This chapter discusses recommended web site design practices. The topics include site organization, site navigation, page design, text design, graphic design, and accessibility considerations.

Whatever your personal preferences, your web site should be designed to appeal to your target audience - the people who will use your web site. They may be teens, shoppers, college students, young couples, the list goes on and on. All of the recommended web site design practices should be followed with an eye on your target audience.

Example Sites	Surveys/Stats
Engaging... draws you in... Atlantis Busy, very down to business... Amazon	NUA Surveys PEW Netratings Press Releases Comscore Press Releases ClickZ Stats
Site Organization	Site Search Features
Wizarding World Ebay Macromedia	Atomz FusionBot FreeFind
Navigation	Specific Target Audiences
Realtor.com CNN Harper College Saturn Project 514 Microsoft	Nickelodeon Korn Oprah Harley-Davidson AARP
Accessibility
"The Internet is for Everyone" Web Accessibility Initiative WAI Quick Tips Web Accessibility Guidelines Watchfire WebXACT Accessibility Validator (formerly known as "Bobby") Cynthia Says Accessiblity Portal evolt.org on Accessibility
Writing for the Web
How Users Read on the Web Writing Microcontent Be Succinct! Writing Well for the Web Effective Web Writing	Writing for Low-Literacy Users Jakob Nielsen's suggestions for adjusting your pages to be easier to read by low-literacy readers -- a growing group of Web visitors.
Design & Usability	Web Site Design Patterns
George A. Miller 7 Plus Or Minus 2 Vischeck Upsdell Browser News Web Pages That Suck EyeTrack III -- The Visitors "Point" of View Usability News Usable Web Usability.gov Optimal Web Design	A design pattern is a a standard solution to common problems in software design. You may find the following sites helpful as you explore the area of web design: Web Design Patterns UI Patterns and Techniques WebPatterns.org Website Patterns
Websites Using Random Organization
Although this Flash-based site has one main entry point, the remaining navigation has a random nature -- with visitors using a big pencil as a cursor. Text navigation links are provided in the lower-right corner for "linear thinkers". Is this site usable? Is this site accessible? Does it meet the needs of its target audience? What do you think? Leo Burnett	This site for a design firm in the UK also has one main entry point, but once you get by it the navigation is sheer random. The firm probably had a lot of fun designing this -- but is it really good for the business or just a "vanity" site for artistic designers? Is this site usable? Do you think this site attracts potential clients? Do you think this site attracts potential employees? magneticNorth

Chapter Updates

Page 267 The link to http://www.pew.internet.org should be http://www.pewinternet.org.

Questions or Comments?

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Send an e-mail to webdevfoundations@hotmail.com

Chapter 7 Review

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Resources

W3C
W3C HTML Validator
W3C CSS Validator

Color Chart
Design Checklist
Fireworks Tutorial

A List Apart
SitePoint
Good Experience
Digital Web
Dreamweaver
FrontPage

Web Design Tip

Choosing colors for a web site can be a difficult task. One method is to use the colors found on the corporate logo or main image of the web site.

Choosing colors used in a central image usually results in color combinations that are pleasing. By repeating the colors found in the central image on other places in the page, a sense of unity is created.