pages should have a common “look and feel”(Put company logo and have a consistent layout) Elements in same position Standard color scheme

Useful and Attractive Web Pages (continued) Navigational elements (internal links) Embedded text links Clickable table of contents and top-of-page links Navigation bars Navigation menus Navigation tabs Breadcrumb trail Site map

Useful and Attractive Web Pages (continued) Embedded text links Link positioned inside a paragraph Text in link should clearly describe what page visitors will see Use Fax Phones Do not use Click here Clickable table of contents and top-of-page links Use to navigate topics on a long Web page Allow visitors to read subtopics and return to the top of the page without scrolling

Useful and Attractive Web Pages (continued) Navigation bars, menus, and tabs Navigation bar is a series of graphic or text-based internal links Often found at the top or bottom of Web page Navigation menu is a list of internal links Navigation tabs are similar to file folder tabs Both are used to conserve space on a page

Useful and Attractive Web Pages (continued) Breadcrumb trail Hierarchical navigational outline Provides visitor with feedback on path taken to current page Use in conjunction with other navigational elements

Useful and Attractive Web Pages (continued) Site map Web page that shows a summary of all the linked pages at the site Rollover links Hidden links that appear when mouse is “rolled over” an animated image Avoid rollover links

Useful and Attractive Web Pages (continued) Page layout Fixed-width pages fit in a maximized browser window for a specific screen resolution Liquid design creates pages that size with the browser window Use tables (arrangement of columns and rows) Use CSS (cascading style sheets)

Useful and Attractive Web Pages (continued) Page length Keep pages short to avoid vertical scrolling Splash pages and frames Avoid them Search function and forms Add access to search function on all relevant pages Use forms to collect information

Useful and Attractive Web Pages (continued) Writing for the Web Use simple, direct language Avoid industry jargon Use bulleted and numbered lists Use dark text color on light background Use a familiar font Use at least a 12-point equivalent font Check spelling and grammar, and proofread

Useful and Attractive Web Pages (continued) Choose color scheme carefully Use images, audio, and video sparingly and only when they support the Web site message Avoid background images Add alternative text to image links Add related text links to support image links

Web Design Outsourcing Carefully assess costs of in-house Web design and development compared to outsourcing costs Outsourcing benefits May save time and money Provides greater access to experienced specialists familiar with current best practices and trends May provide access to usability analysis

Activity: Go to http://www.archive.org/web/web.php Check the earlier versions of www.amazon.com; www.yahoo.com; www.google.com What drives the change? Although in some case they look drastic, but over a period of time the changes seem subtle.