A Practical Introduction to Web Design

Denice Warren, The Biology Project
www.biology.arizona.edu

About The Biology Project

Team members:	- 2 web developers - 1 student graphic designer - 1 server administrator/database programmer - Several faculty content experts - 2 volunteer translators (in Argentina & Chile) - Collaborators at SWEHSC - Departmental computer support people
About the site:	- site is modular and scalable - format is generalizable - contains nearly 5,000 web pages - almost 40 separate modules
Site statistics:	>100,000 user sessions/month average user stays > 10 minutes > 2.5 million server hits/month most traffic from outside UA
Awards:
Publications:	NetWatch Hotpick, Science Magazine, March 1999. Biology Pick Yahoo! Internet Life Magazine, September 1998

Practical issues of web design & usability

1. Storyboarding & development strategy
   • Good web design begins on paper.

   • Planning pays off in the end! Don't rush things.

2. Don't let the technology get in the way of usability.
   • Become an expert in usability. (www.useit.com)
     

   • Make your pages accessible to those with disabilities.(Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0)
     

   • Be realistic about your audience.
      

   Use of various versions of Netscape from late 1995 to January 2002
   Heavy lines show empirical data; thin lines predicted data.
   Sources: Interse (1995-1997), AdKnowledge (1998), StatMarket (1999). Graphic © 1999 Jakob Nielsen. Used with permission.

   • Track server activity.Browser stats

3. Be consistent and predictable: USE STYLE MANUALS!
   • The Biology Project Style Manual
     

   • BP Instructional Design Guidelines for problem sets

   • Biochemistry Style Manual

   Predictability, Consistency, & Usability

   Categories for links
   A "condiments" link should link to mustard, ketchup.

   Human Resources

   Parallelism between categories
   In a building, room 143 is expected to be directly below room 243

   The Biology Project

   Site identity & the "flip test"

   Student Biology Web
   Student Web Pages
   Report on Research
   Biology Learning Center
   Electrolux

   Predictability of links & linking to external sources

   ARSASP
   YWSG page on Navigation
   Women's Resource Center
   Human Bio at TBP

   Page Design

   Major Elements of a Page

   
   UBRP

   Links & buttons (The Squint Test)

   UA Site Licenses
   POLIS
   MVL
   BPA College
   Art
   Usable Web
   The Manduca Project

   Treatments for Text

   Handbook for Appointed Personnel
   YWSG Balanced Pages
   Wildcat
   RAIRE articles
   Immunology Tutorial
   Research Biology Web (Myosin)

   Decorations, Bells & Whistles

   University Teaching Center
   Anesthesiology
   Law Library
   ASUA
   Vasectomy

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   The Biology Project
   The University of Arizona
   Sunday, June 6, 1999
   denicew@u.arizona.edu

   http://www.biology.arizona.edu
   All contents copyright © ABOR 1999. All rights reserved.