A
Few Random Thoughts On Web Design
What are the things that drive
you crazy about a web site? Long download times is the thing
that bother most people. How can you speed up the process? Graphics
are the biggest offenders. Use smaller pictures. Do you really
need all of those clever buttons that glow when the mouse passes
over them? What about using thumbnail graphics and if the visitor
really wants to see them, he can spend the time to download
them. But for those large graphics that you really need to display,
use lowsrc. Lowsrc will download a small graphic (black and
white or low resolution image) then when the rest of the page
has loaded and the visitor sees what the image looks like, the
final version loads, but it does not hold up the loading of
the rest of the page.
Another of the things that drive
people crazy are navigational problems on a web site. You end
up going through layer after layer of fluff to get to the good
stuff. But the problem is, what is fluff and what is good stuff?
Only your visitor knows. You have to give the visitor a way
to see what is on the site and way to get there. Instead of
a link marked 'Background', how
about something that says 'Behind the
scenes story' or 'Downloadable
web page backgrounds'. Don't make the people guess. And
give them a way back to the start (home) also 'back' and 'forward'
buttons. Just don't leave them stranded. Do you like to see
the pages with flashing signs, blinking buttons, and giant marquees
across the top of the page? Well, no one else likes it either,
so don't put them in. Just because you can do something doesn't
mean you should do it.
Depending on the site selected,
anywhere from 50% to 80% of the visits come from browsers that
are Microsoft or Netscape version 4 or higher. That means that
20% to 50% are not.
And that means watching what you use in your page. How many
visitors to your site use browsers that do not support
Java? Ten per cent? Twenty per cent? How many people are you
willing to exclude from your digital domain? Go with the lowest
common denominator. The Java capable people won't mind foregoing
some of the 'splash and dash' if it is a well laid out site.
Isn't
the the most distracting thing you ever saw? Isn't your eye
drawn to it? Don't you wish it would go away, or at least let
you stop it? Just because you can do something doesn't mean
you should. OK, now scroll down and you wont see it any more.
What do people want? They want
content. They came to your site for a reason. What is that reason?
Is it for information or is it to buy something? If it is for
information, give it to them and make it easy to find and what
they are looking for. Don't be like the dad who pulled out charts
and graphs and gave a long speech about the birds and the bees
when his son asked where he came from. When he was through he
asked he son if he had any questions. The son said "Yes, where
did I come from, Billy said he came from California". Some people
want a 'top level' type of discussions and others may want an
in depth look. Give them both what they want. Build another
page and give them the 'short' and 'long' version and let them
decide which to view.
If it is to buy something, make
it easy for them. If they don't want to use an online credit
card transaction, don't preach about how safe it is, just give
them a telephone number to call (preferably a 1-800 number).
What colors does it come in? Show 'em. How many different ways
can you buy it? Explain them. Give them all the information
they need to make a purchase. Make it as easy as you can and
they will buy. And give them something extra. Remember their
name and birthday and send them a greeting on their birthday.
Remember their size or color preference. Send them an E-mail
when that color or size comes on sale (not when something comes
on sale that is two sizes too small).
These are a few of the things that
I try to keep in mind when I build a web site, whether it is
a commercial site or one for home or school. I think that you
will get a lot more visits and more repeats if you keep these
points in mind. I will visit a web site that doesn't have all
the latest greatest toys as long as it has the information I
am looking for. How many totally text based web sites do you
visit and why?
I'll leave you with two other bits
of information. The rest of the world pays for connection time
on the telephones so that makes web surfing expensive. Give
them a way to get the information and get off-line, they will
appreciate it. The other bit is this. 59.3% of the people on
the net speak English. Which means that 40.7% do not. The English
speakers control 32% of the world economy. Which means the other
68% is controlled by someone who doesn't speak English. Who
is building sites for these people? That is a big market with
very little competition. Looks like a nice little niche to me...
