Web Site Design Checklist

Web Site Design

Checklist

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  • Viewers browsing the web have eight seconds worth of patience while waiting for your pages to load.
    • This is especially true for home pages.
    • This is especially true for children.

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  • Show Style.
    • When the first screen from your web site appears on someone's monitor, it should portray your site in a distinctive light.
    • Design with the user in mind.
    • Usability should not constrain good design.
    • Good design should create a very usable site.
    • Functionality and design should blend together to create a positive user experience.

  • Make your site easy to follow.
    • A good site should not require a manual to learn how to use it.
    • Create a logical taxonomy and integrate good navigational tools.
    • Design your site so that people constantly "guess right."
  • Don't let viewers get lost.
    • If someone gets lost in the middle of your web labyrinth, they'll most likely leave.
    • Help them stay on the track.

  • Your pages should have content.
    • What good is it to have a web site if the content is useless?
    • Javascripts and animated GIFs are no substitute for useful, meaningful content.
    • Write something worth reading.

  • Write well.
    • Choose a standard dictionary and use it.
    • Determine a style and stick to it.
    • Consistency is key throughout.
    • Find someone with editing skills and have him or her read all copy before posting.
    • Writers should not be the final reviewers of their own words.
    • Don't forget to run spell check one last time before publishing.

  • Enable visitor feedback.
    • Give viewers a way to offer praise, make suggestions, and ask for clarification.
    • Make it easy for them to contact you.

  • Be sure to test and get feedback.
    • Show the site to outsiders and document their experiences.
    • Watch them navigate.
    • Note their body language as pages appear on the monitor.
    • Most importantly, let them control the mouse.

 

Checklist

 

Originally developed by Sheila Edstrom, John Lyman,and Russ Revzan last revised and modified 5-4-01 by Esther Pullman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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