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Web Sites: The Design Basics
Nick Foxall
SM5312 week 1: web design basics
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Web Sites: The Design Basics
“Design is not just what
it looks like and feels
like. Design is how it
works.”
Steve Jobs
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Principles of Web Design
1. Get it Right
Ensuring the site works properly,
as intended, delivering the right
information / services /
experience to the user.
2. Make it Nice
Ensuring any visit to a site is a
pleasant and rewarding one.
Bottom line: usability
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What is a Web Page?
A Web page is…
the basic element of the Web.
not a physical object, but a
collection of data that can be
transmitted over the Internet and is
displayed by a user agent, such as
a Web browser.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
can contain time-based and
interactive elements, but are
subject to limitations imposed by
maximum data rates and the
diversity of hardware and software.
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What is a Web Site?
A Web site is a set of conceptually
related Web pages, connected by links.
Links connect Web pages into a
network of hypermedia.
The pages making up a site usually
exhibit a unified style and layout.
Typing a Web site’s address takes you
to its home page, which usually
provides an introduction to the site and
links to other pages.
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Key Design Considerations
1. Content
2. Navigation
3. Layout
4. Personality
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1 Content
Purpose / Objectives:
What is the purpose of the site? What do you want
to put “out there”? What do you want to achieve?
Flexibility
What do you want to do now? What do you want to
do later?
How will the content change over time?
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1 Content
Define the types of content for your site:
Text
Images / photos
Video
Flash Animation
Downloadables (PDFs, etc.)
Sort and categorize that content:
e.g.
•
•
•
•
Overview info (for the home page),
contact info
profile/background info
service/product info
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2 Navigation & Architecture
Define the main sections of your site
Limit to 7 or 8 main sections (ideally 6 or less), which will always
be available in your main navigation, or main menu bar
Name those sections using clear, self-explanatory words
Sub-sections
List out sub-sections that might come under one of your main
sections
e.g. a portfolio section might have subsections entitled
•
•
•
•
Photos
Paintings
Websites
Videos
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2 Navigation & Architecture
Information Architecture Models
1. All-in-one: the simplest
possible model. Everything
goes on a single Home page.
2. Flat Pattern: where all pages
are arranged as peers, and
every one is accessible from
every other one.
Common for simple sites, where
there are a few standard topics,
such as: Home, About Us,
Contact Us, Products. Also
called a 'monocline grouping'.
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2 Navigation & Architecture
Information Architecture Models
3. Index: like the flat structure,
with an additional list of
contents. Often organised in
some way, to make stuff
easier to find. E.g. a list of
files in a web directory (the
index page), or an index of
people's names ordered by
last name.
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2 Navigation & Architecture
Information Architecture Models
4. Strict Hierarchy: describes a
system where you can only
access a lower-level page via
its parent. Many data models
have strict parent-child
relationships, such as
Message boards, Threads
and Posts. Every thread
belongs to one message
board; a message board can
have many (child) threads.
Each thread can have one or
more subsequent (child)
posts.
SM5312 week 1: web design basics
CAVEAT: Even if there's a strictly hierarchical
real-world model, that doesn't mean that a strict
hierarchy is the best way to represent it online.
Consider your users' goals and contexts of use.
For example, while it's possible to arrange all
products by product category, that might not be
the most intuitive way for a user to find it.
Supermarkets often place the same items in
more than one place, knowing that consumers
will think about them and look for them under
more than one category.
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2 Navigation & Architecture
Information Architecture Models
5. Multi-dimensional Hierarchy:
where there are many ways of
browsing to the same content.
In a way, several hierarchies
co-exist, overlaid on the same
content. The structure of the
content can appear to be
different, depending on the
mode you're looking in.
E.G. Amazon.com
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2 Navigation & Architecture
Information Architecture Models
5. Search: strictly more a
navigation tool than an
architecture, a search tool is
often built into a site's
architecture. Search functions
present a dynamic view of a
set of content, and offer
instant links to each result.
This allows users to jump
straight to content, without
having to browse through
hierarchies or indexes.
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3 Layout (page layout)
No hard and fast rules, but…
…a number of common formats have evolved.
