Creating a Winning E-Business Second Edition Designing Your Web Site Chapter 8

2 Learning Objectives Explain the Web site planning process Analyze Web site organization Plan useful and attractive Web pages List advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing Web design

3 Web Site Planning Process Identify the site’s business objectives – Examples include… 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

4 Web Site Planning Process Understand who will visit the site 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

5 Web Site Planning Process Design the site to accommodate the most common technological constraints – Experienced or novice users – Browser and version commonly used – Internet connection speeds – Screen resolutions used Fixed-width pages Pages that resize with the browser window

6 Web Site Evaluations

7

8 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?

9 Web Site Organization

10 Web Site Organization 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

11 Web Site Organization 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

12 Web Site Organization Linear structure – A series of pages linked in sequential order

13 Web Site Organization Webbed structure – Pages are linked together without regard for how the content fits logically

14 Web Site Organization 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

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

16 Web Site Organization Site organization – 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 – Structure that is too flat is uninteresting – Structure that is too deep is difficult to navigate

17 Web Site Organization

18 Web Site Organization Extending this structure to add additional levels may create a too deep structure.

19 Web Site Organization 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

20 Web Site Organization (continued)

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

22 Useful and Attractive Web Pages 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

23 Useful and Attractive Web Pages 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” – Elements in same position – Standard color scheme

24 Useful and Attractive Web Pages

25 Useful and Attractive Web Pages

26 Useful and Attractive Web Pages

27 Useful and Attractive Web Pages 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

28 Useful and Attractive Web Pages Embedded text links – Link positioned inside a paragraph – Text in link should clearly describe what page visitors will see Use Zax Phones Do not use Click here

29 Useful and Attractive Web Pages Clickable table of contents and top-of-page links – Use to navigate between topics on a long Web page – Allow visitors to read subtopics and return to the top of the page without scrolling

30 Useful and Attractive Web Pages

31 Useful and Attractive Web Pages

32 Useful and Attractive Web Pages 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

33 Useful and Attractive Web Pages Navigation bars, menus, and tabs (continued) – 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

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

35 Useful and Attractive Web Pages 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

36 Useful and Attractive Web Pages

37 Useful and Attractive Web Pages 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)

38 Useful and Attractive Web Pages 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

39 Useful and Attractive Web Pages 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

40 Useful and Attractive Web Pages 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

41 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

42 Chapter Summary Begin the Web site and page design process by determining the site’s business objectives and its targeted audiences’ wants and needs Make sure that the home page answers basic visitor questions – Who? – What? – Where? – Why?

43 Chapter Summary (continued) Determine the secondary pages needed in addition to the home page Organize the pages at the site in a logical and intuitive order using the storyboarding process Follow the W3C guidelines for Web accessibility Pay attention to de facto standards or guidelines for Web usability

44 Chapter Summary (continued) Compare the costs, advantages, and disadvantages of designing and developing the Web site in-house versus outsourcing the design and development process