Module 3: WWW Standards

In my opinion, usability is of the utmost importance. A simple, easy to use layout is best. I'm not particularly fond of lots of graphics, but at the same time I don't like an entire page of text either. It's a hard balance, but one I will strive to achieve.


This is D.G. Jerz's "top 5 conventions of web pages"

I am inclined to agree with all of them. Leading with your best stuff is smart. It ensures that you engage the visitor to your site within the supposed 6 second time frame marketers tell us we have before interest is lost.

Meaningful links would have to be a biggie. I'm not alone when I say I love a link, the tangent you can get on while looking up a simple recipe for example is wonderful, but that is also how I live my life. Go to the shops for bread and milk, come home with a puppy... It is the very reason I came to study this course also. A link to Open Universities Australia had me wondering if I could do that, the next day I was enrolled in this. How lucky for me! The downside of course is pointless links. Links that lead you to other links that are unrelated to your topic. I also hate the website devoted to being a menu for all different kinds of links, it is just annoying.

Employ consistent navigation. Fairly straight forward really and surprising that quite often forgotten. Make sure your user can be anywhere on the page they need to be. Use a table of contents for the different subjects that you are covering, that will take them directly to the subject needed. A link back to your home page is a good idea too. This should be included on all linked pages within your site.

I cannot stress enough how important simple designs are for me. I don't like flashy, glittery pages or anything that takes too long to download (smaller images are best). I like to get in, find what I need and get out. If an image helps me select a bouquet of flowers I want to send to a loved one, sure, add it, but I really don't care for images that have no purpose. I do love graphics but they have to be within the context of the page.

Scannable text, web writing, eye tracking, and the "F-shaped reading pattern" was interesting, and I found it to be true for me. I wonder if the "F" shaped pattern only occurs when reading English. Other languages may result in a different pattern as English reads left to right, but not all languages do.



An "F" shaped heat map pattern, proving the theory

Blah-blah text.. Oh dear, I could be in trouble. I do tend to waffle on a bit. On a blog, acceptable, but on a web page that's a no-no. I will have to curb my enthusiasm when writing and remember that quick and to the point is best. Moving on...keep to bulleted points, short chunks of information and subheadings where required.