- Think about how most people are going to find your site. Unless you have really good name recognition and a massive marketing budget, it's likely that they'll come to you from a search engine or a link on another site. That means the first page they see will be somewhere deep within the site, rather than the homepage. So although the homepage is a good place to let people know what the site's about, it's not the only place that you should that. Every page has to make it clear what the site is about, where the visitor is within the site, and what they can do from that point. How do you go about doing that? We already talked about how the navigation elements of the page can set the scene, letting visitors know what's available to them.
The other parts of the page also tell a story about the site and its contents. In this chapter, we'll cover the elements that every page should have to help visitors know where they are and what they can do. Once people get to your site, they'll need to know how it's structured, so that they can work their way around it. Some pages on the site act as signposts pointing the way by showing summaries of content. This would be your homepage, landing pages, and category pages. Other pages contain more detailed information. These would be detail pages, product pages, and forms. This chapter also talks about how to lead people through the site with progressive navigation, and how to arrange your content depending upon visitor's tasks.
In subsequent chapters, we'll call out the specific things you should do for your homepage, category and landing pages, detail and product pages, and for forms. But for now, let's focus on the things that every page should do for your visitors.
Author
Released
12/24/2015User experience expert Chris Nodder teaches
- What people want from websites, how they search for information, how they read online, and how to structure your content to take advantage of this research
- How to use graphics to help rather than hinder visitors, how to integrate video, audio, and other media, and when to consider interactive rather than static content
- How to look at your site's homepage, forms, product pages, and content through the eyes of users to build a site that better meets their needs
- How to balance site content with advertising
There are never enough great interfaces in the world. Take this easy introduction to start making wonderful online experiences for your own users.
- Building a site visitors will like
- Using single, consistent, and standard design principles
- Creating good menus
- Working with site maps
- Adding search to a site
- Arranging content in a layout
- Writing for the web
- Creating category pages and landing pages
- Designing product pages and forms
- Using media and interactive content
- Balancing ads and content
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
Views
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Introduction
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Welcome1m 11s
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1. What Makes a Good Web User Experience?
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2. Don't Get in the Way of the Information
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Simple design1m 10s
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Consistent design1m 11s
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Standard design1m 30s
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3. Navigation
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Elements of navigation1m 21s
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Content has a structure2m 18s
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Understanding menus3m 19s
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Working with site maps1m 5s
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Adding search to your site2m 53s
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Understanding links3m 43s
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Exploring clickable elements1m 18s
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Understanding Fitts' law2m 54s
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4. Site Layout
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Arranging your content3m 8s
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5. Writing for the Web
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How people read on the web2m 31s
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6. Homepage
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Creating fresh content1m 20s
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The five-second test2m 46s
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7. Category and Landing Pages
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Making comparisons easy1m 24s
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8. Detail and Product Pages
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Writing descriptive text2m 26s
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Using images to set context2m 17s
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Have a call to action1m 36s
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9. Forms
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Creating form fields3m 37s
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Handling errors gracefully2m 22s
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10. Using Media to Help Tell Your Story
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What is interactive content?1m 58s
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11. Balancing Adverts and Content
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Adding graphical ads2m 10s
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Creating text ads1m 16s
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12. Summary: Good Design Practice
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Considering your users1m 38s
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Conclusion
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Next steps1m 42s
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Video: People can begin from any page on your site