Principles of Good Web Page Design

Principles of Good Web Page Design

4.02 Develop web pages using various layouts and technologies.

Text Editor vs. Web Editor

Text editor

Creates a simple text document

Used to create web pages using HTML tags

Each page created individually

Web editor

User defines and manages a web site, and creates pages using toolbars and menus via a GUI.

User can enter HTML code, use templates, and troubleshoot links and other code errors.

Web Page Design vs. Print Document Design

Many design principles apply to both web pages and print documents.

Apply a few fundamental principles to every web page created.

Web Page Design vs. Print Document Design

Always list the author of the page.Establishes legitimacy of the information

Use clear titles to capture the reader’s attention.Include text of the title used in “bookmark” in case reader adds page to a personal list of URLs.

Date every web page.Change date when page is updated.

Incorporate the “home” URL on at least the main pages of the site. Provides connection back to where a page originated

Overall Page Layout Create a visual

hierarchy of information. Most important items

toward the top!

Be consistent in all design elements used on all pages —fonts, colors, graphic size and location, alignment, and backgrounds.

Use headers/footers. Headers identify site and

may contain “signature” graphics.

Footers should contain basic data about the origin and age of the page.

Footers can offer a set of links to other pages.

Use moderate white space. Consider the reader’s need

to scan the information. Prevent scrolling

The Home/Index Page

Creates positive first impression of site

Communicates purpose of the web site

Include:

Masthead with tagline

Category links Site maps Search

capabilities

The Home/Index Page—continued

Limit to one screen of information.

Limit amount of prose text on home page.

Show all major options on home page.

Enable access to home page from any other page on the web site.

Announce changes to the web site on home page.

Using Color Color schemes

Use contrasting colors for background and text.

Light text on dark background OR

Dark text on light background

Improves readability

Web safe colors

Every browser can display

216 web safe colors available

Uses hexadecimal system (16 characters) #FFFFFF is white

#0000FF is blue

#000000 is black

Text Issues Cascading Style Sheets

Consistency

Increase editing speed

Change settings of the style once to update all documents using that style

Similar to styles in word processor

Consider the intent of the site and the target audience when selecting:

•Typefaces•Size•Alignment

•Line length•Paragraphs•Type as a graphic

Text Issues—Typefaces

Use fonts designed for on-screen viewing:

Georgia

Verdana

Small serif font for body text

Sans serif for headlines

Use “font-family” property in styles to specify typeface.

Text Issues–Size

Display resolutions and operating systems vary.12 point on one machine may display

as 14 point on another.

Windows web browsers typically display type that is 2 to 3 points larger than a Macintosh.

Text Issues—Alignment Left justified text

is the most legible option for web pages.

Left margin is even and predictable.

Ragged right margin will not interfere with legibility.

Justified text is not recommended for use in web pages. Poor spacing Excessive hyphenation

Centered and right justified text are not recommended. Scanning more difficult Ragged left margins

make scanning extremely difficult

Text Issues (Continued)

Use indents or a blank line to indicate a new paragraph. Use paragraph tag <p> in html

to leave a blank line. Use non-breaking spaces

(&nbsp) to indent.

Text Issues—General Guidelines Use initial caps for

headlines and headings.

Use sentence case for body text. All caps are difficult to read.

Use italics to stress foreign words or phrases or to list book and periodical titles.

Use bold to emphasize headings. Don’t overuse a—it will lose

the effect of adding emphasis.

Do not use underlining—it implies a hyperlink.

Indicate to users when a link will move them to a page on a different web site. Add URL below the link

Add an exit disclaimer

Add an interim page warning the user that they are leaving your site and requiring them to click an additional link to leave your site.

Text Issues (Continued)

Text as a Graphic Use for banners, navigational graphics. Pure graphic type cannot be searched and indexed. Avoid using text as a graphic for headings, subheadings and body

text.

This text is really a graphic. Note that a rollover or gloss provides pop-up text.

Headings and Titles Use headings that are

unique from one another, descriptive and relate to the content they introduce.

Use headings in the appropriate HTML order. Helps users get a sense of

hierarchy of information on the page

Also helps users of assistive technologies understand the level of importance of information

Use a descriptive, unique, concise, and meaningful title on each web page.

Titles are viewable on the browser title bar.

Titles are used by search engines to identify pages and are listed on the results page.

Lists Display a series of

related items in a list.

Provide a descriptive heading for the list.

Make lists easy to scan and understand— Meaningful labels, effective

colors, borders, and white space

Capitalize first letter and first word in lists.

Bullets/Unordered List <ul> for items of equal status or value Place important or most

commonly used items at top if not using alphabetic or numeric order.

Numbered/Ordered List <ol> for items where a particular order exists Organize alphabetically or

numerically in most cases.

Start numbered items at 1 rather than 0.

Graphics on the Web

Use video, animation, and audio only when they help convey or support the web site’s content.

Place the organization’s logo in a consistent place on every page.

Limit large images above the fold (the first screen length).

Use images that add value and increase the clarity of the information on the site.

Graphics on the Web (Continued)

Ensure that images do not slow the download process. Use several small images

rather than a large single image.

Include height and weight pixel dimension attributes in the image tag. Allows layout of page to

continue during download—text will fill in and space will be saved for graphics to “pour” into the reserved spaces.

Use thumbnails to preview larger images.

Use simple background images.

Keep resolution as low as possible. Can make text difficult to

read

Consider color backgrounds Offer a “zero bandwidth”

way to change the look of pages without adding graphics

Multimedia Overall considerations:

Plug-in requirements on the user’s machine help determine best file format.

Provide controls so that users can stop, start, play, and adjust volume.

Embedded media can make total page file size very large and slow the download process.

Tags

Use object or embedded tags to include multimedia elements in page.

Use anchor tags and href attributes to link to video.

Use combinations of anchor and image tags to link to video.

Also consider the including:

•Audio•Slide shows

•Animation•Video

Multimedia (Continued)Audio Effective, low

bandwidth solution to enhancing web site

Does not have the file size and bandwidth issues of video

Slide shows Use when image

quality is a top priority. Smaller file size than

most video so storage and bandwidth are optimized.

Combine with audio for additional emphasis.

Multimedia (Continued)

Animation

GIF format

Doesn’t require special plug-in

Has no interface control.

Flash becoming dominant animation format.

Video

Most challenging multimedia content to deliver via the Web.

Large file sizes

Storage and download speed major concerns.

Writing Web Content

Define acronyms and abbreviations.

Use abbreviations sparingly.

Avoid jargon.

Use familiar words.

Make first sentences descriptive.

Use active voice. “John hit the baseball.”

rather than “The baseball was hit by John.”

Minimize the number of words in sentences and the number of sentences in paragraphs. Sentence: 20 words Paragraph: 6 sentences

Accessibility Issues

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

All US government web sites must meet the needs of all users including people with disabilities.

About 8% of all users have a disability that makes using a traditional web site very difficult or impossible.

Vision-related, movement-related, hearing-related and learning-related are the most common.

Accessibility Issues—continued Provide text

equivalent for non-text elements.

Ensure that all information conveyed in color is also available without color.

Provide text only pages that are useful for screen readers.

Provide equivalent alternatives for multimedia elements that are synchronized: A text caption or

auditory description of the visual track with the presentation

Do not require style sheets.