Web site design and technical communication
Branding and visual design are important aspects of web site design, but they are not sufficient to produce a good web site that meets the requirements of customers. This article shows how the principles of technical communication affect the design of web sites.
First, we consider the business requirements of a web site, and then show how usability, security, accessibility, findability, and readability affect a customer's experience of a web site. The headings are a convenient way of categorising the information. They are not definitive, nor does content apply to just the heading under which it falls. For example, readability affects usability. Furthermore, if a user has a cognitive difficulty, readability becomes an accessibility issue.
Regulatory compliance is not covered; www.out-law.com is an excellent source of information.
Business requirements
The business requirements that underpin a web site influence the design of the web site. What is the purpose of the web site? Whom does it serve?
A web site can serve many audiences, for example, you may want to attract potential clients, job seekers, potential suppliers, and search engines. Viewers may be scattered across the globe, and English may not be their first language. These audiences may have conflicting requirements.
Usability
Usability pertains to the ease or efficiency of performing a task. Typical tasks on a web site include purchasing products, finding contact information, and evaluating products and services.
We know that poor design causes online shoppers to abandon purchases. Less dramatically, poor design reflects badly on a company. For a primer on usability, Jakob Nielsen's web site (www.useit.com) is a good start.
Some usability problems are caused because code does not conform to standards. No excuse for non-conformant code is acceptable, because the W3C standards are publicly available (www.w3.org), as are free validation tools.
Sometimes, clear-cut answers may be hard to determine. For example, a web page invariably contains a navigation menu, which is not relevant to a printed page. Many web site designs cater for this by having special 'print-friendly' pages. Does that help usability, or does it hinder? Certainly, it involves an extra step (opening the page) for the user.
A print-friendly page is typically provided as a PDF file. That means two copies of a document exist. Every time a web page changes, the corresponding PDF file must be updated. Rather than using additional print-friendly pages, using style sheets is an option (we do this on the TechScribe web site). One style sheet specifies the screen appearance, and another one specifies the appearance of the printed pages. When a web page is printed, the menu (for example) does not appear on paper.
A counter-argument is that site visitors expect to see a 'print-friendly' button. If that is true, educate them. The 'print-friendly' button could open a web page which explains that all pages are print-friendly by default. Users would soon learn. In the long-term, users would have fewer buttons to click, and web designers would have a lower maintenance burden.
Security of a user's system
One online bank migrated customer accounts to a new system in early 2007. Unfortunately, thousands of customers could not use their accounts, because their browser settings were incompatible with the new system. Service desk staff had to deal with thousands of extra service calls, according to Computer Weekly (www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2007/03/27/222668/browser-glitches-stretch-first-direct.htm).
Certainly, some web sites need scripting and ActiveX. Typically, this is with database-driven web sites such as travel timetables, online shopping, and banking. However, for many web sites, scripting is not necessary.
Security-conscious visitors may not allow scripts to run, and so, a web site may not be usable. Unlike the bank's customers, who had a strong reason for using the web site, these people are likely to abandon a web site that requires them to reduce their security settings. If no business or technical reason exists for using scripting, why put obstacles in the way of potential customers?
Accessibility
To reach the widest audience, a web site should be easy to use and accessible to everyone. Accessibility is a legal requirement (see the Disability Rights Commission, www.drc-gb.org).
What does accessible mean? Simply, content is accessible when it can be used by someone with a disability. That is a narrow perspective; all users at some time might suffer from access limitations, for example, because they are using a dial-up connection or because they are using a device with a small screen.
Where do you start with accessibility? At the simplest level, follow best-practice guidelines. The RNIB (www.rnib.org.uk) has much useful information.
If you think that accessible design is dull, look at css Zen Garden (www.csszengarden.com).
Findability
No matter how good the visual design of a web site, without content, the web site is pointless. So, give your readers the information that they want. Some will want much background, and others will want only an overview. A good design caters for both types of customer by organising the information carefully. (The trendy technical term for the organisation of information is Information Architecture.)
Without a clear navigation system, viewers can become disoriented. Good practice is to have simple and consistent navigation throughout the site. Allow viewers to see where they are in the structure. Show them where they have visited by displaying links to visited pages in a different colour (many web designers think that is old-fashioned—it is, but it works).
Rather than the ubiquitous FAQ page, which often is just a dump of information factoids prefixed by 'How do I', embed the answers in relevant topics.
A typical web site contains a site map, and a search option. Whilst useful, these are often not sufficient. A search engine is excellent for finding pages that contain specific words, but it does not organise the results into conceptual categories. An A to Z index page shows the web site content in a structured manner, and in more detail than a site map. It shows relationships between terms, and it allows a reader to see the scope of the web site at a glance. For a detailed discussion, see 'Indexing technical documents'.
Readability
Reading from a screen is more tiring on the eyes than reading from paper, so plenty of headings, much white space, and relatively small topics are important. Do not just duplicate a paper document on a web site.
"The possibility of not obfuscating the inherent meaning of the intended message should be considered by all interested parties prior to the dissemination of the aforementioned message to the putative audience." In other words, "Don't hide your message behind complex language." A good starting point is 'How to write in Plain English' (www.plainenglish.co.uk/howto.pdf).
Marketing communications must be persuasive. Often, we find elegant variations on a theme. Synonyms, clichés, and clever plays on words abound. In this article, the words 'visitor', 'reader', and 'user' are used interchangeably. Whilst that makes for interesting reading, synonyms can also confuse people, particularly if the web site is technically oriented. In technical domains, best practice is 'one term=one meaning'. A glossary of terms is often useful.
Using a controlled vocabulary can help to make the content clear, particularly to visitors whose first language is not English. A rigorous approach would be to use some form of simplified English, which controls both vocabulary and grammar. However, controlling the terminology means that if readers type synonymous words into a search engine, the search results will not include the web site.
Finally, if your web site is for an international market, ensure that you write for an international audience.
Summary
Creating an effective web site that fulfils its business purpose may require trade-offs. You may not be able to please all potential visitors, but you will be able to create a web site that suits most people most of the time, and which encourages people to purchase your products and services.
This is a revised version of the article that appeared in the May 2007 issue of ITNOW Extra (www.bcs.org/itnowextra/).
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