All Users Are NOT the Same
by Brandon Jubar
Users' Control
The greatest difference between designing for print and designing for the Web is
the degree of control the designer has over how the finished product will look to the end
user.
In print, the designer has complete control over what readers will see when they
pick up the magazine or newsletter. Font type, graphics, size and composition of pages...
these are all elements that a designer has complete control over in print media.
On the Web however, the designer loses a certain degree of control. Many
elements of a Web page are at the mercy of Web browsers and user preferences. Here are
some examples to consider:
If your site looks visually perfect with Beeskness ITC as the header font, what
happens when you get a visitor whose browser is older and does not support that font? Did
you set a default font? And how does the default font look? And what about the visitor who
has their browser set to force your page to use their font of preference?
If your site relies heavily on graphics for navigation, what happens when
visitors have graphics turned off in their browser? Why would they do this, you ask?
Because this can dramatically speed up page load time. Users with older PCs and modems (or
poor internet connections) will frequently do this.
Did you design and build your Parish Web site on a computer with a 17"
monitor? How does it look on a 15" monitor, which is standard in most offices across
the country?
It can be argued that, other than the point on monitor size, the examples above
will be the exception and not the rule. While this may be true, we must keep our focus
here. We are designing a Parish Web site, in order to minister online to as many people as
possible. Why would we ignore a few basic design principles at the expense of even a few
visitors?
Don't Rely On Images
Images are not perceived the same on the Web as they are in print media. In
addition to the possibility that users may have their browsers set not to display images,
you must also understand that people do not assign graphics the same level of importance
in print and online. Studies have shown that graphics in print media draws the eye of the
reader. On the other hand, readers tend to ignore graphics on the Web. By relying too
heavily on graphics, you run the risk of having readers not notice (ignore?) important
content or navigation information.
Designing for Multiple Browsers
HTML is a very flexible tool for delivering content on the Web. Because of the
flexibility though, what the Web site designer sees is not necessarily what the Web site
visitors will see. One major reason for this is that not everyone use the same browser,
and not all browsers render the HTML code the same, appearance-wise.
Also, it is not safe to assume that virtually everyone has the latest version of
Netscape or Internet Explorer. It is not even safe to assume that everyone has at least
the immediately prior versions. There are currently around XXX different browsers, and a
number of them have multiple versions in use.
Your best bet is to collect a few of the most common browsers (and versions) and
test your Parish Web site using each. You cannot design for every contingency, but you
should be able to create a Web site that looks decent in most of the popular browsers.
Accommodate Various Screen Sizes
Another major reason that users may see your Web site differently, even while
using the same browser, is due to the size of their monitor. A larger monitor does not
simply make everything appear bigger on the screen, it also allows the user to see more of
your Parish Web site on their screen. The obvious advantage of this is not having to use
the scroll bars as much.
It should come as no surprise that most Web site designers use large monitors.
Unfortunately, when the designer in question is an amateur 'volunteer' working on your
Parish Web site, the use of a larger monitor can lead to serious design flaws. If the
designer is building the Web site to look good on, say, a 19" monitor, then how good
do you think it will look to your visitors who are using 15" monitors? Scrolling down
is bad enough. Being forced to scroll across is a cardinal sin!
Your Parish Web site should be designed to the lowest common denominator. What
this means is that you should design your site to look great on a 15" monitor. The
site should be designed for a monitor with a viewable area of 640 x 480 pixels. This way,
no one is alienated or offended. The visitor with a large monitor rarely notices the extra
space, and the visitor with the small monitor is not inconvenienced.
Flexibility: Separating 'Meaning' from 'Presentation'
Web page content should be broken up by different levels of headings, creating a
hierarchy and outline which is easily understood by readers. When creating these headers,
it is best to separate 'meaning' from 'presentation'. The 'meaning' of the first level
heading would be <heading 1>. The 'presentation' would be something like: Helvetica,
18pt, bold
When a Web designer is formatting the content submitted by the Parish staff,
s/he should be focused on 'meaning'. The HTML code should reflect <heading 1>. The
'presentation' of the heading should be provided by the Cascading Style Sheet or, if you
are relying on an HTML editor such as MS FrontPage, the default heading styles.
Because designing for the Web is not WYSIWYG, setting the 'meaning' of a line
allows the user's browser to assign the proper attributes and present the content
effectively. It may not be presented in the exact way the page designer had envisioned,
but it will be consistent and understandable because the designer focused on 'meaning'
rather than 'presentation'.
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