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Be easy to read.
Make your pages as easy
to read as possible. Black text on a white background (as this page is
set up) is the easiest to read. I've seen some nearly impossible to read
pages that use backgrounds the same shade as the text (dark text on a
dark background and vice versa). If you use a background, stick with the
lighter shades and let the text stay black. Use a wide and short (we use
700 X 16 pixels) background graphic that's non-interlaced and under 1K
or <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff">. HTML now includes style sheets that can
control page, link, and text color attributes site-wide, and make
maintenance easy.
Be interactive.
Good interactivity
engages the user and makes your site memorable.
After original content,
the second most important trait a Web site should have is interactivity.
The Web is an interactive hypermedia communications medium that your Web
site should reflect. Sites that involve the user and have a sense of fun
or adventure will get more hits, and can charge more for ad space.
Another advantage of interactivity is
self-generating content. By allowing your visitors to interact with
your site they actually create content for you. Script-driven user
surveys and forums allow visitors to share information with others and
can help shape your site to better serve their needs. Forum or chat
software is a great way to do this.
Be well-organized.
Balance the number of
levels (the degree of hyperization) with page length to minimize
scrolling and display time.
Sun Microsystems found that users
equate poor organization with poor site design in their extensive
usability study of their home page. They also found that users don't
want to scroll. However, the hits on Discovery Channel Online
increased by 40% after they went from non-scrolling design to a
scrolling design. It depends on your application. Designing pages so
important content is "above the fold" is a good idea, though some sites
take this maxim to an extreme and cram everything into a cramped mess.
Where possible, size your pages important content to fit into the
typical user's screen (465 pixels wide by 340 pixels high for a 15"
monitor). Web pages should be at most two 8.5 x 11 pages in length. I've
seen many examples of huge 100K+ one page sites.
Part of having a well-organized site is
providing multiple ways of easy navigation. Supply both text and
graphics for buttons. Users feel more comfortable if you maintain a
consistent look and feel throughout your site.
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