User Friendly InterfaceWhile designing your web site you should try to minimize theinformation in few direct links and not have too many nested links. Theterm nested here means link within another link. Your website designshould have a very efficient and appealing interface. The termefficient in this context relates to small graphics that do not taketoo long to download. The interface could have main section presentedas main menu and they in turn contain links to sub menus. Try to keepall the main options on one single page, preferable on one single menubar.
Bandwidth
The pages should be so designed that the userdoes not have to wait for a long time. It is a well known fact thatmost users get impatient if the page takes too long to come on thescreen and so they move on to some other site. Web users have differenttypes of Internet connection and machine configurations so the site hasto be such that it is efficient on all type of user machines. Forinstance, if the user is connecting through a 28.8 kbps dial-up phoneline connection it will not be a very good idea to incorporate hugegraphics into the Web page. The choice is entirely yours depending onyour audience priority and design issues.
Simple and Consistent Design
Web page should be designed with a consistency and the website layout should be simple and yetinteresting. You must not forget that most of the users come lookingfor some specific information. The language, the graphics and theoverall website design should be very comfortable in its appeal. Toachieve maximum site functionality your
website design should beconsistent in layout in all sections within the website. All the Webpages within the Web site should ideally share more or less almost thesame page layout, graphic styles, and linking and navigation pattern.The user once into the site should be able to get control of navigatingand exploring the site. Using a particular graphic depiction style youcan convey to him continuity of a particular theme.
One of our favorite website on the Internet as perthe design consistency and appeal is the http://www.adobe.com site. Ithas all the features, which not only makes it an attractive lookingsite but also a site with user-friendly features.
Search and Feedback ServiceYour Web site can be very useful if you includesearch facility and feedback facility within the website. Thisspecially helps those users who come to your site looking for somespecific information. The user can use the feedback option to makeinquiries or just give a feedback on the website or the product. Thefeedback service should be a link to the ‘Webmaster’ or ‘Webmistress’of the site. They are the persons who are responsible for the websiteand it’s contents. These features also help to get you closer to usersall over the world and they are especially very helpful to
businessoriented Web sites.
Designing for Non-graphic VisitorsIt is important to keep in mind that there are manyusers who use the UNIX shell account for browsing on the Internet. So,it is important for you to keep this factor in mind while designingyour website. One key advantage of Web pages is that in the samedocument you can incorporate capabilities that will allow a shellaccount user to go through your website as effectively as for a graphiccapable connection.
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