Web Design

Project Design

Identify your target audience
Have a statement of purpose (goals)
Know your main objectives
Have a concise outline of the information your site will contain

Site Design

Create a solid and logical structure
(linear, hierarchical, or others)

Page Design

Home Page

Create identity
Create mental map of the project

Subsequent Documents
Recommendations for good page design

Design each page from the upper left-hand corner
Place identifier at the top
Identify sub categories or sections near the top and to the right of the document
Place title in the upper center
Keep width of page within 500 pixels
Keep the location of the elements constant
Center the display;
maintain balance or equal weighting between vertical halves of the display
Place or repeat menu options on the bottom line
(even if you have top or side menu bar)
Leave a blank line below the title line, and one line blank above the menu options
Link all pages to your Home Page
Take advantage of the navigation capability of the Web
Let people know at all time where they are within your project
Consider the orientation of the graphic when integrating text and graphics
Place footnote at the bottom of each page
Footnote should Identify your project, your institution, date of last upgrade, a contact person, URL for the project, and any copyright information you might have
Keep page design consistent

To improve readability:

breakup cluttered pages
use blank spaces liberally
integrate graphics into your text, when appropriate
use upper - and lowercase versus all caps
left-justify text, but do not right-justify it
highlight important items: indent, color, bold, or present in blocks or lists
avoid blinking or unnecessary animated gifs

References:
The Web Style Manual by Patrick Lynch at the Yale Center for Advanced Instructional Media is an academic to web page design.

Jakob Nielsen's Usable Information Technology web site is an efficient resource for learning about major issues in web site usability and design. It is written for the business and corporate world, but many of his points are relevant to the academic world.

The Biology Project
University of Arizona
Friday, April 10, 1998
lapointe@u.arizona.edu