Introduction to Web Design Technology II Mrs. Huddleston

Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design DEFINE THE SITE Determine the purpose. Is the site the best medium to serve the purpose? Who will the audience be? What type of language will appeal to the audience? Is it possible to expand the site? If yes, how far? If no, why not? How often will it need to be updated? Next Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design Medium Medium—a method of getting your information across to other people Examples: Newspaper, magazine, brochure, flyer, blogs Telephone, radio, TV, billboards Word of mouth Back Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design IDENTIFY THE AUDIENCE Age Gender Race Religion Technical Level Nationality Language Political Affiliation Education Marital Status Back Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

CHOOSE A PRESENTATION FORMAT Linear Sequential: only 1 logical way to move through the site Best for training materials Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

CHOOSE A PRESENTATION FORMAT Hierarchical Allows user more freedom in navigation Can navigate through site in many logical ways Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

CHOOSE A PRESENTATION FORMAT Combination of Linear and Hierarchical Shipping Address Billing Address Credit Card Confirmation Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design WHY DO VISITORS LEAVE? Loading time is too long Has no useful information or clear purpose Pop Ups Unclear navigation/confusing Links don’t work properly Poorly laid out and/or poorly written Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design REASONS VISITORS STAY Loads quickly Site purpose immediately and clearly identified Site is well laid out and well written Links work correctly No pop ups Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

Tips for Quality Pages

Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design AVOID EXTREMES Large (slow loading) image Too many fonts Use only commonly accepted fonts. The more obscure or exotic the font, the less likely viewers will have it loaded on their computers. Too much text Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design FIND A “HOOK” Hook—Something to keep visitors coming back on a regular basis. Examples Contests Daily drawings Joke of the day Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

TITLE EACH PAGE CAREFULLY Should convey the purpose of each page What uses the title? Search engines use titles Browsers use title to “Bookmark” User history recorded through titles Next Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design TITLES The blue bar at the very top of the browser display area contains the title In this example, the title is “Welcome to Franklin Road Academy – Microsoft Internet Explorer” Back Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

TO SCROLL OR NOT TO SCROLL? Home page should have no scrolling if possible Avoid long pages requiring a lot of scrolling Avoid horizontal scrolling Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design LINKS Keep link colors at default (if possible) Blue is the color of unvisited links Purple is the color of visited links Save underlining for links only Keep navigation controls uniform in appearance and location Links go across top or down left side of pages Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design TEXT HEAVY? Use white space, graphics, borders, etc. White Space: space on a page with no content Split long pages into smaller pages Don’t overload on images and animations just to fill space. Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design IMAGES Use small images Use alternate text with each graphic, animation, image, etc. Logos go in upper left corner of pages Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design TIPS FOR TESTING PAGES Test each page using default settings on Internet Explorer Firefox Chrome Print hard copies and proofread them Get user feedback (include a “mail to” link) Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design

MORE TIPS FOR TESTING PAGES Test the download time of each page Different ISPs Different locations Different types of connections When everything works, test it again. Huddleston - Introduction to Web Design