The internet is always changing, and BusinessWeek.com teamed up with a group of experts to round up the rules that today’s web designers must follow. (Matt Vela)
The Internet has demonstrated its power since its emergence. It has not only changed the way people work, but even changed the way people date. It can be said that it gave the world a roller coaster ride and made everyone dizzy. Microsoft, Netscape, and others began competing for browsers, and so did the competition for web standards. At the same time, with the rise of Facebook, Flickr and YouTube, the Internet pays more attention to collective intelligence and socialization. From take-off to depression to take-off again, funds are flowing crazily, and the development of the Internet industry seems to have no end in sight.
The Internet also attracted religious communicators, theorists, and the like, many of whom predicted that new technologies would emerge on the Internet—Jini, DHTML, and others—but none of them emerged. But seemingly simple technologies—metadata, XML, CSS—have made breakthroughs. The evolution of web design, from the fuss of HotWired to the apps of Google, has been continuous and sometimes seemingly antagonistic, but has revolutionized the Internet.
To make things clearer, BusinessWeek.com canvassed many of the Internet's luminaries to summarize some of the best practices in web design. Participants include Internet theorist Don Norman, collaborator with the Nielsen Norman Group, design director of NYTimes.com, Khoi Vinh and John Maeda, president-elect of the Rhode Island Design School, among others. These ten web design commandments for 2008 are drawn from our survey. A list of all contributors is given at the end of the article.
1. Don’t abuse Flash.
Adobe’s animation technology has made the Internet more powerful, from Nike’s exaggerated home page animation to the web banners used by many advertisers. But this technology is very easy to abuse, and too many animations are not only useless but also slow down the user's web browser.
2. Don’t let ads block website content
. Indeed, advertising is crucial to the survival of a website, but research shows that once pop-up ads and full-page ads block website content, their effectiveness will be greatly reduced. At the same time, It will also affect whether readers will come back again. An ad that can expand and contract according to the reader's requirements would be more suitable.
3. Don’t make the web page look cluttered.
The web page is a hodgepodge, but a website that lacks a reasonable structure often makes browsing information very difficult. Amazon.com regards the clarity of the web page hierarchy as the most important criterion in the design process.
4. Don’t overuse glass reflection effects.
Apple often designs some beautiful effects. But some experts say the company's practice of adding glass reflections under photos of all of its products isn't worthy of widespread adoption because the design element is already overused.
5. Don’t add or subtract letters from the company name
. Nowadays, a popular method of naming websites has emerged, but this method is becoming more and more strange. Many websites either add multiple vowels to words or deliberately remove some when naming them. Such as Flickr, Smibs, Meebo, etc. These names are indeed easy to remember, but they are destined to become outdated. Check out more web design tutorials on this site.
6. Adapt to change
Designers say that in addition to being aware of changes in network bandwidth, plain text is also on the rise. Mainstream sites like Craigslist are leading the charge, while sites like Coudal Partners and John Gruber's famous Daring Fireball blog are also at the forefront of the trend.
7. Make a lasting impression
. Just looking beautiful is no longer enough. Websites like Facebook and YouTube use content and features to attract users. The most important thing about creating a website is to attract and retain the user's attention.
8. Make the website social
. Web2.0 has penetrated into every aspect. MySpace and the company's websites simply followed the trend and allowed users to communicate and interact within the website. Today's designers have added the same elements to various websites, such as advertisements, online office software, etc.
9. Use proven technologies
Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook and similar websites have become part of the lives of Internet users. Incorporating these elements into your website keeps users engaged and provides functionality they are familiar with.
10. Content is king
Although this sentence has become a cliché, it is still very important. A beautifully designed website can certainly attract attention, but it can never hide the lack of website content.