Developing a Design Plan

1
Developing a Design Plan

• For Your Web Site

2
Step 5 Planning the Web Pages

• Organize the Information
• Lowest resolution is 640 x 480
• Visible screen is valuable web space
• Convinces viewers to stay
• Needs to be well organized and important
• Try not to make viewers scroll up or left
• Provide links to more information

3
Step 5 Planning the Web Pages

• Establish a Visual Connection
• Home pages and secondary pages need to look like
  they belong together
• Visitors may be confused if it is not consistent
• Dont be over consistent or pages will be boring
• Gander Mountain

4
Color Scheme

• A good color scheme creates unity within a web
  site
• Limit the number of colors to three
• Build a color scheme with text, backgrounds a
  graphics throughout your site
• Be careful when choosing a background color and
  text color
• Heinz

5
Layout

• Needs to be logical to create a visual connection
  and generate a sense of balance
• Grids can help you develop layout structure
• Tables help align rows and columns in the grid
• PGA National Resort and Spa

6
Step 6 Plan the Navigation

• User Based using the primary objectives, the
  site is designed to meet the needs of the company
  and its outlined structure, often linear
• User Controlled gives visitors freedom to move
  through the website at their leisure
• If navigation is poorly designed, visitors will
  not be happy and will never return

7
Navigation Elements

• Text most common, changing colors can cause
  problems
• Emme
• Buttons second most common, do not detract from
  important content, make sure is consistent with
  the web site theme, use icons sparingly

8
Navigation Elements

• Image Maps clickable maps with graphics in
  special areas to be clicked
• Mapedit
• Very complicated to create and longer to load
• Menus the main advantage of menus is to allow
  many navigation options in a small space
• Thomas College

9
Navigation Elements

• Site Index helps visitors find information
  easily either alphabetically or logically
• Old Navy Site Index
• For some, the site index is a waste of time
  because it is too condensed
• Search Feature very popular to add a search
  feature to the web site for quick access to
  information
• LL Bean

10
Navigation Elements

• Frames divides a web page into sections
• Often scrolls
• Helps to aid in navigation
• Clicking back only to the current frame
• Bookmarking doesnt always work
• Can be confusing
• Decreases the size of the web page
• Sample of Frames

11
Navigation in a Nutshell

• Consistently place common navigation items in the
  same spot
• Common practices is at top or bottom of the web
  site
• Secondary pages should include
• Link back to home
• Logos or site identifier
• Page title in blue bar descriptive of the site
  and page
• Make sure your links are
• Working!
• Relative and worth the time to click

12
Navigation in a Nutshell

• Choose link terminology that mirrors the content
  in where the link goes so that you dont
  disappoint visitors
• Indicate clear link options
• Dont list the current page as an option
• If you use graphics to navigate, consider the
  users that turn off graphics
• Provide alternatives such as text also

13
Navigation in a Nutshell

• A well designed navigation system allows visitors
  to find usable information quickly to encourage
  them to stay longer at your Web site and will
  also make them want to return.