HCI 406 | Web Design
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Domain Info
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HTML CheatSheet
10 Design Mistakes
Design Checklist
Color Sheet
From “The Non-Designer’s Web Book” (by Robin Williams and John Tollett)
Good design checklist:
Text

Background does not interrupt the text

Text is big enough to read, but not too big
The hierarchy of information is perfectly clear
Columns of text are narrower than in a book to make reading easier on the screen
Navigation

Navigation buttons and bars are easy to understand and use

Frames, if used, are not obtrusive
A large site has an index or site map
The navigation bar or buttons give the visitor a clue as to where they are, what page of the site they are currently on
Links

Link colors coordinate with page colors

Links are underlined so they are instantly clear to the visitor
Graphics

Buttons are not big and dorky

Every graphic has an alt label

Every graphic link has a matching text link

Graphics and backgrounds use browser-safe colors

Animated graphics turn off by themselves

 

General design

Pages download quickly

First page and home page fit into 640x460 space

All other pages have the most important stuff in 640x460

Good use of graphic elements to break up large areas of text

Every web page in the site looks like it belongs to the same site

Not-so-good design checklist:
Backgrounds
Gray default background color
Color combination of text and background that make the text hard to read
Busy, distracting backgrounds that make the text hard to read
Text
Text crowding against the left edge
Text that stretches all the way across the page
Centered type over flush left body copy
Paragraphs of type in all caps
Paragraphs of type in bold
Paragraphs of type in italic
Paragraphs of type in all caps, bold and italic all at once
Underlined text that is not a link
Text that is too small to read
Links
Default blue links
Blue link borders around graphics
Links that are not clear about where they will take you to
Links in body copy that distract readers and lead them off to remote, useless pages
Text links that are not underlined so you don’t know they are links
Dead links (links that don’t work anymore)
Graphics

Large graphic files that take forever to download

Meaningless or useless graphic files
Thumbnail images that are nearly as large as the full-sizes images they link to
Graphics with aliasing around the edges (jagged edges)
Graphics with no alt tables
Missing graphics, especially missing graphics with no alt labels
Graphics that don’t fit on the screen
Tables
Borders turned on in tables
Tables used as design elements, especially with extra large borders
Blinking and animations

Anything that blinks, especially text

Multiple things that blink
Rainbow rules
Rainbow rules that blink or animate
“Under construction” signs, especially of little men working
Animated “under construction” signs
Animated pictures for e-mail
Animations that never stop
Multiple animation that never stop
Junk

Counters on pages

Junky advertising
Having to scroll sideways
Too many little pictures on the first page of awards that don’t mean anything
Navigation
Unclear navigation; overly complex navigation
Complicated frames, too many frames, unnecessary scroll bars in frames
Orphan pages (no links back to where they came from, no identification)
Useless page titles that don’t explain what the page is about
Frames
Frame scroll bars in the middle of a web page
Multiple frame scroll bars in the middle of a web page
Narrow frames that make you scroll sideways
General design
Entry page or home page that does not fit within standard browser window (640x460 pixels)
No focal point on the page
Too many focal points on a page
Navigation buttons as the only visual interest
Cluttered, not enough alignment
Lack of contract in color, text, hierarchy of info, etc.
Pages that look OK in one browser, but not in another