Beyond Glitz and Into Content Gregory B. Newby Univ. North Carolina at Chapel Hill ASIS 1999 Midyear Meeting

Glitz n n Using techniques that look great: Javascript (pull-down menus; mouseover() buttons); MSIE or Netscape enhancements (floating content, moving content) n n Including plenty of images n n Emphasizing graphic design and appeal, similar to a poster or ad

Content n Evaluate purpose of the site and each page n Anticipate users’ information needs n Evaluate the content n Get content from the right sources n Design follows purpose, doesn’t dictate purpose

Today: Points from the training grounds: Designers n Students in information science programs at undergrad and grad level are learning Web authoring skills are a standard part of their curriculum n As for any skill, the interface (editors, browsers…) and appearance (layout, tags) are learned first n Then, students can combine domain knowledge with Web authoring skills

7 Plus or Minus 2 ? n Based on George Miller’s 1956 research, we sometimes think only 5-9 items per page, or per menu, should be used. This may not apply to Web pages or other online content! n Based on television news broadcasts and newspapers, we often write for a 4th grade reading level. This might not be appropriate for your audience!

However... n Your users might not scroll down (even if they are interested) n Your users might not read much (even if they have plenty of education and motivation) n Your users might choose the first reasonable option they spot for continued navigation, rather than a better option they didn’t notice.

Purpose of your site n Are you authoring the main access pages (such as or some content within? n Is your purpose to channel people to information? Or are you providing the information? n Does sequence matter? Do Web pages require prior knowledge?

Who are your users (target versus actual)? n Take a look at your Web server access logs. Where are your users coming from, and are they part of your anticipated target audience? n Where are users’ actual entry points to your pages, versus your intended entry point? n What knowledge do you have (from other sources?) about your audience?

Who are your users? n Are users looking are one or two documents (perhaps based on a pointer from a search engine), or reading through the site? n What is the time delay from your main index page to a subsequent page? (Is your index used?) n Multiple content presentations for your multiple user groups?

Evaluating Content n Who is creating your content? –Great answer: the right people with the right knowledge, aided by Web page designers & implementers –Not-so-great answer: the Web page designers, with little input or feedback from the actual content experts n Is your content on-target? Accurate? n Can you collect user feedback?

Sources of Design Ideas n Ideal design: start with the material you want to publish as Web pages. n Then, work inductively towards a reasonable way of organizing, grouping and presenting the content n Design paths (links) among the content n Implement a design to aid in navigation n Assume multiple access points

Beyond Glitz … Into Content n Get to know your users n Start with content, work towards organization and design n Assume multiple access points, so provide extensive navigation methods n Collect feedback and analyze logs to spot discontinuities, unanswered user needs, etc.