Practical Tips for User Friendly Web Design Kirsti Mijnhijmer 22 April 2009, Copenhagen

Summary Parts 1 & 2  Projects have a communication strategy, which forms an integral part of project implementation  Project websites meet the EU publicity requirements  Project websites focus on project outcomes: products/services:  Attributes are clearly defined (marketing arguments)  Project websites demonstrate what is under development  The operation/cooperation is of secondary importance  Project websites demonstrate the business potential of products/services and by that demonstrate their viability

Summary Parts 1 & 2  Project websites are adapted to different target audiences:  Project websites keep the goals of their end users in mind  Project websites reassure end users that they will get what they are looking for  Project websites justify the invested funding  Project websites make a professional impression

How to Plan your Website  Start from your communication strategy  What are your communication objectives  How does the website fit in the strategy in relation to other tools/measures  Define the goal of your website  A goal is a state of being, not a state of doing  Simple, realistic, specific  Visualise, methods for measuring success  Define target groups  User needs  Reassure your users

How to Plan your Website  Plan your website on paper  Structure your content  Design your website to meet the needs of your users  Assign staff resources to content/editing  Contract web designer: draft specifications  Budget + timeframe  Testing/monitoring

Staff Resources  Assign a person/team responsible for collecting copy, drafting/editing texts, operating Content Management System.  Set up routines for editorial review  To outsource or not to outsource  Be realistic about staff resources in terms of skills and time  Remember resources available in your own organisations

Testing/Monitoring  Keep track of website statistics (e.g. Google Analytics)  Overall visitor numbers (progress, need for more promotion, etc.)  Who are your visitors and how did they find you  Which pages/sections are most visited  It is worth testing usability and user satisfaction  Testing can also be useful to get to know your target audience

Also Consider  Usability: optimising user experience such as ease of use of a website, efficiency, ease of learning, minimising mistakes, minimising irritation  Accessibility: making a website available to the widest possible audience.  Writing for the Web: different from conventional writing styles  Features: different types of website applications: relevance for users  Web 2.0: new generation of user controlled web applications

Usability  Usability is the quality of a user's experience when interacting for example with a website.  It is a combination of factors:  Ease of learning  Efficiency of use  Memorability  Error frequency  User satisfaction (important to avoid irritation)  Applies to design, navigation, content, functionality of features, etc.

Writing for the web  People do not read online texts, they scan:  Start with the conclusion: inverted pyramid  Use headings and sub headings that make sense  Use bullets and white space  Users read in an F-shaped pattern: the first 2 matter (words, lines, paragraphs)  Write concise  Wording  Use objective language: credibility  Use plain English (or any other language): do not use jargon, acronyms, and do not be afraid of using simplified language.  Use style guides e.g. BBC

Web 2.0  New generation of user-designed/controlled web applications:  E.g. social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn), blogs (Twitter), Wikipedia, etc.  Advantages:  Generally cheap in use  Very popular and very versatile  Worth considering:  Need to fit with your overall communication strategy and target groups: not ad hoc  Do not overcommit yourself : very time consuming  Could backfire! You could lose credibility

Summary  Plan your website carefully:  Goal  Target groups  Staff resources  Budget + time  Testing/monitoring  Consider:  Usability  Accessibility  Writing for the web  Features  Web 2.0

Discussion Points  To outsource or not to outsource: what are your views/experiences?  How can I improve the usability of my project website? Which elements spoil a user’s experience of my project website?

Thank You for Listening!

References  Ben Hunt, 2008, “Save the Pixel. The Art of Simple Web Design”,  Usability:  Norman Nielsen Group,  Ivana Doulgerof, Management Organisation Unit, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Greece  Accessibility: World Wide Web consortium (W3C),