Planning and Designing Effective Web Pages

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Planning and Designing Effective Web Pages
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When planning a new site . . .

1. Determine site goals
2. Identify the target audience
3. Conduct market research
4. Create end-user scenarios
5. Create categories of information
6. Create a flow chart

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Determine Site Goals

• Can have one or many goals
• Examples could be
• Provide information
• Sell a product
• Increase brand recognition
• Provide help or instructions for use

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Identify the Target Audience

• Target Audience Group of users who you would
  most like to visit your site
• Create a user-profile

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User-Profile

• May answer questions such as
• What is the age range of the user?
• What is the gender of the user?
• What is the education level of the user?
• What is the economic situation of the user?
• What is the primary language of the user?

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Conduct Market Research

1. Conduct a survey to determine your audiences
   preferences
2. Evaluating your competitors

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Create End-User Scenarios

• Imagined situations
• Allow you to envision what the user will be
  experiencing while visiting your website

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Create Categories of Information

• These categories will determine how your site
  will be structured
• Each category might represent a different web
  page
• Your navigation should be determined at this step

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Create a Flow Chart
Home Page
Books
Authors
Ordering
Order Form
Schedule
Categories
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When designing a new site . . .

• Create a site concept and metaphor
• Select Colors
• Select Fonts
• Choose a graphic style and graphics
• Create page content

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Creating a Site Concept and Metaphor

• Concept general theme that runs throughout your
  site
• Metaphor a comparison in which one idea is
  represented as another
• Example Site concept might be fluidity, and the
  site metaphor might be a river. Everything on the
  site would suggest this concept.

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Selecting Colors

• Keep it simple More is not better!
• This is too much color!
• Include three to six colors per site
• Consider mood you hope to create
• Keep in mind target audience
• Consider contrast
• Red text is not a good choice on a blue
  background!

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Selecting Fonts

• Use no more than 2 fonts on a website
• This is really difficult to read.
• Consider what you are trying to convey
• This would not be an appropriate text if you are
  talking about bull riding
• Consider accessibility
• This might be really difficult for someone with
  vision problems to read.

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Choosing a Graphic Style and Graphics

• Be consistent
• Make sure graphics have a purpose
• For example, the graphic on this page
• Consider size
• Consider target audience
• Support your site concept and metaphor
• Be careful with animation!

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Creating Page Content

• What information will your website give to
  visitors?
• Will there be any music or sounds?
• What type of backgrounds will your pages have?
• Do all your links work correctly?
• Are frames necessary or useful?

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Summary

• There are many steps to consider when planning a
  website
• It is important to complete each step and
  consider the design of your site
• Before beginning your site, you should think
  through your site design, including concept,
  metaphor, colors, fonts, etc.