Improving your web site
Karen Mortimer
Web sites make us feel
Stupid
Frustrated
Let down
Irritated
Angry
They have to gain our trust
and confidence
Positive
Happy
Confident
Purposeful
They have our trust and we
will do business with them
How we use web sites
No-one likes looking at
computer screens.
They’re grainy, they flicker
and they make your eyes
hurt.
How do we cope?
We work fast, we’re
impatient and we make
quick decisions.
SPEED is key.
We don’t read, we
SCAN
We don’t make informed
decisions, we
SATISFICE
Eye tracking video
Target your audience(s)
Identify your audience(s)
Consider their goals
Put yourself in their position
Consider your site’s goals
Look at the competition
Don’t make them think!
A web page should be selfevident
Links should look like links
Consider terminology
Keep it simple
Remember, it’s a low trust
environment
Write good content
Use the pyramid style for
good academic writing
Use the inverted pyramid
for web content
Say less
Put important content first
Use headings
Consider user’s goals
Establish trust
Use active voice
Give users some clues
Use a visual hierarchy
Size and relationship
Very important
A little less important
Not important at all
Help them around
Good navigation
Follow conventions
Break pages into clear
areas
Make it obvious what’s
clickable
Structure it well
Web site hierarchy
Provide ways for users to
find content
Give users a head start
Homepage is the most
expensive real estate
Eliminate ‘happy talk’
Put important content
above the fold
Style: ‘news’  ‘clean’
Remember:
speed; scan; satisfice
Keep control!
Welcome to the Department of Computer Science
With a research assessment rating of 5*, our department attracts
more funding for research in computing than any other department in
the UK. Our teaching has been rated ‘excellent’ by HEFCE and we
have outstanding facilities, located in purpose built accommodation.
Undergraduate study >>
Postgraduate study >>
Contact us
>>
What courses are on offer?
Can I visit the department?
What’s it like to study here?
What facilities are there?
What about research?
How do I apply?
More FAQs…
News and events:
Seminar 17th August
“Goal Oriented
Requirements
Engineering” [more…]
New undergraduate
courses for 2007
[more…]
Industrial collaboration
with Marks and Spencer
announced [more…]
Golden rule
The web site is for your
users, not for you
Everything that goes into
your web site must have a
purpose
Every element must help
users achieve their goals
and support the site’s goals
Useful resources
go.warwick.ac.uk/sitebuilder
www.webdesignfromscratch.com
‘Don’t Make Me Think: A
Common Sense Approach to
Web Usability’ by Steve Krug
SiteBuilder training
Web site mini-surgery
Any volunteers?
As a group, let’s put
ourselves in the position of
being users of a web site
and discuss our first
impressions and possible
improvements. We’ll focus
on the structure of the site
and the site’s homepage.