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Web Development & Design

Foundations with HTML5
7th Edition
Chapter 5 - Key Concepts 1
Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris
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Learning
Outcomes
„ In this chapter, you will learn how to ...
„ Describe the most common types of website
organization
„ Describe principles of visual design
„ Design for your target audience
„ Create clear, easy-to-use navigation
„ Improve the readability of the text on your web pages
„ Use graphics appropriately on web pages
„ Apply the concept of universal design to web pages
„ Describe web page layout design techniques
„ Apply best practices of web design

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Overall Design Is Related
3

to the Site Purpose

http://nasa.gov

Consider the
target audience
of these sites.

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris http://bls.gov

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WebSite Organization

nHierarchical

nLinear

nRandom
(sometimes called Web Organization)

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Hierarchical
5

Organization
n A clearly defined home page
n Navigation links to major site sections
n Often used for commercial and corporate websites

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

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Hierarchical & Shallow

n Be careful that the organization is not too shallow.

n Too many choices à a confusing and less usable web site
n Information Chunking
n Research by Nelson Cowan: adults typically can keep about four items or chunks of items in
short-term memory (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2864034/)
n Be aware of the number of major navigation links
n Try group navigation links visually into groups with no more than about four links.
Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris
 + Hierarchical & Deep
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— Be careful that the organization is

not too deep.

◦ This results in many “clicks” needed to

drill down to the needed page.

◦ User Interface “Three Click Rule”

– A web page visitor should be able to get
from any page on your site to any other
page on your site with a maximum of three
hyperlinks.

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

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Linear Organization

n A series of pages that provide a tutorial,

tour, or presentation.
n Sequential viewing

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Random Organization
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— Sometimes called “Web” Organization

— Usually there is no clear path through

the site

— May be used with artistic or concept

sites

— Not typically used for commercial sites.

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Design Principles
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nRepetition
n Repeat visual elements throughout design

nContrast
n Add visual excitement and draw attention

nProximity
n Group related items

nAlignment
n Align elements to create
visual unity

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Design to Provide for Accessibility
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“The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone

regardless of disability is an essential aspect.” – Tim Berners-Lee

n Who benefits from increased accessibility?

n A person with a physical disability
n A person using a slow Internet connection
n A person using an old, out-dated computer
n A person using a mobile phone

n Legal Requirement: Section 508

n Standards: WCAG 2.0

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Design for Accessibility 12

— Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0

WCAG 2.0
◦ http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/Overview
◦ http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

Based on Four Principles (POUR)

1. Perceivable
Content must be Perceivable
2. Operable
Interface components in the content must be Operable
3. Understandable
Content and controls must be Understandable
4. Robust.
Content should be Robust enough to work with current
and future user agents, including assistive technologies
Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris
 + Writing for the Web
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nAvoid long blocks of text

nUse bullet points
nUse headings and subheadings
nUse short paragraphs

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + DESIGN “EASY TO READ” TEXT
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n Use common fonts:

n Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Times New Roman

n Use appropriate text size:

n medium, 1em, 100%

n Use strong contrast between text & background

n Use columns instead of wide areas of horizontal text

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + More Text Design Considerations
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— Carefully choose text in hyperlinks

— Avoid “click here”

— Hyperlink key words or phrases, not entire sentences

— Chek yur spellin (Check your spelling)

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Use Color Theory
n Color Theory:
n the study of color and its use in design

n Color Wheel
n Primary Colors
n Secondary Colors
n Tertiary Colors

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Color Schemes Based on The Color
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Wheel (1)

n Monochromatic – shades, tints, or tones

of the same color
http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/color-blend

n Analogous – a main color and two colors

adjacent to it on the color wheel

n Complementary – two colors that are

opposite each other on the color wheel

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Color Schemes Based on The Color
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Wheel (2)
n Split Complementary – a main color, the
color opposite it on the color wheel (the
complement) and two colors adjacent to
the complement

n Triadic- three colors that are equidistant

on the color wheel

n Tetradic – two complementary color

pairs

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Implementing a Color Scheme

n Choose one color to be dominant

n Use other colors in the color scheme as accent
colors
n headings,
n subheadings
n borders,
n list markers, etc.

n Use neutrals such as white, off-white, gray, black, or brown

n Do not restrict yourself to web-safe colors

n Feel free to use tints, shades, or tones of colors

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Verify Sufficient Contrast
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n When you choose colors for text and

background,
sufficient contrast is needed so that the text is
easy to read.
n Use one of the following online tools to verify
contrast:
n http://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
n http://snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html
n http://juicystudio.com/services/luminositycontrastratio.php

