|
Page
Layout
Design
Within an "Image-Safe" Area
Anticipate
your users' screen resolution settings and the size of their
monitors. Use this information to define a dimension for the
"image-safe" area. Allow room for browser elements such as
navigation buttons and scroll bars.
Design
for Full or Partial Screen Viewing
Consider
whether your Web site will be used "full screen" or as a
"partial screen" (where two or more browsers are open at
once) by the majority of your users. If most users use "full
screen", fill all the available design space. If most users view their pages in
full-screen mode, then designers should determine the size of the
available space and make full use of it. Currently, most people view
Web pages at a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels, which translates to a
design space of about 780 pixels.
Page
Length
Determine
your goals and your users' goals when making page length decisions.
Short pages, those containing one or two screens of text, work well
for the home page and menu pages when users are scanning for link
choices. Longer pages, although they require more scrolling, may
work well for destination pages where related content can be printed
and read/scanned together.
Vertical,
Horizontal Alignment
Display
navigation and identity in the top and left areas of the screen. The left area of the screen is
useful for displaying navigation links within a category. Users are
comfortable and familiar with this design. It also clearly and
consistently separates navigation from content so that users know
where to find each.
Things
to Avoid
Users
should be able to recognize immediately whether the subject of any
given page interests them. Elements that are critical to identifying
page contents need to be visible in the image-safe area without
scrolling.
Avoid
avoid using images
and tables that are wider than your defined image-safe area. If
images and tables are wider than the browser window, a horizontal
scrolling bar will appear. Users often become annoyed if they have
to manipulate a horizontal scrolling bar to see content.
|
