Web Design That Works: Secrets for Successful Web Design (Letterhead & Logo Design) - Softcover

Baggerman, Lisa; Bowman, Shayne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1564967735 ISBN 13: 9781564967732

Publisher: Rockport Pub, 2001

Synopsis

Web Design That Works provides an innovative approach to creating winning websites that combines pure graphic design elements with New Economy needs and solutions. It examines the most pressing challenges facing today's web designers, from how to answer the needs of diverse audiences and age groups; to how standard design elements such as usability, structure, navigation, interactivity, type, color, and layout work to make a site memorable. Through practical descriptions accompanied by screen-captures, author Lisa Baggerman closely examines twenty very diverse website designs to illustrate what makes each work, and why each is successful from a consumer, content, and design perspective. Delivering hands-on tools and valuable consumer and trend information, this cutting edge collection showcases the power of design to attract and keep a devoted Web audience.

About this title

About the Author

Lisa Baggerman, author of Design For Interaction: User Friendly Graphics, is web-site manager for Chronicle Books in San Francisco, California. Former senior editor of HOW magazine, she has written extensively on design and technology issues. She lives in San Francisco, California.

Shayne Bowman is a design and content consultant withHypergene.net in Dallas, Texas. Hypergene specializes in creating and displaying content that has one goal: to engage the audience. He lives in Carrolton, Texas.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction:

It s the conundrum of Web design: There are millions of sites and so few worth visiting. The fact that anyone with a computer can publish a site is a big part of the problem and unfortunately for many companies, this is their only Web strategy.

A common misconception is that if you ve already worked in design and have learned the language, you can jump right into Internet design. But there s much more to Web design than code. The Web is vastly different from print, or any other design discipline, for that matter. Successful Web design means taking a different tack, considering the user experience first and embellishments second to create a dynamic, provocative, active destination.

Despite the fact that the number of people using the Web is growing exponentially literally the majority of the population the number of sites servicing this booming traffic will eventually shrink and the survivors will be the ones who have anticipated and met user needs. Here are some elements you ll find in successful sites.

TURN THE TABLES

If you ve ever been told that you never know someone until you take a walk in their shoes, you already know the first rule of successful Web design. Web design is about creating an active experience for your visitors, so it is paramount to not only research what your audience wants but to really pinpoint the specifics. By 2001 there will be an estimated one hundred million websites. This means that users will and are losing patience plowing through the numerous sites that turn up with each search, so you must offer a focused and well-organized site in order to survive.

CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT

Simply put, content is the most valuable resource any site has. The more, the better, just make sure it s good and always keep it updated. Content is the hook, and keeping it updated will keep users coming back.

NAVIGATION

A site can have the greatest, most innovative content ever, but without an intuitive site-navigation system, it will all be lost on users. Users simply won t spend time hunting for information they know there s always something somewhere else. The key is to keep the access to your content as intuitive and linear as possible. Link and cross link information, so there s more than one way to find it.

MAKE A CONNECTION

It doesn t matter who you are you ve got competition. With the millions of pages vying for visitors time, sites need to do more than passively post information. The site should be a point of interaction where users become active participants. This could include feedback forms, interactive games, or registering visitors and using their preferences to deliver a personalized experience. The important thing is engaging users as active participants.

All this makes for great advice in theory, but how do you put it into practice? Here are some sites that use their design to make their site a valuable tool.

Edition details

• Publisher: Rockport Pub
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1564967735
• ISBN 13: 9781564967732
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 143