Web design - how to structure pages of your web site?
From everyday experience, one would agree that browsing through the World Wide Web in search of information is not a simple task. If visitors have a good experience browsing through any particular website and finding what they are looking for in a fast and logical way, they are more likely to turn into frequent visitors or even clients.
There are certain subjects that are always of interest, regardless of how they are presented on the website. But what if the material that you would like your visitors to read (eg. the competitive advantage of your firm) is the information that is available on all other websites. How to ensure that your visitors notice it?
Any information read from the computer monitor is harder to grasp than the same information but from the paper source. Thus, give your visitors an alternative way of reading the text. Create printer-friendly versions of the content.
- Printer-Friendly Version
Web pages today get more and more cluttered with banners, ads, links, images and it becomes harder for people to read the actual article content. Give your readers an option of reading the text in their convenient environment. Remember that this will also increase the chance of the information being saved and referred back to even after the computer is switched off!
What is the difference between the content in printer-version and the online version? Typically, web sites contain more information than just the text. These can include various elements of design, navigation tools, banners and links to other materials. All of these might be useful to the readers when navigating through your website but in the printer-version they are not necessary. Side menu, news block, search buttons will not fit into A4 format and the reader will be distracted from the actual text. If the background of your website is in colour, then change colours to black on white in the printer-friendly pages as the majority of people still use black & white printers. Printer-version should also have a font size that is 12pt or larger and serif fonts that are much easier to read. By including company logo, the URL and a “written by” line, you can be certain that the readers will be able to refer back to the website where the article is located and identify the author. It is best when the print-version opens up in a new window.
- Memorable address of the material
Help your readers remember where the content is located!
- The URL-address should be relatively short and memorable.
- Create a meaningful title that is visible on top panel of any browser depending on the content of the website. These titles are shown in search engines and thus the title should not be a combination of random key words but be a meaningful sentence or phrase.
- Somewhere in the menu panel, place a button "Add to favourites". Simplify this process for your users too.
What about the content itself? The principles of content writing are similar to the ones applied when writing print content.
- Do not write too much
It is very tiresome to read very long texts on the screen. It is especially irritating when in the middle of the useful text, one starts going away from the subject.
- Do not be monotonous
Divide your thoughts into several parts and assemble them in the right logical order.
- Use internal menu
If you cannot avoid lengthy texts, at least break them down by paragraphs, parts, chapters and so on. After the end of each chapter, the user will have a possibility to think about what they have just read and take a break before starting a new chapter. You can even go an extra step by placing different chapters/parts on different pages.
- Use additional material
If you have material on the same subject available elsewhere on your website, link it! Try to optimise the headings of the material reflecting the content as precisely as possible. Another option is to add links/hyperlinks within the text itself. You can use statistics, diagrams, reference to other sources to assist you explaining specific terms. By doing so, you once again make it convenient for the reader to find the necessary information straight away, without the need to look elsewhere.
- Highlight summaries and key points
Use shrift, colours, size to highlight the important parts.
- Use illustration
A graph, picture, table, diagram can contain more information than the text on its own. For people with stronger visual perception this is especially useful and will help them understand even complex subjects. Combine different methods of presenting information!
The recommendations above highlight some but by no means all the methods you should focus on when creating a website. Remember that a clear and a logical structure of the website will guarantee a pleasant experience for your visitors!