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Color Scheme Resources

n http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/color-blend

n http://colorschemedesigner.com

n http://www.colorsontheweb.com/colorwizard.asp

n http://www.leestreet.com/QuickColor.swf

n http://kuler.adobe.com

n http://www.colorspire.com

n http://colrd.com

n http://hslpicker.com

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

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Appealing to Kids & Preteens Appealing to Everyone http://nps.gov

Color & Target Audience

Appealing to Young Adults Appealing to Older Adults

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris
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Use of Graphics & Multimedia

— File size and dimension matter

— Provide for robust navigation
— Antialiased/aliased text considerations
— Provide alternate text
— Use only necessary multimedia

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Graphic Design Best Practices(1)
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— Be careful with large graphics!

— Use the alt attribute to supply descriptive alternate

text

— Be sure your message gets across even if images are

not displayed.
◦ If using images for navigation provide plain text links at the bottom
of the page.

— Use animation only if it makes the page more

effective and provide a text description.

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Graphic Design Best Practices(2)
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— There is no requirement to limit your color

choicess to web safe colors. However, choose
colors on the web palette if consistency across older
Windows/Mac platforms is important.

— Use anti-aliased text in images

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Graphic Design Best Practices(2)
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Do you really
need to see a
— Use only necessary images photo of my
dog right
now?

— Reuse images

— Goal: image file size should be as small as possible with

acceptable display quality

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Web Page Design
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Browsers & Screen Resolution

— Test with multiple browsers
— Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari

— Test at various screen resolutions

◦ Most widely used: 1366x768, 1024x768, 1280x800, and 1280x1024

— Design to look good at various screen resolutions

◦ Centered page content
◦ Set to either a fixed or
percentage width

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Navigation Design 28

n Make your site easy to navigate

n Provide clearly labeled navigation in the same location on
each page
n Most common – across top or down left side

n Consider:
n Navigation Bars
n Breadcrumb Navigation
n Using Graphics for Navigation
n Dynamic Navigation
n Site Map
n Site Search Feature
n “Skip to Content” Hyperlink

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Wireframe

nA sketch of blueprint of a web page

nShows the structure of the basic page
elements, including:
n Logo
n Navigation
n Content
n Footer

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Web Page Design Page Layout (1)

— Place the most important information "above the fold"

— Use adequate "white" or blank space
— Use an interesting page layout

This is usable, but

a little boring. See
the next slide for
improvements in
page layout.

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Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris
 + Web Page Design Page Layout (2)

Better

Columns make the

page more interesting
and it’s easier to read
this way.

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Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris
 + Web Page Design Page Layout (3)

Best
Columns of different widths interspersed
with graphics and headings create the most
interesting, easy to read page.

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Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris
 + Page Layout Design Techniques
Fixed Layout
◦ AKArigid or
“ice” design
◦Fixed-width often
at left margin

◦ More appealing if
fixed with content is centered

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Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris
 + Page Layout Design Techniques

Fluid Layout
◦ AKA “liquid” design
◦Expands to fill the browser
at all resolutions.

◦ Adaptation:
◦ Page content typically
centered and
often configured with a
percentage width such as
80%

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Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris
 + Design for the Mobile Web

n Predicted that by 2015, more users will access websites

using mobile devices than with desktop computers

n Three Approaches:
n Separate .mobi mobile site
n Host the mobile site within your current domain
n Configure your current website for mobile display
using responsive web design techniques

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Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris
 + Mobile Design Quick Checklist

n Small screen size

n Bandwidth issues

n Single-column layout

n Maximize contrast

n Optimize images for mobile display

n Descriptive alternate text for images

n Avoid display of non-essential content

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Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris
 + Responsive Web Design

n Ethan Marcotte, noted web developer

http://www.alistapart.com/articles/responsive-web-design

n Progressively enhancing a web page

for different viewing contexts (such as
smartphones and tablets)
through the use of coding techniques, including
flexible layouts and media queries.
n Examples: http://www.mediaqurie.es

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Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris
 + Web Design Best Practices Checklist 38

http://terrymorris.net/bestpractices
•Page Layout
•Browser Compatibility
•Navigation
•Color and Graphics
•Multimedia
•Content Presentation
•Functionality
•Accessibility

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris

 + Summary
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„This chapter introduced you to best

practices of web design.

„ The choices you make in the use of

color, graphics, and text should be
based on your particular target
audience.

Copyright © Terry Felke-Morris