Professional Web Design: Techniques and Templates, Fourth Edition

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Chapter 4 ■ Enhancing Usability
in the upper-left corner of a site. Because so many sites use this same design
structure, users are accustomed to looking up there for the logo. What a designer
can do is place content in the upper-left corner that is deemed by the client to be
more important than the logo. That way, the designer takes advantage of Web
usability to increase the usability of that particular site.
The final area to consider when positioning is the body. Because designs can be
shifted and shaped however desired, the best positioning location is not an easy
call. Typically, the prime real estate of a site is the upper-center to upper-left
section of the page(s). Users who come in at lower resolutions are going to lose
the right side and bottom of a design before anywhere else; this, by default,
makes the right and bottom areas less effective for communicating. This is not to
say that these areas cannot be effectively used in a design. If the designer leads the
user’s eye with graphics or color, any section of the initial screen can be used.
The bottom line is that there are exceptions to every rule, and a designer should
experiment with positioning. No site is perfect, and nearly all sites are in constant
evolution. If Web designs became too similar and predictable, the user’s eye
would become lazy and less controllable.
Users, of course, are the ultimate judges. If a site does not compel them to stay,
then the designer has not done a good job of communicating.
Developing Navigation
Both usability and maintenance are issues to consider when creating the
navigation, or menu(s), of a site. As mentioned previously, the menu is a key
component of effective Web design. It should intuitively help a user find any
item. If it doesn’t, the designer runs the risk of losing the user who becomes
frustrated and leaves the site. There also are technical reasons for designing a
smart menu. Maintaining a site is not always easy or convenient. Therefore, a
menu should be designed so that items can be easily added, edited, or deleted.
Creating Consistency
To confuse is to lose a user. Following an inconsistent menu is the same as using
a map that constantly changes from minute to minute. There are three flaws a
designer should avoid when creating the menu:
1. Moving the menu: When inside the site, it is considered poor design to
move the menu vertically or horizontally to accommodate other content