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 In
order to develop a content-rich and an easy "to read and use" webpage,
you need to determine what kind of page you want to create. Each kind
of webpage lends itself to a particular format or design.
Here are some helpful tips to consider as you begin to plan your
content and design:
- Avoid long webpages
If your webpage requires you to scroll through more than three screens, you've
let your webpage get too long! Break your webpage up and offer navigational
links to each of the sections.
- Stick to one purpose
Don't write an informational article introducing your school if your purpose
was to create a homepage.
- Stick to one audience
A webpage designed for students will be different from one that
is designed for educators and other adults. If you want to include
information for educators on a webpage designed for students, use a
link on that student page to the additional resources you want share
with other educators.
- Don't bury information on your site
Beginning at your homepage, how many clicks away are visitors from the information
that they are looking for? Most design articles on the web suggest that
visitors should not be any farther than three clicks away from the information
they are looking for.
Here are additional tips for designing the different pages on
your site:
| Designing Home Pages |
- Home pages should have a menu format. This is the "table
of contents" to your web site.
- Visitors should find links to all top level categories within
your site on this page.
- Avoid posting the school's philosophy for educating students
on the home page. Instead, offer a link so that visitors can
read this if they want.
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| Offer a Site Guide |
If your site contains several pages of information,
create a web page that is a "site guide" to find resources
quickly. See the site guide for this website for an example: Site
Guide |
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| Hot Lists or Bookmarked Resources |
This style of webpage offers quick access to exceptional
resources. If you want to suggest a list of additional Internet
resources to visit, follow these suggestions:
- Annotations of the links should be included so that visitors
can "look before they leap".
- Avoid listing over 10 resources in a single category. If
possible, limit your selected resources to just 5 sites per
category. Forcing your visitor is search through dozens of
your bookmarked sites is frustrating for the visitor.
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