What Constitutes A User-Friendly Site: Layouts & Navigation Paths

[LaTonya]

According to web designers there are some key elements to good design, but before I share some of them, what do you think are best design tips? I'm not referring to pure aesthetics. Looks matter but I'm referring to how easy it is for visitors to find information and navigate your site? How long would it take a visitor to get acclimated to what is where on your site? How easy it for a visitor to check out a feature and return to home page for example?

How do you define good design?

[Victoria Neely]

It's hard to define good design. For me it's one of those "I know it when I see it" things. However, certain rules or guidelines can help you avoid a bad design.

I prefer a clean, uncluttered look--partly for aesthetics, sure, but also because the more STUFF you put on the page, the more confusing it is. I sometimes flee from personal sites because of how overloaded they are with graphics (especially ANIMATED ones), badges, awards, ads, etc. A little is fine, but it's easy to go overboard.

Navigational links should be easy to find, preferably above the fold. They should be straightforward and given recognizable names if possible (about, FAQ, home, etc).

Smaller, bite-sized chunks of text are better than "a wall of text." Reading things online is harder on the eye, so it's good to keep the copy lean.

Light colored text on a light colored background is terrible on the eyes. So's dark text on a dark background. So is a busy background that obscures the text. And a lime green or neon yellow background---arggh, my eyeballs bleed.

[Tracie Yule]

I agree with Victoria, I like a site that is clean and does not have a lot of clutter and it's easy to find things. A search bar is great (and workable). Page links on the top and bottom help. Clear category listings. Not too many...

One of my favorite blogs is Unclutterer. I think that this is a great example of good formatting.

I, personally, do not like music on a site. I hate going to a site and then hearing a load clatter of sound. It's awful. If I want to listen to music, I'll find my iPod.

[Victoria Neely]

I forgot about the music; luckily I haven't run into it much lately. But yes, it's awful.

What I despise even more is talking ads. Give me the option of hitting the "play" button, but don't start yapping at me as soon as I arrive. Scared me the first time that happened.

[LaTonya]

Victoria,

I agree on all points. I'm a pack rat, a scatterbrain, always have a lot going on so I run the risk of pushing the clutter limit. While I push the limit, I am always conscious of it. Despite my clutter-gene I prefer the look of stream-lined designs. So I swap out, weed as much as I can. Always looking for ways to make information available without overwhelming the reader.

The color combos are a biggie for me. I spend a lot of time online so the risk of eye-fatigue is high. Getting older, too, so my sight's not all that great either.

[Maw Books]

I like easy navigation buttons, something along the line of tabs that tell me where I can go. Also categories and archives. There is nothing that I hate more than getting to a site and wanting to browse but being unable to get anywhere.

Easy to find subscription buttons and something that tells me right away what the blog is about and who is the blogger behind it.

[LaTonya]

I like most recent posts only on the front page. A good page has current info with the view of a full screen. I shouldn't have to scroll beyond the screen view to see current information and I really dislike pages that don't end. Use the setting feature. Most web design experts say a page should have key articles accessible from front page and the endless page is amateurish. The endless scrolling really bugs me. It's as if the blogger either can't decide where to cut off the posts or fails to do regular housekeeping.

Coming to a blog and seeing featured, current articles in one screen shot and seeing these articles change with some regularity gives readers a reason to visit frequently and to easily see what is new.