Usability by Design

Usability by Design
Marketing manager at Fasthosts, Jon Fawcett, on the design considerations for a successful site.

Good Web design is about meeting and exceeding expectations. A good Web designer is also a problem solver. Aim to strike a balance. Text-only sites may not be visually appealing, but graphic-heavy pages are perceived as billboards. As design is so subjective, it’s a tough job meeting goals, and keeping all your stakeholders satisfied.

There are now standards for Web site usability, so use them! Don’t be tempted to put a logo at the bottom-right, when you know users always look at the top-left. Make links look like links; if you use different colours for text on your site, but don’t underline the links, users won’t know which colour means link. While on the subject, if you underline something that isn’t a link, don’t give up the day job – Web design’s not for you.

Your home page is your shop window, so make it brief and clear. You wouldn’t expect to see a store’s entire contents in the window display, so don’t make the same mistake on your home page. A few years ago you might have been tempted to add a Flash intro movie, but these days it will just frustrate your visitors. Save your efforts and spend time designing a great home page instead.

Users perceive graphics as advertising, and ‘banner blindne