Professional Web Design: Techniques and Templates, Fourth Edition

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Chapter 3 ■ Things to Consider Before Beginning
2. Content layout: Whether a site has a low or high amount of content, there
is almost always the possibility that new text or graphics will be added;
therefore, the layout of the site should be able to accommodate such
changes without being compromised. The site in Figure 3.15 would not be
able to handle growth in the content area unless the font sizes were reduced,
which might not be a wise decision because the entire site is very graphicintensive.
If the amount of text were increased, it would flow over the
images to the right and to the bottom.
3. Title areas: It is necessary for a user to be able to identify second- and thirdlevel
pages. One way to identify pages past the homepage is to include a text
description, such as in Figure 3.16. It is wise to build an area that can handle
some of the longer section names. The site in Figure 3.16 allows plentiful
room to add even the longest of titles. As wide as ‘‘Application Development’’
is, it could be longer and still be supported by the design.
Per the seven rules of Web design (see Chapter 1, ‘‘Overview of Web Development
Today’’), there is nearly always an exception. So is the case for flexibility.
The downside to flexibility is that it limits a designer in what can be done with
the layout of a site. Many sites that do not require much, if any, maintenance are
perfect candidates for designing flowing graphical designs that are comprised of
minimal text. A perfect example would be a short-term site, such as a site of an
upcoming movie that might be in existence for only six months, after which it
probably would be taken down or left unmaintained. In a rare case like this, the
Figure 3.16
A design that supports long second- and third-level titles. Copyright † 2002 by Next Millennium Systems,
Inc. All rights reserved.