10 basic layout and design principles that every web designer should be aware of. Improve scan-ability, accessibility, readability and conversions.

1. 10 Design & Layout Principles Guaranteed to Improve Your Website Lauren Martin www.sitemotif.com

2. Get your visitors attention on your website’s goal. 1. Visual Call to Action

3. Visual Call to Action One primary action you want your visitors to take. Use contrast and size to catch attention. The action text should be clear and obvious. Located near the top of page above the fold.

4. Below fold, hard to read, unclear action. Page Fold

5. “Click to Play!” doesn’t have nearly as much contrast as the 5 other buttons lower on the screen which compete for your attention.

9. Importance based structure and scan-ability. 2. Organized Layout

10. Organized Layout Convey information about what’s important. Lead the user into content there looking for. Improves scan-ability. Use header tags (h1, h2, h3, etc…) appropriately. Provides visual breaks, groups, and chunks. Use alignment, date, subject, etc to create sections. Size and color to convey priority and importance.

11. Nothing really stands out, the section headers are hard to read and fade into the background, most of the text is the same size, I’m not sure where to look.

14. 508 Compliance = websites should work for everyone, that includes people with disabilities. 3. Accessibility

15. Accessibility Use ALT tags on images for screen readers Ensure HTML is ordered by hierarchy. Improve readability for those with low-vision through size and contrast Options to increase font size Avoid pop-ups Use proper input-field/labeling Don’t use color as a sole indicator for differentiation Design for smaller screen sizes, then scale.

16. Small, light blue text, on a lighter blue background. Very hard to read.

17. Extremely small and hard to read. The text bar also only appears when you over the area, so the page appears empty otherwise.

18. Indicate where you can take an action. 4. Affordances

19. Affordances Links should not be the same color as your text Buttons should appear beveled or have a hover to differentiate them from plain graphics. Form items should be grayed out if they are not clickable. Mouse icon should change to indicate when something is clickable. Textures and patterns can imply grips when things can be dragged.

20. The only reason I even thought to see if “CONTACT ME” was a button, is because the text was a verb. There is no hover effect either.

21. While the yellow chalk arrows appear to be part of the background, they are actually the only way to interact with this gallery.

22. Which things are clickable? I’ll give you a hint… “Featured Work” is not a button, and “Web Design” is not a link.

24. Don’t leave me hanging, give me some help. 5. Assistance

25. Assistance Provide an FAQ or help section Try to avoid allowing errors, but when they occur explain: What’s wrong What you need from the user How they need to do it Instructions should be clear, specific and to the point. Provide good defaults and constant feedback.

27. We throw things away in the trash, we do not re-allocate disk space. 6. Real-World Mental Model

28. Real-World Mental Model Avoid fancy, industry, or techie terms. Use Layman’s terms. When you buy things in a store you put them in a cart, use a “cart” icon to represent selected items for purchase. Design concepts to be consistent with how they work in everyday life. Similar in functionality, language and appearance.

30. The simplest explanation or strategy tends to be the best one – Occam’s Razor 7. Keep it Simple

31. Keep it Simple 80/20 Rule Avoid excessive text or explanation Forms shouldn’t ask for unnecessarydditional information. Reduce clutter, and appreciate white space like a pause in a sentence. Be upfront, clear, and to the point. The rest is unnecessary. Focus on the core goals and tasks.

32. I’m not sure where to look, how to interact with it, or what it’s for. So… I left (as soon as I took this screen shot)

33. There is simply WAY too much text on this page.

36. We tend to look at smiling faces, and products. Our eyes seem to jump over the rest resulting in just more stuff on the page we have to get past. 8. Suitable Graphics

37. Suitable Graphics Put thought into your graphics. Stick to a color scheme. Avoid overly generic clip art just to add to the page. Every image and graphic should have a specific purpose. Stick to a theme or consistency in appearance. (all sketchy, or all photos etc) Focus on your product or offering.

38. There is no connection with this background graphic and the content, not to mention it kills the readability of the page.

41. Where am I? Where can I go? 9. Navigation

42. Navigation Take advantage of standards, and place the navigation near the top, or down the left side. Clean, clear, simple labels, easy to read and see. Highlight the visitors current location vs. other locations. Provide feedback when in sub-levels as to the visitors location and how to get back. Should be easy to see how much information the site offers, how deep each level is.

43. See if you can find the navigation…

44. Aside from the fact that I had to scroll forever, you can’t tell what’s clickable or where you can go. Is there only a home page? …After much further investigation, I found there is more content… Page Fold Page Fold Page Fold Page Fold

48. There’s just something fun about this. 10. Delight

49. Delight Once you have everything else figured out, add a smile. Niceties that are un-expected, a cute line of text, a compliment when a photo is uploaded, etc. Little fun interactions used sparingly. Take the user away from the mundane. Pleasant surprises.