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by Daniel Will-Harris Sometimes we use something every day but never stop to consider how it works. Take your toaster—you know it glows when you push down that lever, but you're not sure what's
really going on (a friend's kid thought there were tiny people holding matches inside). Of course, it doesn't much matter since the chances of you having to build your own toaster are slim (safety hint for those suddenly interested in how their toaster works—don't stick anything except bread into your toaster unless you unplug it first). But you are going to be building your own Web site, so you need to take a few moments to stop and consider how
effective sites are designed. The basics are simple and don't require you to unplug anything to avoid electrical shock (though, just to be on the safe side, avoid using your computer in the bathtub or shower). It's simplest to think of site design as having three parts. Your site's organization is important because it can make it easier (or more difficult) for your visitors to find what they're looking for (or what you want them to see). What's it going to do for your site visitor?
A common mistake is for people to know what they want the site to do for them, but not for their site visitors. Then you end up with a site that makes you happy, but no one else on the planet gives a hoot about it. Sites like this are useless unless just making yourself happy is enough, and hey, who's to say that isn't enough? But if your site is for a company or group, and you need it to actually do something, then you must figure out what you want it to do, for you,
and for your site visitors. Once you know what you want your site to accomplish, it's simple to start to create an organization for your site that helps you accomplish that goal. There's no place like a home page Most sites start with a home page. Most home pages are more
like an introduction and table of contents in a magazine than a magazine cover. Visitors should immediately learn what the site is about and what it's offering them. Home pages also introduce visitors to the organization of the site—how it's arranged in terms of sections. Home pages always contain links to a site's sections--and sometimes directly to articles you want visitors to get right into. Some sites use what's called a "splash screen," an
introductory page that's more like a magazine cover. This page can add style to the site and act as a ceremonial front door, but because they present less information than a home page, some users find them annoying. Short pages: There are two schools of thought about home pages. One is that they should be very short and the entire page should be visible on a single screen. The advantage to a
short home page is that visitors don't have to scroll, and they can see everything there is to offer at once. The disadvantage is that a short home page can't present much information, so you force visitors to click on something, anything, just to get to more information. Sometimes when you present too little information you run the risk of visitors not knowing the purpose of your site or not seeing something of interest they might have clicked on if you'd presented more
information. People can be afraid to click on things if they're not sure what they're going to get (yes, you do have to wonder what they think could happen to them if they click on the wrong thing, but not everyone is as adventurous as you). Long pages: The other school of thought, the one to which eFuse.com subscribes, is that the more information you provide, the better. People scroll in their word processor and
spreadsheet, so who decided their fingers mysteriously became paralyzed and unable to scroll when they are in a Web browser? That isn't logical. Studies have shown that Web visitors do scroll, and that the more information you give them, the better. Rather than being overwhelmed, you make it easier for them not just to find something but to find something that interests them. If people are interested, they will scroll. If they're not, it doesn't
matter how short your home page is. It's still a good idea to put your most important topics at the top of the page, so they're not overlooked. To help you organize your site, I recommend that you try your word processor's outlining feature (a feature you've probably never used!). Even if you hated outlines in school, this feature is really useful—and can be fun. It's a great way to organize a site because it allows you to see the forest for the
trees—you can hide all your text and just see your headings (or sections). Moving around headings reorganizes your document, so changes are easy. To read more about using the outline feature in word processors, If you're using NetObjects Fusion, its SiteView mode also
encourages good site organization by allowing you to create an org-chart or outline style map of your site. As you build a chart or outline, NetObjects Fusion builds pages for you. You can reorganize the site at any time simply by moving pages around in the chart or outline, and when you do, NetObjects Fusion automatically updates all navigation bars and links, so your site is always up-to-date. Any site more than a few pages long needs sections. You can think of them like chapters in a book, or even file folders. Their purpose is to organize articles into logical units. Sections and their titles are very important because they tell your site visitors what kind of information you're going to give them. For example, if your site is about gardening, you could have sections on flowers, trees,
and vegetables. Or you could have sections on designing a garden, planting a garden, and maintaining a garden. These sections all have to do with gardening, but the two groups of sections present site visitors with different expectations of what you're going to tell them and what they're going to find. Deciding what sections you need for your site is one of the first things you need to do—and it all has to do with figuring out why
you're creating a site in the first place, and what you expect it to accomplish for you, and for your site visitors. Navigation is such an important part of any good Web site that you need to think about it from the start. Your site visitors need to know how to get to the information they're
looking for—and how to get from one part of your site to another. Your home page must link to all your sections (and perhaps directly to some featured articles), and every page on your site should have navigation buttons that let your visitor get to your home page, or any main section page. Navigation should be consistent from page to page, so your visitors don't have to figure out how to get places every time
