Operation Manual

Web Design from Scratch 83
Don’t assume that your existing content is going to satisfy Web visitors
before it’s been enhanced in various ways. Quite often, traditional
content needs to be “massaged” in order to translate successfully to the
computer screen. It’s a lot like adding motivational bells and whistles
to an instructional program for reluctant learners. In the early days of
the Internet, text and hypertext links were sufficient to keep scientist-
users entertained and enlightened. While one can certainly still design
elegant screens to display text-only material, one can’t turn back the
clock. Today, users expect to see pictures (or at least graphic elements),
colors, buttons, and other interface attributes. They certainly don’t want
to become bored or get lost. Your goal should be to minimize any
negative first reactions to your site, while maximizing the rewards for
each user.
Site Structure
It probably goes without saying (but we’ll say it anyway) that before
starting a site from scratch, you should have mapped out on paper
exactly how many pages you’ll need, what the basic composition will
look like, and how the pages will be linked together.
Unlike a magazine or newsletter, a Web site doesn’t depend on a linear
page sequence. It makes more sense to think of your site in spatial
terms, like a house that people will explore. You can generally assume
that visitors will come in through the front door (the Home page)—but
where they go after that depends on the links you’ve provided. These
are the corridors that connect the various rooms (sections) of the site.
Each room might have a few side doors, but don’t let the visitors get
lost! Graphic aids like a navigation bar, or clear labeling and/or color-
coding for the various sections of the site, can help immeasurably, but
only if you include them in your design scheme.
As you draw up the blueprints for your site-to-be, here’s one useful
approach to mapping the content you plan to put on the site to the
physical pages that will contain and display it. It’s called the
section/level model.
♦ A section is a category, like “Company News,” “Products,”
“People,” or “Links.” The various sections are typically listed on
the site’s Home page. Each page on the site belongs to a particular
section. And unless there’s only one page in a given section, the
section has its own menu page.