These layout formats work, because they offer
flexibility without sacrificing usability / readability.
Most web page designs today use some form of
multicolumn layout:
Because long lines of text (i.e. that are very wide) are difficult to read,
and because they can comply with Web Standards (more about web
standards later…).
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3 Layout: position in browser
Fixed width,
Left aligned
The page (i.e. the area
that encloses all the
key content) is always
aligned to the left edge
of the browser window,
no matter how wide the
user makes the
window.
santafecounty.com
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3 Layout: position in browser
Fixed width,
centre floated
The page is aligned in
the centre of the
browser window, no
matter how wide the
user makes the
window.
This is called ‘floating’
the page in the window
area: many designers
prefer this, because it
can help ‘stage’ the
page design, providing
even margins on both
the left and right of the
page.
sumagency.com
mpa-i.org
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3 Layout: position in browser
Liquid, or flexible width
The page is usually left-aligned in the
browser window, but the page can also
expand to fill the window if the user
makes the window area larger (i.e. pulls
the window out to the right).
The width of the page can be also be
specified as a percentage of the
browser window width as well, e.g. the
page may stretch across 70% of the
browser window, leaving a 30% margin
area on the right side.
Multicolumn hybrid pages can also be
made, where one column is always a
fixed width, while another column
expands according to the browser
width.
Rhizome.org
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3 Layout: grids
A layout grid
Creating a layout
grid for your page
design is a key step
in generating visual
consistency for your
site.
Most sites today
have a fixed-height
header area at the
top (which usually
runs the full width of
the page), with a
variable height
content area below
(that can be divided
into columns).
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Header area
Content area
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3 Layout: grids
Creative, but
consistent
You don’t have to
follow the same
format as everybody
else, but at least
make your design
consistent.
plainsimple.dk
This designer’s site
uses an innovative
centre-floated box to
‘stage’ his site, but
within the box is a
simple narrowheader, 2-column
grid.
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3 Layout: columns
2 columns
One large column
for main content;
One small column
for supplementary
content, such as
links to additional
pages (latest links,
etc), or advertising
panels, sponsor’s
links, etc.
Header area
Column 1
Column 2
revolutiontea.com
mezzoblue.com
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3 Layout: columns
3 columns
One large column for
main content;
Header area
One small column for
supplementary content,
such as links to
additional pages (latest
links, etc);
A second small column
for advertising panels,
sponsor’s links, or
other tertiary content.
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
we-make-money-notart.com
alistapart.com
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3 Layout: columns
2- and 3column mix
Header area
Go through the
different sections of the
www.alistapart.com
site. Notice how they
use 3 columns for
some pages (e.g. the
home page, where
there are links to
various articles and
sponsors), and 2
columns for others
(e.g. article pages,
where the focus is the
discussion itself).
You can mix 2- and 3column layouts but do
it within a consistent
grid
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3 Layout: columns
More than 3 columns
Apple’s redesigned website (as of
June 2007) uses a 5-column grid.
apple.com
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3 Layout & Design
Break the rules…
…but know what they are first!
Consistency works
Consistent = usability = positive experience = trust
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4 Personality
The visual look-and-feel of a web site (mostly)
What is the overall message that you want to put
across?
What is the image you want to project?
How will the visitor engage with your site?
What is the experience you want to generate?
In the corporate world, this is called branding.
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4 Personality
Visual look-and-feel:
Use of colour and graphic elements (shadows, etc.) to
accent or offset page areas
Colour schemes:
• Defining a colour palette for your site
• White on black, or black on white
Typography:
• Deciding the types of font to use (serif or sans serif)
• Limiting the number of fonts used
• Determining size of fonts, line spacing, paragraph spacing,
margins, font colours, etc.
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And finally…
When things go wrong! Sites that don’t work:
fargohomes.com
• Complex and confusing navigation: too many buttons that are
difficult to read
globalaigs.org
• Bad colour scheme and ill-defined layout. Use of HMTL frames
is discouraged these days
frysteel.com
• Unnecessary and pointless use of Flash animations
vatican.va
• Using graphics to create everything on the page leads to
usability/accessibility issues, as well as download overhead
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