What Users Want in a Website

Websites are a big form of communication. The uses for them are endless, and include information for projects, buying products online, even locating lost pets as was the case during Hurricane Katrina. When visiting a site, users want to see a clean web page and they are there to get the information they need. Creating a website is about getting through to the viewer. Following the basic principles of website design will give the tools needed to successfully communicate with visitors in a positive way.

Alignment
Four principles of web design include alignment, proximity, repetition, and contrast. Websites that use these four principles will give the impression of a clean professional looking website. The alignment property of a website deals with how elements on a webpage are lined up with each other. Users can align elements to the right, left or in the center. A good rule to follow with alignment is choosing one type of alignment and sticking to it. Users shouldn't mix alignments because it makes the page look unorganized. The information does not flow uniformly, and text is scattered all over the page.

Proximity
Proximity deals with how close elements are arranged on the page. Visitors on a website think that if two items are close together, they belong together. Headings should be close to the text the user is reading. The user will find it easier to know where to the information they want. When items are grouped together the information looks organized and it is easier for the visitor to read.

Repetition
Each page on a website should look like it belongs with the others; this principle is known as repetition. There are many elements on a website that keeps it consistent, for instance the colors on the page, navigation, layout and typography. These elements should remain the same, and give visitors the feeling that they are at the same website. Visitors enjoy consistency, knowing they won't run into problems with navigating through the site.

Contrast
The fourth principle is contrast, which is what draws the eye to a website. These are elements that guide the eye around the page. It allows a user to skim over the page, and let them pick out information they need. Contrast is easily recognized with text that is bigger, bolder or a different style. It may also be different colors, and graphics that set the contrast. Contrast shouldn't be used in web pages with continuous text. The reading process shouldn't be interrupted by adding contrasting elements. The readers' eyes should be able to follow through continuously from the beginning until the end without distractions.
Applying these principles to a website will increase professionalism and improve the look of the website. Generally, one to all four of the principles can be used to make the website have a good flow. Using these four elements can greatly enhance the website's design.

Storyboard
When designing a site the user should have a basic image of the site in mind. Storyboarding is useful for this process. Developing a story board allows a designer to plan out how the website should look to the viewer. It allows the designer to organize information to make the process easier and faster. The designer should be thinking about the needs of the viewer and how they can access the information in the best possible way.

Choosing a Navigation Structure
Designing the navigation structure is a big part of designing a web site. The navigation is how a user gets to other pages on a website to access more information. Effective navigation should let the viewer know where they are and what kind of content they are viewing. They should be able to know where else they can go from that page. The designer should use navigation that is easy to understand. They should also design the navigation so the user understands where they can find something specific on the website. Another good tip is providing a way to get back to different pages besides the browsers back button. There are several different ways that the navigation on a website can be set up.

The linear structure allows the user to be sent on a path around the site. This is useful for step by step sites to make the user go into the correct order. Users can go back and forth along the content path, and each page can have a link back to the main page. If the user goes to a subtopic page, they can only return to the page that has the subtopic link on it. This points them to the same point in the content path.

The tutorial structure builds on the linear structure. The visitor navigates in the same way as the linear structure, moving through the pages in order. The visitor can however, leave and return to the same point they left off with. They can choose the order of pages and start at any point they desire.

The most common structure for information design is the hierarchical structure. It's better used for delivering information because the section pages organize the content at different levels throughout the site. The content is broken up into smaller sections, so when the user wants to read a page they can choose which page they want. They can also navigate to another page by going back to the section page. Within the content the navigation is mostly linear structure. There is a site map included, with all the links included on the web site, which allows users to navigate to any page. The navigation bar should be on each page, allowing the user to find the section page, the main page and site map.

There is also the option of using a mixed structure. With large sites, it is difficult to stick with one structure. Therefore, structures are combined, having an arrangement of several different structures within the site. For example the overall main structure could be hierarchical, then the links could go into a linear structure.

Basics of Typography
Typography can express the tone, emotion, and structure on websites. There are many different font faces that are available for use. However, using all of the different types of fonts isn't good for the page design. For example, users may not have certain fonts downloaded to their machine. If the user doesn't have the font downloaded, the browser automatically substitutes the default font. To have effective typography on a web page, use the most common font choices. Using fewer font styles and sizes make the page look clean and more organized. Breaking the text into sections can help with deciding what sizes to use. Headings should have the biggest text size, next sub headings, then the body text should have the smallest text size. Making sudden changes to the chosen theme confuses visitors. All the headings, the subheadings and all the body text should be same size and font to remain consistent.

Content on web pages should be readable and legible. The difference between the two is simple. Readability is how well one can read a lot of text at once. Using a sans-serif font is generally easier to read on the screen. Sans-serif style fonts don't have extra features or strokes added to them. Examples of sans-serif fonts are Helvetica, and Arial. Text that is spread across the entire screen is hard to read, the users eye will find it difficult to find the next line of text. A good way to break up the text on the screen is to separate the text into columns, or adding block indents. Contrast is also what makes or breaks readability. A dark font on a light background is best, for example black text on a white background.

Legibility deals with how easy it is to read small amounts of text at a time, such as headlines or buttons. For these items to be legible, use a sans serif type font. Using all capital letters makes text hard to read, unless one needs the look of the rectangular shape that capital letters give for design reasons. On a list of the top ten web design mistakes, legibility problems were number one on the list. Two thirds of the voters complained that font sizes on websites were too small, and one third complained that there were contrast problems.

Be Colorful
Color is an effective way to reach visitors on a web site. For example, colors on signs that are seen in everyday life have an effect on how we think. This is the same for the web. Color schemes that are effective are chosen to support goals of the site. A good quality color scheme looks good, but it also makes an impact on the viewers, it should allow them to identify how they feel when they visit a website. If the website is geared toward children, a bright color scheme would give off a positive influence.

Using these suggestions will greatly effect how a web page will be set up. It will reach visitors, which is a big part of having a successful website. People will visit a website for a variety of reasons. Designers should make their website presentable and clean to the viewers. There are ways to create a bad site as well as principles to make websites a success, with many factors involved in the process. By using the design principles a designer should be able to effectively communicate with the viewer, while providing information in a clear way.