they encounter a new page. To read more about navigation, If possible, you should be able to search all text. In the past, this required special software, but now there's no excuse not to use it because it can be done easily and for free. Thunderstone's NetObjects Fusion: Organization: NetObjects Fusion helps you create more organized sites in two ways. First, it has a built-in organization feature called Site View. This lets you organize and build your entire site in a single step. You simply create an org-chart of the site, and as you do, NetObjects Fusion builds pages,
navigation buttons, everything you need. This is helpful because it allows you to experiment with your site, to try different organizations and layouts, all with no experience necessary. NetObjects Fusion also makes it easier to change your site. You can add, remove, or rename sections at will, without having to worry about links or filenames or even navigation buttons (because NetObjects Fusion handles all those automatically). Navigation: NetObjects Fusion is the
only program that NetObjects Fusion makes navigation easy by automatically
creating well-designed navigation on the top, left, right, or bottom (or all of the above) of each page. It can create stylish graphic navigation buttons automatically or simple text buttons, your choice. It gives you complete artistic control or lets you create professional results, no experience necessary. And it does this all automatically, so as your site changes and grows, you're always sure your navigation is correct. If you're a designer or Web developer, this automatic
navigation feature helps you create and manage large sites with ease. Tasks that are tedious and error prone in other programs are automatic in Fusion. NetObjects Fusion's " Creating effective content (meaning text, graphics, and other information) for your site requires that you've already figured
out the purpose of your site, and perhaps even the organization of your site. Organization can help you refine your focus and create content that's more useful for your purpose, and the purposes of your site visitors. For more information about creating effective written content, Some basics to remember: Visitors should know where they are at all times—the name of the site, the name of the area within that site. Otherwise they can suffer from a form of
cybersickness known as Hypernausea, and never want to return to your site (or never be able to find the information they once found "I know I saw that here, somewhere..."). Make sure to include an easy way for your visitors to contact you! Feedback is a vital part of the Internet experience so make sure to include links that allow visitors to easily e-mail you—plus your traditional address and/or phone number. Don't forget to include your normal contact
information, phone, fax, and address, yes, on every single page. That way if someone saves or prints a page, they still have that important info. NetObjects Fusion makes this easy because it can automatically place your site and company name and information on every page. Just enter it once into a Once you have your site's structure in place, you can start placing articles into the various sections. Writing for the Web does have some different requirements
than writing for paper. For more information about how to write for the Web, Remember, you don't have the normal constraints of printing costs—so your content doesn't have to be condensed. In fact, Web readers want detail. It's fine to offer condensed
overviews with links to more complete information—that way casual viewers aren't bored by details—but the details should always be available. Not only will this help your visitors, it will help you—because you'll spend less of your time answering questions people might not ask if you had it on your site. Don't be stingy with the content, either. If you have a publication, put your back issues up, and even stuff from the
latest issue as a teaser. Giving away a lot of information can get users hooked on you. Publishers have even found that posting entire books on-line increased their printed book sales! For tips about creating better articles for the Web, The Web is based on the idea of linking—from page to page and from site to site. Links within your site help you break up information into logical pieces, and help your reader go to related information quickly and easily (in the previous paragraph there are two links to related articles on this site). Some people are hesitant to include links to other sites because they don't want visitors to leave. But you can set
your links so they open a new browser window, leaving your site open in the original browser window. To do this, add target=_blank at the end of your link. In NetObjects Fusion, add the link, click on the HTML button, then on the "inside link" tab, then type target=new The final piece of every Web site, is often the first thing that site visitors notice—how the site looks. The design of your home page is especially important because it communicates the tone of your site, it's your first impression. A site's design should also reflect your corporate brand or identity. The visual design of a site has a great effect on the impression
your site gives to visitors. Is it formal or casual? Corporate or personal? Modern or traditional? Serious or friendly? Warm or cool? These feelings can be conveyed instantly just through the design of a site. It's also important that the look of your site is consistent throughout. Backgrounds, colors, navigation buttons all need to present your site visitor with a uniform appearance—this helps build a "brand" so your site is recognizable. Since it's so
easy to go anywhere in the world on the Web, you want your site visitor to know where they are. If you're not a designer, NetObjects Fusion offers 150 professionally designed styles to choose from, so you can get just the look you want. To see these styles, sorted by impression (such as formal, casual, modern, traditional, etc.),
If you are a designer, NetObjects Fusion gives you the most creative freedom of any Web creation software. You're not stuck using some word-processor-like interface, but instead can create pages as if you were using a page-layout program such as Quark or PageMaker. You can use NetObjects Fusion's automated style features but create your own graphics, or you can build completely custom looks with ease. One of the best ways to make your site great is to keep looking around the Web and learning from what you see. That doesn't mean copying, but instead, studying what others have done and understanding what works and what doesn't. Then you won't make their mistakes—and the lessons of their successes can become your own.
Illustration: heiroglyphics from Robin Jareaus's Global Enterprise at www.artville.com |
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