Web design

2. Read the text

Every web-designer is keen on creating an outstanding site. To achieve this goal one should be aware of certain secrets. It is essential to bear in mind that usability and the utility, not the visual design, determine the success or failure of a web-site. Since the visitor of the page is the only person who clicks the mouse and therefore decides everything, user-centric design has become a standard approach for successful and profit-oriented web design.

This approach requires understanding how users interact with web-sites, how they think and what are the basic patterns of users' behavior. Basically, visitors glance at each new page, scan some of the text, and click on the first link that catches their interest or vaguely resembles the thing they're looking for. Most users search for something interesting (or useful) and clickable.

Moreover, users appreciate quality and credibility of information presented. If a page provides users with high-quality content, they are willing to compromise the content with advertisements and the design of the site. This is the reason why not-that-well-designed web-sites with high-quality content gain a lot of traffic over years. Thus, it may be concluded that content is more important than the design which supports it. Analyzing a web-page, users search for some fixed points or anchors which would guide them through the content of the page.

On the other hand, if a web-site isn't able to meet users' expectations, then the designer failed to get his job done properly. The higher is the cognitive load and the less intuitive is the navigation, the more willing are users to leave the web-site and search for alternatives.

The Web-designer should not forget that users are accustomed to following their intuition. Users neither make optimal choices, nor do they search for the quickest way to find the information they're looking for. They don't usually scan a web-page in a linear fashion, going sequentially from one site section to another one. Instead they choose the first reasonable option. As soon as they find a link that seems like it might lead to the goal, there is a very good chance that it will be immediately clicked. A clear structure, moderate visual clues and easily recognizable links can without doubt help users to find their path to their aim.

However, there appears another significant aspect: users should be allowed to explore the site without forcing them into sharing private data. Ideally, all barriers are advisable to be removed, subscriptions or registrations should not be required. A user registration alone is enough of an impediment to user navigation to cut down on incoming traffic.

As web-sites provide both static and dynamic content, some features of the user interface attract attention more than others do. Obviously, images are more eye-catching than the text. Focusing users' attention to specific areas of the site with a moderate use of visual elements can help your visitors to get from point A to point B without thinking of how it actually is supposed to be done.

In other words: the less thinking needs to happen behind the scenes, the better is the user experience which is the aim of usability in the first place.

Moreover, modern web designs are usually criticized due to their approach of guiding users with visually appealing 1-2-3-done-steps, large buttons with visual effects etc. But from the design perspective these elements actually aren't a bad thing. On the contrary, such guidelines are extremely effective as they lead the visitors through the site content in a very simple and user-friendly way. Letting the user see clearly what functions are available is a fundamental principle of successful user interface design. It doesn't really matter how this is achieved. What matters is that the content is well-understood and visitors feel comfortable with the way they interact with the system.

It should be mentioned that it's necessary to adjust the writing style to users' preferences and browsing habits as the Web is different from print. Web designers are recommended to remember the key points: effective writing is to use short and concise phrases (come to the point as quickly as possible), use scannable layout (categorize the content, use multiple heading levels, use visual elements and bulleted lists which break the flow of uniform text blocks), use plain and objective language.

In addition, the "keep it simple"-principle (KIS) should be the primary goal of site design. Users are rarely on a site to enjoy the design; furthermore, in most cases they are looking for the information despite the design. Strive for simplicity instead of complexity.

From the visitors' point of view, the best site design is a pure text, without any advertisements or further content blocks matching exactly the query visitors used or the content they've been looking for. This is one of the reasons why a user-friendly print-version of web pages is essential for good user experience.

It may be concluded, that with conventions you can gain users' confidence, trust, reliability and prove your credibility, since conventional design of site elements doesn't result in a boring web site.

(adapted from http://blog.beeitld.com)

http://blog.beeitltd.com/2011/02/10-ideology-of-efficient-web-design/