Web Evolution

In reading a book by Luke Wroblewski, I learned his intrepretation of the evolution of the web. The Internet is about 15 years old now and has gone through many changes in this time. Wroblewski has broken these changes down into stages of progress.

Stage One: The Simple Sharing Era
This was a time when researchers used the web to share information.

Stage Two: The Image & Table Era
The first graphical web browsers allowed for simple layouts.

Stage Three: The Design Intro Era
Graphic designers took design from print to the web.

Stage Four: The Techo-Hype Era
Overindulgence in graphics and new technologies.

Stage Five: The Usability Era
Site owners have come to recognize the importance of having their website meet their user's needs.

Stage Six: Speaking Web
Using presentation, organization and interaction as the main considerations in web design.

Wroblewski claims that we are currently in stages five and six and I see this too as an evolution of the web. I have been desiging websites since 2001 and have seen the differences in the clients I work with. My clients are extremely more knowledgable than they were six years ago. I believe this will continue to happen as "speaking web" becomes more integrated in everyday life.

Tab Thoughts

Jakob Nielsen has pointed out in a recent article that I have been using tabs incorrectly in my designs. I have been using tabs as design elements instead of its intended use to alternate between views of things in the same context. This use of tabs as design elements was introduced by Amazon and has been used commonly ever since. I do wonder how that rule came about. When you think of tabbed folders on your desk, they are commonly labeled by subject and are not variations of the same information. Perhaps it comes from the tried and tested use of tabs in web design and the result was that the most sensical way was to alternate between items of the same kind.

To Redesign Or Not To Redesign

I just read an article outlining usability issues which introduced a new concept to me called the 'Baby Duck Syndrome'. This describes the way users tend to stand by the first web design they learn and judge all future web designs based on that first design. Therefore, anything new or unfamiliar is not welcome to users, which makes redesign projects very challenging.

The conference I attended recently (Webmaster Jam) touched on this issue. Their recommendation was to never do a full redesign of a site. They noted that revising items in "chunks" not only helped the users slowly adjust to improved design or functionality, but it also allows the critique of each "chunk" individually. If a redesign is launched all together, and it is not well received, it is difficult to determine which parts were most troubling to users. If it is released in "chunks" it will be easier to determine if users are receiving the change well through feedback or website statistics.

So, when it comes to your website, is a complete redesign necessary? Would it be beneficial to determine what is working and to keep those things in place? My recommendation is to keep the things that are working, revise those things that are not, and try your best not to alienate your users.

Successful Experience Design

I recently attended a conference for webmasters in Dallas. I greatly enjoyed the keynote, which was presented by Jared Spool (www.uie.com). I would like to highlight some of the things I took away from his address.

Experience design is multi-disciplanary and includes many players, including those experienced in:

• Copy writing
• Information architecture
• Fast interation management
• Usability practices
• Interaction design
• Information design
• Visual design
• Editing
• Ethnography
• Domain knowledge
• Business knowledge
• Marketing
• Analytics
• Technology
• ROI
• Social Networks
• Use Cases
• Agile Methods

His point in listing all of these was that the number of things that web designers need to take into account these days is a list that is continually growing. Therefore, web designers and developers need to wear more hats and be experienced in more things to make them more valuable to their clients.

Spool listed the essential experience design components as good communications, clear focus on the vision, employing the right people, and a successful feedback loop. He advised that fast iterations eliminate the need for major redesigns and that design challenges should be broken down into smaller "chunks". There should be a heavy emphasis on the feedback mechanism and as much data as possible should be collected. Spool also believes that the more people that are involved in a project, the more successful it will be.

Things I took away from this are that we need to make sure we can envision the project 5-10 years down the road and ensure that the things we are completing now are supporting that vision. We need to make sure that we have sufficient knowledge all of these disciplines among the people that work for us. Lastly, that we need to stress the importance of the iterative process to the client, so that they become our partner in creating the best possible website.

Website Planning

A good way to start planning your website is to walk away from the computer. Effective information architecture can often be well planned using a table or wall and a stack of Post-It notes. By writing each navigation item on a Post-It, they can be easily rearranged, added, or removed from the diagram. This is a very effective method to use in a group so that all concerns can be voiced as the plan is put together.

I recently read an article from the Group for User Interface Research from the University of California, Berkeley where they had taken this idea and added technology to support it. They moved this activity to a programmed SMART board and integrated it with other programs which allowed for history and version control. It also allowed the users to view different types of web plans and save all ideas during this process. I do believe there will be more exploration of this type of device and software as website owners recognize the importance of usability in their websites.

I do believe that website owners are more aware than ever of the need for their website to be useful and intuitively organized. By employing a website firm that is aware of this importance and has experience recognizing the steps that are necessary before designing, this goal will be met.

Web Navigation Design

The design of a homepage for a website is a lot like a table of contents for the book. The user should be able to quickly look over the page and recognize what they will gain from the website. Due to this, effective navigation is a key factor for successful design.

Navigation titles should be clear to the intended user and should be divided in a way that makes the selection intuitive to the user. Navigation should be limited to a reasonable amount of items; so that less time is required for the user to scan through them. Design of the navigation should be clean and easily recognizable as clickable items. Generally navigation items are placed along the top and/or the left side of the page so that they are easily accessible by the users. If text is not used for navigation, alt tags are necessary for all items for the benefit of text based browser users as well as for search engine benefits.

If the website organization makes it difficult to divide information into categories, it is useful to conduct user testing. This can be as simple as calling in some potential users that are not familiar with the new website to try out some tasks. This will determine if the navigation that you have developed is successful, or if it should be modified. When working with testers, ask them to think aloud and voice any frustrations or unexpected items encountered. This is a fast way to assess the website and make any needed revisions before launch so that the end users do not have to face frustration.