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An
Authorized Website
Author: Jody Wallace
Original Publication Date in Love Notes: February 2002
Unlike English
grammar (for the most part), what one should and shouldn’t do when designing
an author or reader website hinges more upon personal preference than any set of
hard and fast rules. Thus I am
going to state up front that this article is based upon the preferences of my
person and you are under no obligation to take it to heart -- unless you want
me, personally, to like your website. With
the current onslaught of GUI web design programs, html-based viruses, increasing
web savviness and the like, my preferences have taken a decided turn for the
clean and simple. So if you want a
clean and simple website that surfers will have no trouble navigating, reading
and returning to time and again (uh-huh), you might find the following
guidelines useful when designing your presence on the internet.
1)
Keep all pages clean and simple. Did
I mention clean and simple? (For
fear that you will get tired of hearing me repeat clean and simple, I’ll just
say c&s from now on.)
2)
For that overall c&s feel, your first task is to brand your site.
Pick a look and stick with it on every page, with the possible exception
of the homepage or splash page. Don’t
switch backgrounds, illustrations, header styles, fonts and buttons on every
page just because you can. Save
that for your wardrobe!
Examples:
http://www.robindowens.com/:
This site is consistent on every page, and the chosen theme matches the book
that the author has written.
http://www.eloisajames.com/:
This site is less consistent than the previous and yet is still harmonious --
the borders on each page are the same but in varying colors with matching
buttons.
http://www.noraroberts.com/:
The designer changes the site’s theme frequently and the website as a whole is
not particularly branded. One can
argue this is because Ms. Roberts’ work covers so many subgenres, but one
would still end up with an unbranded website.
Plus the first page is very long (more on this later).
http://www.mindspring.com/~wilhelm/:
Each page changes backgrounds and has different styles of buttons,
headers and graphics. Branding
could be more robust.
http://www.lindawinsteadjones.com/:
If you want your trademark to be plain gray with little or no illustrations, I
guess this is branding. On the plus
side, the download time is minimal.
3)
Use no or very few animated gifs. They
distract the visitor’s eye, they hog processor time and increase download
time, and they are frequently corny-in-a-bad-way.
Lots of clutter on a website, particularly clutter that moves, is not
professional and not conducive to being taken seriously, if you are concerned
about that. If you’re not, feel
free to whip up a website that looks like your living room after twenty
hyperactive five year olds have just blasted through it.
Examples:
http://www.hubertextiles.com/:
The cyber-fireworks strain the eyes and the background doesn’t help (see next
guideline).
http://www.warwick.ac.uk/www/bestpractice/design/advu06.html:
This is a site designed as a bad way to use animation, but I know
you’ve all seen real sites like this.
4)
Something your visitors’ eyes will appreciate is when you kindly choose a
plain, pale background and dark text. I
know dark backgrounds with white or pale text seem all artsy, but it’s easiest
to read dark text on a pale background. (I
have heard some people voice an opposite opinion, but some people aren’t
writing this article -- I am.) The
same goes for backgrounds with flowers, kitties, people kissing, books and
lovely swirly things -- avoid those, too. If
you simply cannot resist, restrain yourself to a black or flowery main page or
sidebar and design the rest of the pages according to c&s guidelines.
If you have a good reason for violating this important guideline (like I
do myself in the http://www.sfronline.com/cyoa),
make sure your font is bold and white and as easy to read as possible.
My research revealed several sources which stated that the easiest color
to read on a black or very dark background is light grey instead of white,
incidentally. Hm, maybe I need to
do some site revision…
Examples:
http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/:
This is one way to make your page easy to read if you are just dying to have a
dark background.
http://www.romancejournal.com/goodman/default.htm
The web designer has restricted the vivid color to an attractive sidebar.
http://www.tracyfobes.com/:
The leaves in the background are almost pale enough to pass the c&s test.
http://www.officialdarajoy.com:
The backgrounds used on this site are predominantly dark or fancy,
although the designer often employs larger sized font in contrast.
This is another way to increase readability, although I prefer a paler
background.
http://www.warwick.ac.uk/www/bestpractice/design/visualdesign.shtml:
This is somebody else’s checklist for website background and
readability issues so I’m not the only bird mouthing off here.
