Notes on Chapter 3 - How do Design an Effective Web Page
Summary: This chapter provides simple guidelines for setting up information on a web page by focusing on the visual layout and placement of content.Use Conventions
- widely recognizable icons
- standard appearance
- predictable locations
Use Visual Hierarchy
- compartmentalize items that belong together
- keep similar or related items near each other
Use Clearly Defined Areas to Organize the Page
- divisions help users prioritize what to focus on
- be aware of "banner blindness" (Krug 36). Users will ignore banners because they are often just used to advertise
Make the Clickable Tabs Easy to Spot
- use one color for links
Keep the Page Uncluttered
- avoid "shouting" (38) - too many fonts, sizes, images, colors, etc...
- avoid the mess by keeping items compartmentalized
- avoid putting too much information on the page; keep it simple
Make the Page "Scannable"
- use lots of headings
- make effective word choices
- keep paragraphs short
- use bullet lists
- highlight key terms
Questions, Reflections and Personal Applications
I found this chapter to be very useful to me personally when designing the syllabi for my courses. I was already doing a lot of these things intuitively, but I think I could use headings and bullet lists more. I also think I could put more breaks in my paragraphs. A couple of years ago, I started creating a new page for each topic of my syllabus and creating links to each page.The last main point about making the content easier to scan is very useful for when I re-design my syllabus. Not only do students tend to scan the material, they need to be able to scan it when they are just looking for something specific. Very useful tip!
