Creating a Winning E-Business Second Edition

Creating a Winning E-BusinessSecond Edition

Designing Your Web SiteChapter 8

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Learning Objectives

• Explain the Web site planning process

• Analyze Web site organization

• Plan useful and attractive Web pages

• List advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing Web design

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Web Site Planning Process

• Identify the site’s business objectives– Examples include…• Selling products or services• Educating consumers• Providing technical support• Collecting information from visitors• Offering a virtual community to customers• Directing consumers to other useful sites• Recruiting talented employees

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• Understand who will visit the site• Understand what visitors will do at the site– Primary audience consists of the targeted

customers identified in business plan– Secondary audiences• Vendors• Strategic partners• Investors• General public

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• Design the site to accommodate the most common technological constraints– Experienced or novice users– Browser and version commonly used– Internet connection speeds– Screen resolutions used• Fixed-width pages• Pages that resize with the browser window

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Web Site Evaluations

http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/

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Web Site Evaluations

http://usabilitynet.org/tools/webdesign.htm

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Web Site Organization

• Home page should answer basic visitor questions:– Who are you?– What do you do?– Where can I find what I want or need?– Why should I be interested in your products or

services?

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• Secondary pages– Customer login page– Products or services pages– “Shopping cart” page– Shipping and return policy pages– Customer support pages– Contact information pages– “About Us” pages

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• Secondary pages (continued)– Privacy policy and acceptable use pages– Frequently asked questions (FAQ) pages– Employment opportunities pages– “What’s New?” pages– Customer stories or case studies pages– Affiliate program pages– Help pages

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• Linear structure– A series of pages linked in sequential order

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• Webbed structure– Pages are linked together without regard for how

the content fits logically

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Web Site Organization• Pure hierarchical

structure– Similar to business

organizational chart– Information is organized in

levels– Home page at Level 1 (top-

level)– Main topic pages at Level

2– Additional details about

main topics at remaining levels

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Web Site Organization (continued)

• Mixed hierarchical structure– Combines structured organization with cross-

linked pages

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• Site organization– Should enable visitors to find actionable content

quickly and easily– Be neither too flat nor too deep– Logical and intuitive

• Avoid a structure that is either too flat or too deep– Structure that is too flat is uninteresting– Structure that is too deep is difficult to navigate

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Extending this structure to add additional levels may create a too deep structure.

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• Web site storyboard– Used to test a Web site organizational plan– Manual mock-up of site’s organization• Index cards, sticky notes, sheets of paper represent

individual Web pages• Use push pins or tape to fasten cards, notes, of sheets

of paper to white board or corkboard• Create connecting lines indicating links

– Look for illogical links, orphan pages, missing pages

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Web Site Organization (continued)

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Useful and AttractiveWeb Pages

• Web accessibility – Designing Web pages so that Web resources are available to people with disabilities

• W3C guidelines for accessibility– Visual or auditory content is supported by

alternative content– Color alone should not indicate a link– Adequate contrast for background/foreground

colors

http://www.w3.org/WAI/

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• W3C guidelines for accessibility (continued)– Simply worded text– Movement, scrolling, and blinks can be turned off

without loss of information or navigation– Navigational links are clear and consistent– Page content is consistent across all pages

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• Web usability– Designing Web pages to help all visitors

accomplish their goals at a site quickly and easily

• Consistency across all pages– All pages should have a common “look and feel”– Elements in same position– Standard color scheme

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• Navigational elements (internal links)– Embedded text links– Clickable table of contents and top-of-page links– Navigation bars– Navigation menus– Navigation tabs– Breadcrumb trail– Site map

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• Embedded text links– Link positioned inside a paragraph– Text in link should clearly describe what page

visitors will see• Use Zax Phones• Do not use Click here

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• Clickable table of contents and top-of-page links– Use to navigate between topics on a long Web

page– Allow visitors to read subtopics and return to the

top of the page without scrolling

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• Navigation bars, menus, and tabs– Navigation bar is a series of graphic or text-based

internal links– Often found at the top or bottom of Web page

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• Navigation bars, menus, and tabs (continued)– Navigation menu is a list of internal links– Navigation tabs are similar to file folder tabs– Both are used to conserve space on a page

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• Breadcrumb trail– Hierarchical navigational outline– Provides visitor with feedback on path taken to

current page– Use in conjunction with other navigational

elements

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• Site map– Web page that shows a summary of all the linked

pages at the site

• Rollover links– Hidden links that appear when mouse is “rolled

over” an animated image– Avoid rollover links

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• Page layout– Fixed-width pages fit in a maximized browser

window for a specific screen resolution– Liquid design creates pages that size with the

browser window• Use tables (arrangement of columns and rows)• Use CSS (cascading style sheets)

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• Page length– Keep pages short to avoid vertical scrolling

• Splash pages and frames– Avoid them

• Search function and forms– Add access to search function on all relevant

pages– Use forms to collect information

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• Writing for the Web– Use simple, direct language– Avoid industry jargon– Use bulleted and numbered lists– Use dark text color on light background– Use a familiar font– Use at least a 12-point equivalent font– Check spelling and grammar, and proofread

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• Choose color scheme carefully• Use images, audio, and video sparingly and

only when they support the Web site message• Avoid background images• Add alternative text to image links• Add related text links to support image links

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Web Design Outsourcing

• Carefully assess costs of in-house Web design and development compared to outsourcing costs

• Outsourcing benefits– May save time and money– Provides greater access to experienced specialists

familiar with current best practices and trends– May provide access to usability analysis

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Chapter Summary

• Begin the Web site and page design process by determining the site’s business objectives and its targeted audiences’ wants and needs

• Make sure that the home page answers basic visitor questions– Who? – What? – Where?– Why?

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Chapter Summary(continued)

• Determine the secondary pages needed in addition to the home page

• Organize the pages at the site in a logical and intuitive order using the storyboarding process

• Follow the W3C guidelines for Web accessibility• Pay attention to de facto standards or

guidelines for Web usability

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Chapter Summary(continued)

• Compare the costs, advantages, and disadvantages of designing and developing the Web site in-house versus outsourcing the design and development process

Documents

Creating a Winning E-Business Second Edition