Good Website Design Values
To mention, a few considerations towards good web design:
- Design
- Ease of Use
- Interactivity
- Technology
- Innovation
- Content
So which of the above would you rate as foremost in the test of tests when it comes to deciding the greatness or otherwise of a website?
Ease of Use and the usability of a website is very important, if a site is hard to use then nothing else really matters, it needs to be user friendly, no matter how good it may look or what whiz-bang technology enhances it, if you can’t use the site then you will click out. Mouse clicking is a mandatory part of interacting with websites, unlike other media where the engagement may be more passive, so it is important to keep the user clicking through your website.
The website visitor tends to process information much like they would do in a normal street shop, making intuitive - sometimes impatient decisions, scanning the page for what they need. However it's been discovered that this behaviour does have a pattern, the "F - pattern".
Without going too much into detail it's fascinating to note that most users basically scan across the page roughly in the shape of an F - across then down, across again and then down.
By observing such known patterns and not making your users work too hard, you have a better chance of keeping the user engaged productively on the website. When I say 'not making your users work too hard' I refer to making life easy, not letting them have to guess what to do next or guess why they are on your site!
Users come to the internet because they want to feel in control, unlike TV where we are conditioned to 'switch off' before we have even switched on, it's only natural that if you belittle your user by making them have to ask too many questions about your website, they will soon bail out because they feel out of control. Users shouldn’t have to ask themselves questions like what to do next, so by eliminating questions in good design you are enforcing the flow. We all know that when an activity flows it is more enjoyable and time does indeed begin to fly.
Reducing barriers such as lengthy forms for a simple web enquiry can improve user spontaneity, having to squint to read ant like miniscule text can literally make your website seem too far away to be seen.
Interactive buttons & functions should be large and clear and there is no reason why they shouldn't be simplified into things like Step 1, Step 2, Step 3. You don't want to overload your visitor's thought process. They came to your site for information or to achieve something, not for the funky design - unfortunately, so the design should always serve as a purpose not as a distraction.
Unless of course the site itself is about the design or is clearly intended to make the visitor think outside the square, but even then there is merit in being original rather than obscure.
Content is very important, good content will override even an average or poor design, if users can find what they are looking for then they will be satisfied regardless of however bad the surrounding design may be. Good content is still at the mercy of presentation on the web, so good presentation of good content is even better.
Content is of course one of those nebulous things that may seem so obvious to have and yet so elusive to find. Good content on one website may considered bad on another website, if it is out of place or irrelevant. What was once good content could be bad if it is out of date. People turn to the net to find something or get something explained, so good content should strive to meet those goals proactively. Fulfill those expectations first.
Content is gold when it is in front of the right person, so yes content itself is prone to the dimension of the context it is seen in. That's where good Search Engine Optimizing is inseparable from the 'gold' of good content. If the basic optimizing of URL, titles and descriptions is honest and on target then the ill defined daemons of web surfing logic will not be against you in the first place.
Design, whilst I think I’ve made the point about it being second to Ease of Use and Usability, it’s still very important. A good design will stand the test of time and anything that lasts longer means less maintenance, fewer makeovers, and therefore costs in the long run will be kept down. Other key benefits in favour of spending more time and resources on getting a good design:
- Users are more likely to remember a website with a nice design
- Good design adds credibility to your service or product
- Well designed sites can create a stronger identity for your business
- Good design ideas generated through your web designer can be used in other media, e.g. print
Minimal web design ethics are here, for good reason it makes digesting information that much easier. Use your white space then, breathe easy in and around text, interactive elements and web graphics. As mentioned before web visitors tend to scan, not read, so lots of harmless white space can help the user to pick up on vital hot spots without having to think.
HTML5 is the next major revision of the HTML standard, an advancement
on the current HTML4 and intended to inhance the inherent powers
of the simple yet reliable layout language.