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Site Design
[^] CSc 302 Outlines
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<<Design Page Design>>
  1. Work specialties
    1. Manager, Sales Manager, Chief Tech, Art Director.
    2. Programmer, if you need programs on the client or server.
    3. Networking Specialist: Setup and maintain the web server.
    4. Security Specialist: Prevent site vandalism, data theft, or fraud.
    5. HTML Specialist.
    6. Artist or Graphic Designer.
    7. Content provider (writer).
    8. Usability tester. Someone who will try to make it break.
    9. A/V Specialist.
    10. 3-D Modeler.
  2. Direction.
    1. Decide what the site is for, and decide how you know if you've done it.
    2. Consult and satisfy the customer or whomever the page is for.
    3. Decide ahead what to include, and what pages you will have.
    4. Resist letting the project grow while you are developing it.
  3. Organization.
    1. Linear. Pages are linked in order, much as pages in a book. Heres a simple example.'
    1. Hierarchical or pyramid structure. I usually use this; see my MC Web space.
    1. Hub structure. The references at W3Schools tend to follow this arrangement. Here's the XHTML reference.
     

    1. Lay out your structure before coding.
    2. Most pages should be at most three to five clicks from home.
      If it's too hard to navigate, folks will leave.
  4. Style.
    1. Metaphors: VCR, rooms and doors, vending machine, etc.
    2. Be consistent. Changes make the site harder to navigate.
    3. Branding: Use colors and logos to remind the user where they are.
  5. Usability. Observe users and see what problems they have. Make sure they can find the buttons.
  6. Accessibility.
    1. Your web site should be accessible to users with limited equipment and software, or with physical difficulties.
      1. It's a courtesy.
      2. It's good for your sales, or whatever your site is for.
    2. W3C Guidelines.
      1. Provide alternatives to images and A/V presentations.
      2. The client software should be able to read the relevant information, and the relationships between the parts.
        1. For instance, no image in text without an equivalent alt.
        2. Allows the visitor to arrange alternate presentation or navigation.
      3. Do not use color alone to represent information.
      4. Make it easy to distinguish information from decoration.
      5. It should be possible to do everything through a keyboard.
      6. Do not use timeouts, or allow users to adjust or override them.
      7. Make errors difficult and correctable.
      8. Navigation controls should be clear and consistent.
      9. Follow standards.
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