Elements of Effective Web Design Preparation for Effective Web Design Compare/Contrast Project http://www.web-design-boston.net/web_design_elements.html

Elements of Effect Web Design Simplicity Consistency Identity Content Navigation Visual appeal Compatibility

Simplicity in Web Design First and foremost, the home page must download very fast. Study the web designs of prestigious, large corporations. Scrolling text and gif animations are used conservatively or not at all. Too much repetitive movement is distracting and sometimes annoying.

Simplicity in Web Design Simplicity in web design should also be reflected in background choice. Busy, loud backgrounds detract from content and make text illegible. Too many colors or fonts can also be distracting and give the site a cluttered feel. Try to keep scrolling text and gif animations to a minimum.

Simplicity in Web Design Usability first, flashy web design second Focus on clear navigation, beginning with the home page, and keep flashy graphics and other gimmicks to a minimum. Unless a web site focuses specifically on visitors that want to be entertained, anything that distracts from your message needs to be eliminated.

Simplicity in Web Design Color, styles, fonts, spacing and navigation should be consistent throughout the web site. Your message must be presented as small information nuggets that viewers can graze through comfortably. Stick with standard graphic design techniques like short line lengths and proper leading for text. (See http://webtypography.net/Rhythm_and_Proportion/Vertical_Motion/2.2.1/)

Simplicity in Web Design Every element of the user interface should have a good reason to be there. The simpler the user interface, the better. Arrange menus to be intuitive and sensible. Important information should not be more than a mouse click away.

Simplicity in Web Design Keep navigation links and labels short and clear. All pages on the web site must be labeled so visitors know exactly in which section of the site they are at any time.

Simplicity in Web Design Use Technology When Appropriate Non-essential bells and whistles distract users from the message you want to communicate and add unnecessary complexity to your web site. The site should be designed to accommodate various browsers and operating systems. Pages and images should load quickly (within 8 seconds) with dial up connections.

Consistency in Web Design Use one web design throughout the entire web site. Remember that to a visitor, a web site is a physical place. It is confusing if pages within a site are not consistent in design.

Consistency in Web Design Color is sometimes used to identify different sections of a web site but the web design and navigation should remain consistent throughout the site. Choice of fonts is also part of the design. Be consistent in your use of fonts.

Web Site Identity Keeping with the concept that a web site is a physical place, consider the purpose of the site and reflect that purpose in the web design.

Web Site Identity A web site should reflect the philosophy and identity of the business or entity for which it was designed. Use of color and fonts again has a large impact on the 'look and feel' of the site. Choose these elements carefully.

Web Site Content Have you ever taken the time to hunt down a web site to find particular information, waited for the page to load, and then not found the information you needed on the web site? Make sure that as much information as possible is made available on your web site.

User-friendly navigation Navigation is part of web design and one of the most important elements of your design. Make sure that you lay out a logical and effective method of site navigation. Consistency is again important.

User-friendly navigation Spend time sufficient time on the navigation design of your site. Ask the opinion of others. Do they ever have to hit the back button? If you use graphics for navigation, provide alternate text navigation.

User-friendly navigation You may include top-level links and an email link. After putting all that good content on the web site, you want to be sure your visitor's can find it! Keep navigation links and labels short and clear. All pages on the web site must be labeled so visitors know exactly in which section of the site they are at any time.

Visual appeal The visual appeal at first seems to be a hard quality to define. Certainly part of visual appeal involves personal preference but another part is reflected in adherence to the qualities of simplicity and consistency.

Visual appeal Visual appeal is also dependent upon the quality of graphics used in a web site design. Spend some time visiting sites that you think are appealing. Notice that you won't find any 'jaggies' on the graphics of high-level corporate sites! Images must be properly anti-aliased to the background of a site.

Compatibility Make sure your web site platform, screen resolution, and browser are compatible. If the site is not compatible to all viewers, consider creating alternate pages for those without the capability to view the enhanced site.

Basic Rules for Content Layout Whether laying out content on a newspaper page or on a web page, there are two, sometimes conflicting basic guidelines to follow: Provide the most readable environment for the content possible; Present the content with style, so that it is pleasing to the eye, and, thus, the reader will enjoy reading it.

Basic Rules for Content Layout Never underline body text, as a reader will think it's a link. Avoid using bold within the body of the text for the same reason. Avoid using italics because it is difficult to read on a screen.

Basic Rules for Content Layout With copy that is more than a few paragraphs long, use a 10-point font, as anything less will make the text difficult to read. If the body text is in a 10-point font, then the sub-headings should be 14 point. The font style that works best on the web is sans serif; it looks sharper on the screen and is therefore easier to read.

Basic Rules for Content Layout When presenting an article or other document, the number of words per line of text should not exceed 12 -16 words per line. If documents are longer than 10 paragraphs, a table of contents should be placed below the heading. The table should be generated from subheadings found in the main body of the document.

Basic Rules for Content Layout Reading on a screen is still more difficult than reading on paper. Flashy web design may look well on the surface; however, when your readers get down to the job of reading on such a site, they will not thank you for it.

References http://www.web-design-boston.net/web_design_elements.html http://www.web-design-boston.net/web_design_tips.html