Limax Web Services

Design Considerations

It is important to remember that your web site will not look exactly the same to each visitor. Every user will have their own combination of hardware, software, settings and preferences. The World Wide Web and HTML (HyperText Markup Language) allow for this flexibility.

The Web is not like printed media, where the dimensions, colours and fonts are fixed. Unfortunately many web sites are designed as if it were, consequently losing the benefits that the Web should provide. A web site designed for one specific set of circumstances may look odd, or even unreadable to many visitors. Sticking a sign on it such as "Best viewed with IE4 at 800x600" is not the answer. Web sites should be flexible and accessible (remember it's the World Wide Web). In some circumstances a badly designed web site may display a blank page, have no means of navigation, or just look a mess. This is generally because the designer did not understand the nature of the World Wide Web

If you already have a web site consider these questions on its usability:

• Does it load quickly?
• Is it easy to navigate?
• How will it look to someone using a different web browser?
• How will it sound or feel to a blind person using a speech or Braille browser?
• Will it still be usable in a few years time, when technology has moved on?
• Is it easy to maintain?
• Is it "visible" to search engines?

Does it load quickly?

If a web page takes too long to load the visitor (and potential customer) is likely to lose interest and try another site. Graphics can generally be considerably compressed without any noticeable loss of quality.

If you already have a web site you may think it loads quickly, but are you experiencing what other visitors will? If you view a copy of your site on your hard disk then naturally it should load quickly. Similarly if you access the Internet copy it may still just load from your cache (an area of your hard disk for storing web pages previously visited). Another consideration is that if your Internet connection is provided by the company hosting your web site then you are not actually using the Internet to load your page, only the connection from your computer to the ISP, a much more predictable and consistent connection than the Internet as a whole, and consequently the time taken to load your page will be quicker than for other visitors.

Is it easy to navigate?

It should be clear to all your visitors how to move from one page to another within your site and to find the information they require. There is no guarantee that visitors will enter your site at your main or introductory page. They may have followed a link from another site or from a search engine.

If your navigation relies solely on graphics or javascript many visitors will find your site unusable. Either by choice or necessity many users surf with graphics and/or javascript either disabled or unsupported.

How will it look to someone using a different web browser?

Web browsers vary considerably. They attempt to support the HTML specifications, with varying degrees of success. They sometimes interpret the specifications in different ways and even the best browsers have some bugs. One slight coding error can cause some browsers to display nothing but a blank page.

Not all browsers display graphics or run scripts. This does not mean that no web site should use such features but it does mean that suitable alternatives should be provided wherever possible, so that the site is still useable.

How will it sound or feel to a blind person using a speech or Braille browser?

Your site may look just fine, but a blind user visiting your site using a speech browser or a Braille browser may have quite a different impression. Will it make sense to them? Will they be able to find their way around? A well designed site should be accessible to all potential visitors.

Will it still be usable in a few years time, when technology has moved on?

As technology progresses it generally has to continue to support older technologies as well. A well designed web site should continue to function for years to come, but a site which has used code incorrectly, through ignorance or to achieve a particular effect or to overcome browser bugs, may suddenly stop working altogether.

Is it easy to maintain?

Whether your web site is updated daily or only once a year it will still save time and money, and be less error-prone, if it is designed for ease of maintenance from the start. Correct use of HTML tags and full exploitation of CSS will help considerably.

Is it "visible" to search engines?

One of the main routes to your site will be from Search Engines. It is therefore important that these Search Engines can "see" your site and make sense of it, in order to rank your site highly when anyone searches on appropriate terms. There are various techniques to assist the Search Engines, but there are also many myths about how they can be tricked into giving your site a high ranking.