This web site has been prepared by TT280 students for TT280 students as a resource-only page. It's sole aim is to act as an
aide for study purposes. TT280 builds on the drawing together of information from everyone, and these web pages are merely a
collection of that information, neither validated nor endorsed by the Open University, or any other source.
There is no attempt to 'style' this web site, justify its content or act as arbiter, it is simply a compilation of views
submitted through the TT280 course conferences, and replicated here to save time and energy at having to trawl back through
the messages to find that one snippet of vital information that you can remember but forgot to bookmark.
I have taken this contribution from Alan H. Brown, oufcnt2.open.ac.uk mail to the Good Design on 10.05.02 entitled "Attempt
at final list of site requirements".
"Well, I'm suffering from massive overload after trying to assimilate everything so far but have tried to summarise the main
points both from my own view and taking some common themes which have emerged from this week. Not too much here about the
technical as I think the detail of that (what to use, how, when etc.) only becomes relevant after this first stage.
The second question we were asked to address was related to categorisation of applications and I have found it increasingly
obvious that it is essential to define what you are doing before you start the design. This means that categorisation is not
only possible but absolutely vital if your site is to stand any chance of "doing what it says on the tin".
I have taken two perspectives to address the question "What makes for a good web site?":
Judged by designer:
- Achieves objective - no chance of doing this if you don't know what your objective is before you start so take some time
to think about it and be clear yourself what you're trying to do. Write this down somewhere before you start and revisit it
often during the process to remind yourself where you're supposed to be going!
- Functions efficiently - this is a "catch-all" (or maybe a cop-out) way of saying that the techie bits should behave as
they're meant to (loading speed, links work, navigation clear, pop-ups do or don't etc.) and are acceptable to the target
audience
Moving to factors more directly related to the actual performance, the following have been mentioned quite often and seem to
have some common validity......
- Projects a clear image on entry page of what the site is and does.
- Has clear directions from the home page to show what the site has and where to find the various elements. Inclusion of
some kind of "mission statement" - a summary that gives an outline of the site (this might well be visual rather than just
boring old text - a mass of graphics, images, headlines etc. can speak volumes about what to expect on going further, eg aol
or Virgin!).
- Uses the different media appropriately to the task and does not have any extraneous gismos to get in the way of the
user's objective in visiting.
and then the rest..........
- Consistency of presentation throughout. I find it distracting if different pages of a site vary significantly without good
reason (and so do many others, judging from comments made here). This might mean having a common background, using the same
font for headings on all pages, having links in similar places on all pages etc.; anything appropriate which keeps the visitor
feeling "safe" in the same house.
- Overall any site benefits in the perception of visitors if the design conveys a competent and favourable impression of the
site host. Some individual's sites are amazingly good at saying very little of general interest but still leave you thinking
you have had a worthwhile experience whilst many corporate sites are just the opposite.
Judged by user :
- Satisfies the desire in visiting the site (yeah yeah - but not necessarily that particular desire!)
- Does not allow you to get easily lost or confused (from the designer's view, that means being clear who you're aiming at -
define the audience profile!)
- Communicates effectively at a level relevant to the task (The Sun or The Independent!) - this includes the issue of
accessibility discussed in the conf.
- Does not lead where you don't wish to go (e.g. irrelevant pop-ups, links to unconnected sites etc.)
And from Mike Peck, oufcnt2.open.ac.uk, who has kindly waded through the messages in the 'Good Design' conference.
Design
- Accurate search facility
- Cater for the lowest common denominator and user skill/ability
- Common style throughout
- Correct spelling
- Don't produce pop-ups
- Follow the rule of the 5 W's.... Who, What, Where, Why and When?
- Have few or no adverts
- Inline linking on text
- Loads fast
- Mouseover feedback on links
- No demands that user install Flash, Quicktime or special fonts before they can view the page
- No jargon
- Not too busy (as in easy on the eye)
- Optimize graphics for web viewing
- Option to go into a non-Flash site
- Original graphics
- Shallow menu depth - get to required location with few mouse clicks
- Site reachable from search engines (i.e. use of Meta tags, noframes)
- Split up text, use sub headings
- Test in numerous browsers and versions
- Well-organized site maps
Content
- Appropriate content for intended visitors
- Do not have under construction banner
- Email alert of updates
- Feedback buttonMaintenance
- Free goodies
- Kept right up to date
- Latest news
- No broken links
- Password reminder email
- Popularity rating meter
- Relevant links to external sites
- Searchable archiveServices
- Something to make people come back - engaging, things to do
- Useful content
- 'What's new' for frequent visitors
Security
- Privacy/security statement
- Encryption if personal data needs to be entered
Other
- Relevant use of domain suffix .co.uk/.com