IL2007 - Session C103 — New Rules of Web Design

Session C103 — New Rules of Web Design

1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Jeff Wisniewski, Web Services Librarian, University of Pittsburgh



This I think was my favourite session all day. Fast moving. Full of information. Good speaker who knew his stuff.

Old	New
Keep it simple	Very complex sites needed to provide information expected these days. Interactive rich sites
Content is king	Design matters a lot users decide very quickly if your site is any good based on design that negative view stays if people like design they may ignore some usability issues
All content is created equal	Some content is more important. This should be emphasized. Make clear starting point based on mission and evidence of use
Rule of seven	# of top level categories. Not really a rule. 5-9 categories are ideal. Unless it is necessary and well organized
3 click rule	User swill click many times as long as they feel they are on the right track
800x600	1024x768 but think of other platforms, phones, etc. flexible design. Use CSS correctly
Web safe colour pallets	Most people can use 24-bit colour. use what you want. keep small images to download faster.

How often to redesign – constantly – iterative – major changes are disruptive

Do follow these basics – home link in upper left – clickable banner – contact us top left

More high speed users

Impatient users

Some using slower networks

Support all browsers, however there are other higher value content – graded support – progressive support – browser dependent content – main stuff is compliant – extras may not be

Old	New
Provide text only version	Not if properly designed in xhtml and CSS
Avoid CSS	Do use it properly – for layout
Popups never	Often blocked so don't put in anything critical – can sometimes be useful for supporting info
Flash is evil	Flash intros ARE evil – flash can be used for tutorials and animation if used properly
Mouseover menus	Usability issues – slower – not always readable
Never open links in new window	Ok if you tell them – ok for external content – ok for help files – less of an issue now that browsers have tabs
Scrolling is bad	People will scroll a long way if they know that there is something to scroll to
Keep it above the fold	Maybe – most important stuff should be—people will scroll

Add images of people to increase trust in site, draw attention, people (labeled) are best. If people are too good looking then they don't increase trust.

IL2007