Web Site Usability Basics:
- logo should always link to home page (except on the home page)
- should always have a "you are here" marker
- "you are here" marker should match section name in menu
- one color for links, one color for non-link body text and "you are here" locator text.
- don't have a "visited link" color in menu
- if you have a rollover in a menu, it should change to the "you are here color"
- "you are here" links in menu should permanently change to "you are here" color when in that section
- links should never move in menu.
- links should never disappear in menu.
- submenu should show some logical hierarchichal relationship to main menu.
- menu sections should be meaningful to user, not just to company or site designer.
- color schemes and menu locations should remain consistent throughout site.
- proximity implies meaningful relationship.
- size of type implies hierarchichal importance.
- hierarchy of site should be as balanced as possible.
- build with scalability in mind.
- build with maintenance in mind.
- usability is no excuse for ugliness.
- users of your site are never as interested in the nuances of your site as you are. unless there is a good reason, don't make them learn something totally new just to navigate your site.
- unless there's a good reason, I shouldn't have to click on a link to find out what it actually goes to.
- especially for large downloads, give the user enough preview information so that they can be sure they want to invoke the large download.
- people start reading a page in the top left hand corner.
- things above are perceived as hierarchichally more important than things below.
- when it's all said and done, color is largely denotatively subjective. Don't rely on color alone to convey important denotative meaning.
- unless there's a good reason, have as few links as possible between the user and the content they are trying to find.
- sites should have a unified personality or voice. Is your copy saying the same thing as your visual design?
- unless there's a good reason, I should be able to tell what your site is about by glancing at the first page.
- for a portfolio site, always have contact information.
- it's unimportant and confusing on a portfolio site to include which particular MMAS class you did your work in. That doesn't mean anything to people outside of the department. It makes more sense to classify your work in terms of media.
- don't let the interface of your portfolio site overwhelm the actual work on your site.
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