5)
Another thing that will increase your readability is if you avoid crazy, swirly,
loopy, hard-to-read fonts. Yeah,
there a plethora of neat fonts available, but anything that makes it difficult
for the reader to soak in the information is not c&s.
Besides, if a person does not have that particular font installed, there
is a chance he or she is not going to be able to see it anyway.
My advice is choose 1-2 plain fonts like Times New Roman, Book Antiqua or
Arial (PC, not Mac, font names) and use them on every page.
The less you vary your fonts, the more professional and streamlined your
site is going to look. You might
think this is boring, but the harmony will be soothing to your visitors.
Think of your site as feng shui-friendly.
The exception is when you indulge in a fancier font for your header or
navigation buttons.
For more
information:
http://webworst.about.com/library/weekly/aa052600a.htm
6)
On those navigation buttons -- design or come by a single, easy to read
“set” of navigational buttons for the main pages and have it be exactly the
same on every page. This ties into
c&s guideline #2 of structuring all your pages the same way.
Visitors will always know where the navigation buttons are and what they
look like. This increases the
branding effect as well as cuts down on confusion.
Another helpful hint is to put text only links and ‘contact the
webmaster’ information at the bottom of every page.
There always needs to be a “home” button on every page, too, for
people who get lost and want to start over.
Or who just loved your handsome c&s homepage so much they want to
revisit it.
Examples:
http://www.jroycraft.com/:
When the links remain in the same spot on every page, it’s easy to
navigate the site.
http://www.elizabethgrayson.com/:
These links change slightly depending on what page you’re on, but the
concept is the same.
http://www.rosemarylaurey.com/:
The navigation is located at the bottom of the homepage, but it
disappears when you click a link so that you have to return to the homepage to
go anywhere else.
http://www.juliajustiss.com/:
Same disappearing navigation, different site.
http://hometown.aol.com/kwhiddon1/:
Unless I’m missing something, this site doesn’t have any navigation
at all -- it’s one page long. Fans
might not spend too much time surfing here.
And I for one would be interested in more information about this author!
http://www.stobiepiel.com/index1.html:
The navigation seems to be represented by a long string of pictures on
the homepage, and once you get on a page, it’s not easy to figure out how to
get back or look at other pages.
7)
If you found it free on the web (pictures, graphics, icons), somebody else did,
too. If at all possible design your
own graphics or have somebody design custom stuff for you in order to be unique.
Another concern with using found graphics is that if you blithely use it,
you might be stealing. Most
websites will specify what you have to do in order to borrow their stuff for
your personal use, and sometimes they do not give permission to commercial sites
-- like, say, an author selling books and making money.
Also, be sure not to use huge graphics that take forever to download or
your surfers will surf off somewhere else.
Examples:
http://www.glennamcreynolds.com/index.htm:
One approach is the minimalist approach, chosen by the designer of this
site.
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/99/15/index0a.html?tw=design:
This article has tips on optimizing your images.
http://www.officialdarajoy.com:
Again with Dara Joy’s site! The
designer has chosen some absolutely gorgeous graphics but the overall effect is
a little overwhelming. In an odd
way, the site does achieve a kind of no-holds-barred baroque style branding,
though.
8)
Even if people actually give them to you, don’t get too crazy with the
webrings and awards. They might be
nice in concept but they sure look like clutter.
Plus, as my heroes in Webpages that Suck point out, it’s very
easy to design your own award, so what do some of those awards really mean?
Same goes for ads, especially ones that are animated.
You probably won’t make that much money off them, anyway, to justify
the violation of your beautiful c&s page.
(And if you do make a lot of money on them, please let me know so I can
get in on that!)
See?
http://webworst.about.com/cs/fakeawards/
9)
Avoid background sounds, fancy cursor programs that require downloads, etc.
This is very much a personal preference, but I am annoyed when I can’t
fully view a site because I have to download a “free” program of some sort
which is bound to get my name on some spam lists.
With all the idiots creating computer viruses out there, I hesitate to
download anything these days. It is
especially annoying if I say “NO” once and then get asked to download the
program again every time I shift to a different page on that site.
And background sounds can get people in trouble at the office as well as
annoy them. Anything that might
make a user have to download something extra is not your best bet for a c&s
website.
Examples:
http://www.brandewyne.com/:
The site requires a couple downloads to view in full, like my least
favorite, the Comet Cursor, and I can’t find anywhere to turn off the sound.
