1. Web Site Design Checklist
Required Reading: http://usability.gov/guidelines/
Content
___ Purpose: Why should someone visit my site?
___ Interest: What will interest a user to explore my site? to return to my site again?
Content is the most important feature of a web site!
http://www.501cweb.com/web-design-rules.htm
http://www.enosis.com/resources/10drules.html
User-Centered
___ Who is my intended audience?
___ Do I solicit feedback about my site?
If content is the most important feature, then the user is the most important person!
Navigation
Is my navigation:
___ consistent?
___ intuitive?
___ obvious?
___ easy to locate?
___ Does every page have a link to my home page?
___ Does the home page or every page have my contact information?
___ Do I follow the 3-click rule: A user will lose interest if s/he doesn't find what s/he's looking
for in 3 clicks.
http://www.7nights.com/dkrprod/gwt_three.php
Graphics
___ Do I use graphics sparingly?
___ Do I provide text alternatives to graphical links?
Colors
___ Is there high contrast between background and foreground?
Fonts
___ Are the typefaces easy to read?
___ Are the font sizes neither too large nor too small?
White Space
___ Is there sufficient white space, but not too much?
___ Are there any white space trapped between elements?
http://graphicdesign.about.com/library/weekly/aa030900a.htm
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2. Layout
Is my layout:
___ consistent throughout the site?
___ simple?
___ easy to read?
___ Do I prevent horizontal scrolling?
___ Do I limit vertical scrolling to about 3 screens?
___ If a page scrolls vertically, does it have anchors in both directions?
___ Do I make maximum use of the upper-left corner of a page?
___ When the user views the top of a page, do I draw the eye to the middle of the page?
___ Do I follow the 7-item rule: A person can process a limit of about 7 items of information at
once.
http://www.well.com/user/smalin/miller.html
___ Is every page organized by level of importance, with the most important elements at the
top?
___ Do visual elements (font, size, color, position) indicate the level of importance?
___ Are the elements on a page balanced: symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial?
http://graphicdesign.about.com/library/weekly/aa021000a.htm
___ Is there sufficient contrast: size, color, value, fonts, emphasis, shape, texture
http://graphicdesign.about.com/library/weekly/aa012700a.htm
Loading Time
___ Are my image files small?
___ Do all the images have the width and height attributes?
Accessibility
___ Do all images have the alt attribute?
___ Do I provide text-based alternatives to plug-ins?
Accuracy
___ Do images load?
___ Do links work?
___ Is the text free of spelling mistakes?
Compatibility
___ Does my web site load properly on a variety of browsers?
Note: This is not required for CS105.
Additional References
http://graphicdesign.about.com/cs/designbasics/a/webrules.htm
http://www.grantasticdesigns.com/5rules.html
http://www.501cweb.com/web-design-rules.htm
http://www.intuitive.com/articles/design-guide.html
http://graphicdesign.about.com/cs/webdesigntips/a/webchecklist.htm
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20020512.html
http://www.pantos.org/atw/
http://webstyleguide.com/
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