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Simplicity rules Ce document a pour but de définir quelques conseils concernant l'architecture de sites web. 1. Introduction 1.1 Objectifs Ce document a pour but de définir quelques conseils concernant l'architecture de sites web. 1.2 Public cible Ce document est destiné aux personnes s'interrogeant sur les problèmes d'architecture de sites web de grande audience. 1.3 A propos du document Ce document est constitué de passages repris dans les différents livres sous-mentionnés. J'y ai ajouté quelques idées personnelles. Il décrit quelques une des principales règles que j'ai pu constater au cour de mes expériences en tant que web développeur. 1.4 Sources Web site usability hanbook, Mark Pearrow Designing web usability, Jacob Nielsen Don't make me think, Steve Krug The human Interface, Jef Raskin Web navigation designing the user experience, Jennifer fleming Information architecture, Louis Rosenfeld - Peter Morville 2. Keep the Simple Simple The web was built on simple concept "an easy to create Interface for files over an IP network", and an easy tool "a unique user-agent". This is simple, and it works, and it will work. So don't think you're gonna create the ultimate site or interface by modifying those simple rules. Simplicity is hard to access, and also hard to respect. Now that the number of clients on the other side of our publishing system is increasing exponentially, trying to be better and unique is going to cost much more. Watch out that the person you are talking through your interface is not less simple than your High-level-school capacity. | ||
| 3. Think Global, Act Local Think global by always publishing universal formats. You never now who is going to visit your site, and where he or she is located. You should be able to give a clear and true image of your company to people who will not understand the meaning of your content. None of your visitors should leave your site with the feeling "that you don't give a cent for him". Act local by addressing the population located where you are. Be able to deliver fresh and interesting content for your neighborhood. This starts with your very own collaborators. If you are interesting enough for your employees you will be of interest for your clients. Do not try to compete with CNN.com. The web opens your door to the world, but it does not mean the world is going to knock at your door. |
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| 4. Don't make me think One thing we really know about the web is that nobody is sufficiently devoted to a site to go through a special training class to use it! 4.1 What is the number of click to get there? What really counts is not the number of clicks it takes me to get to what I want, but rather how hard each click is - the amount of thought required, and the amount of uncertainty about wether I'm making the right choice. 4.2 Happy talk must die If you're not sure wether something is happy talk, there's one sure-fire test: if you listen very closely while you're reading it, you can actually hear a tiny voice in the back of your head saying, "blah blah blah..." it is one,... and it must die. 4.3 Instructions must die The main thing you need to know about instructions is that no one is going to read them - at least not until repeated attempts at "muddling through" have failed. 4.4 Frames must die Frames break the unified model of the Web and introduce a new way of looking at data has not been well integrated into the other aspects of the web. With frames, the user's view of information on the screen is now determined by a sequence of navigation actions rather than single navigation action. 4.5 Don't expect me to read what you want ! Don't think that I will read your information like I read a Dostoïevski novel ! Don't even think that I will read your information like I read the wall-street paper ! You better think that I will read your information like I watch TV with my 176 cable program switcher ! Watch how young people use their remote control, and understand that clicking is even easier. 4.6 Offer me clear choice, I'll stay longer ! Each page must contain different options(links) for me to find information that interests me. Give me the feeling that I can find something interesting, and I will stay longer on the site. 4.7 Don't use something that look like Ads People in their everyday life are surrounded by advertising, on TV, in town, in the newspapers, on the radio, on their way back to home, on their way to work... Nowadays people look at it without seeing it, advertisement is like Jehovah's witness knocking at your front door, you're first thought is to k... them out. So believe me if I tell you that this is even worse on the web. By the way, modern advertisements are not build with those aggressive concepts anymore. 4.8 Design everything for a non-linear use One page, one file, one URL. When a user clicks on a link, he asks for a page, and he receives a page on his browser. This page has an address, her URL. To simplify the management of all those pages, the technical staff should associate a page to a file in the website file system. Bookmark possible on every page If a client wants to remember that particular page of your for its content, why forcing him to remember the address and the way he found it, if the browser his able to do it. Every page should be "bookmarkable" because you do not know which one will be of interest. Use context-Independent Titles for pages Make sure your page's titles can stand on their own. Use Easy-to-understand URL Use a naming convention inside your site for pages and directories. Making directory(category) names that map to the contained concepts can help people find their way around. Use meta content tags Use this standard Tag to organize Index keywords and description about the page content. This might not be the most valuable thing for search engines, It was build for them and it is still one of the most useful model for content indexing solution. Moving pages to new URL Anytime a page moves, you break any incoming links from other sites. Why hurt the people who send you free customer referrals? Break up pages into clearly defined areas Dividing the page into clearly defined areas is important because it allows users to decide quickly which areas of the page to focus on and which areas they can ignore. Users decide very quickly which parts of the page are likely to have useful information and then never look at the other parts. 4.9 Avoid opening new window. Don't pollute the screen with any more windows. If a user wants a new window, he will open it himself. Users often don't notice that a new window has opened, especially if they are using a small monitor where the windows are maximized to fill up the screen. So a user who tries to return to the origin will be confused by a grayed out Back button. 4.10 Be browser compatible, the most the best ! Use all possible browser options ( bookmark, print, back, text size) Test with Lynx If the informations that you want to publish are understandable for a Lynx browser, concider your site as quiet compatible to other browser. Else Look the result and consider that some people will have to deal with it. Consider webtv Because most of the people on earth have TV, and because TV industry has a wider impact on people than computers, don't take away the possibility that future clients will use their TV to visit your site. All webTV-based systems in North America and Japan display Web Pages in a fixed 544x372 pixel screen. Each page should have a print version, and a ASCII text or a HTML2.0 version Because none of us likes to read information on a computer screen. To make it even more compatible, and to make it easier to offer XML content when time will come. |
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| 5. The web is a navigational system Navigation should be more efficient than a good search engine. To make it work, be able to answer to those 3 questions on every page you created. Where am I ? The user's current location needs to be shown relative to the Web, and relative to the site's structure. Where have I been ? Back button takes the user directly to the previous page, the history list includes a list of recently visited pages, and hypertext links are shown in a different color "purple" if they point to previously visited pages. It is recommended not changing the standard link colors because users will only understand the meaning of the link colors if they are kept the same. Where can I go ? Because it is impossible to show all possible destinations on all pages, it is obvious that a good site's structure is a major benefit for an optimum navigation. It is best to represent links as underlined text, keeping the standard link colors blue for links to unvisited ressources. Everybody learn this simple convention. Navigation Monitoring Navigation will be the most efficient tool for profiling your Clients. Being able to anticipate on your client's requests on the site is the real one 2 one. Depending on his state of mind, the client will act differently, giving you the possibility to offer him what he expects. |
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| 6. Conclusion The only real success criterion for a website is repeat traffic from loyal users. |
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