It also cannot be viewed very well with Active Scripting turned off in
IE, for those of you who attempt to protect your computer from html-borne
viruses.
http://www.juliegarwood.com/:
If you don’t have Flash, you’re out of luck on this site, instead of
just on the intro page. If you do,
it’s a nice looking site, though not as extensive as one might expect for such
a big-name author.
Note:
An exception is when you or your designer is talented enough to design
your main or “splash” page in Flash or a similar program which that requires
a download or upgrade. If you do
that, always have a way around the download for non-conformists to view a
c&s version of your site. I
kind of favor a site that is not completely in Flash for this reason.
The site http://www.robinschone.com
does not really offer this option and provides limited information to
non-Flashers.
10)
When thinking of actual content instead of just the look and feel of your site,
try to design each page on the short side instead of the long side, except when
you’re doing, say, a book excerpt.
This is especially important on your homepage.
It needs to look neat and, you know, c&s, not messy and disorganized.
Take advantage of the fact that you can have each book on its own page,
each topic on its own page, that sort of thing, instead of cramming everything
onto one or two pages. Readers will
spend more time on your site if they have places to go and things to do there.
Examples:
http://www.karen-white.com/:
The homepage of this site feels a little disorganized and you aren’t
sure what you’re going to find as you keep scrolling down.
http://www.maggieshayne.com/:
This site works on the same premise of putting mention of everything on
the homepage at some point. Also,
the day I viewed the site there were lots of pictures missing.
There is a lot of information encompassed here that surfers would like to
know.
Note:
Don’t put too much of your book, even in excerpts, online. Verify
what you are allowed to post online if you are already published.
If you are not published, put brief samples or nothing if you hope to
publish one day. Some editors or
publishers consider posting work on your website as “publication” and will
then not even look at it. Lastly,
never direct someone in a position to publish you or otherwise influence your
career to your website to see your work. They
want it on paper, although some publishers are beginning to take electronic
submissions. But that’s a file
they want from you, not a link to your website where your unpubbed work has been
cheesed out there for all to see.
11)
This has to do with content as well. Unlike
loaves of bread, you can’t just toast your website and turn it into croutons
when it gets stale. No, you need to
keep it updated, which means you need to spend a little time on it.
Check all your links and graphics periodically to make sure they work,
and update your site on a regular, at least monthly, basis, if you want anybody
to ever visit it a third time. No
ideas for new content? I suppose it
depends on whether you are an author or reader or what, but authors can post
updates for fans, short excerpts, articles, photos and news, and readers can
post book and website reviews, links pages, conference tidbits, industry news,
and the like.
Examples:
http://www.lisacach.com/:
The website features travel pictures appropriate for each of Ms. Cach’s
novels but doesn’t go overboard with them.
This is one type of thing you can do to keep your site content fresh.
http://www.keriarthur.com/:
This site includes useful information like market news and writing tips.
If the site is useful, your visitors will be more inclined to return.
12)
Last but not least, when designing your site, be aware that people and computers
come in all shapes and sizes. Some
folks don’t have Pentium 25 million-gig harddrives with neural hookups and all
the latest software. In fact, I’d
say a large portion of your surfing populace does not, as recent reports claim
that people aren’t buying new computers because the old ones are still
functional. Plus we’re all broke.
It’s a good idea to test your site using both Netscape and Internet
Explorer and design your page based on an 800x600 screen, even if your screen is
huge -- but remember that some folks do have a screen that is huge.
This gets tricky, but you don’t want your users to have to scroll from
side to side to see your whole site, and you don’t want your background to
repeat itself on the righthand side of the screen when it’s not supposed to.
***
References:
Jody’s Brain.
Mom and Dad: 1969.
Flanders, Vincent
and Michael Willis. Web Pages
that Suck: Learn Good Design by Looking at Bad Design.
San Francisco: Sybex 1996.
(Take their “tour” at www.webpagesthatsuck.com/suckframe.htm)
http://usableweb.com/:
lots
of great articles, most of which actually support the things I have just said
here
http://wackyadvice.com/bud/bud.html:
all the wrong things to do!
http://www.warwick.ac.uk/www/bestpractice/:
interesting tutorial on “best practices” for web design
http://webworst.about.com/:
another vast selection of articles, some fun and some useful
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