Nick Donnarumma
So How Do We Browse a Webpage?
We are either very lazy or very efficient because we tend not to read pages.
We scan them instead to save time.
We don’t figure out how things work. We muddle through. Therefore you
have to make websites as simple as you can so people don’t get frustrated.
We don’t make optimal choices. We satisfice. People often would rather
keep clicking things until they find what they want. They use trial and error
because it is easier than figuring out how a webpage works and it could also
be more fun.
Only the important things stick out to us. If we are looking to book a flight,
the book a flight link will be the only thing we see.
Conventions are your friends
“As a rule, conventions only become conventions if they work. Well- applied
conventions make it easier for users to go from site to site without
expending a lot of effort figuring out how things work.”
If something makes a lot of sense it will become a convention and you will
not be penalized for using one. Conventions are a safe bet.
There’s a reassuring sense of familiarity, for example, seeing a list of links to
the sections of a site on a colored background down the left side of the page
or a search bar being found at the top or bottom of the page.
When in doubt, always use conventions!!
Keep the noise down
Yes a webpage can have noise. Not just audio which you should be careful
with too. In most case music shouldn’t automatically because people don’t
want to be surprised by loud music that they may not like and then be forced
to find the pause button!
There is also visual noise. A common flaw of easy-to-grasp pages is visual
noise. There are really two kinds of noise:
1.Busy-ness.
-Too much writing and animations or other “noise” can be overwhelming. If
you click on a page and instantly feel overwhelmed then there is too much
busy-ness. Avoid clutter and having too many things trying to gain your
attention.
2. Background noise
-Avoid a distracting background, bad complement of colors or other
overwhelming things.
Create a clear visual hierarchy
Elements should display a logical order and be clear to the user
The more important something is, the more prominent it is. Titles and
headings should be in bigger bolder font because it sticks
out more and attracts your attention.
Use conventions. They are convenient and people will be so used to them
that they won’t have to think or wonder about why you did ___ in a certain
way.
Things that are related logically are also related visually. You want people to
not be confused by two elements next to each other that don’t make sense.
For example a phone number should be found under a Contact Us section.
Things should be “nested” visually to show what’s part of what.
Break up pages clearly and make
clickable objects obvious
Dividing the page into clearly defined areas is important because it allows
users to decide quickly which areas of the page to focus on and which areas
they can safely ignore.
- Keep paragraphs short
- -Use bulleted lists
- -Highlight Key terms
Since a large part of what people are doing on the Web is looking for the
next thing to click, it’s important to make it obvious what’s clickable and
what’s not.
-Makes sense right? You will have much fewer people clicking on your links if
they have no idea that it is a link. Conventions are blue text.
Finally
Make things as mindless and self-explanatory as possible.
Avoid lengthy instructions; everyone hates to read (Just think about how many
people actually read the Terms and Conditions. “Ain’t nobody have time fo dat!”)
The longer something is, the more people who will avoid it and therefore avoid
your website.
And remember:
DON’T
MAKE
PEOPLE
THINK!!!
Contact info
Name: Nick Donnarumma
Email: nickdonn@buffalo.edu
Phone: 914-260-2955