Selective attention is very powerful, and Web users have learned to stop paying attention to any ads that get in the way of their goal-driven navigation. Therefore, it is best to avoid any designs that look like advertisements.
Violating Design Conventions
The more users' expectations prove right, the more they will feel in control of the system and the more they will like it. And the more the system breaks users' expectations, the more they will feel insecure. This means that they form their expectations for your site based on what's commonly done on most other site. If you deviate, your site will be harder to use and users will leave.
Opening New Browser Windows
Opening up new browser windows is like a vacuum cleaner sales person who starts a visit by emptying an ash tray on the customer's carpet. Don't pollute my screen with any more windows, thanks. 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. Users hate unwarranted pop-up windows. When they want the destination to appear in a new page, they can use their browser's "open in new window" command.
Not Answering Users' Questions
Users are highly goal-driven on the Web. They visit sites because there's something they want to accomplish. Sometimes the answer is simply not there. Other times the specifics are buried under a thick layer of marketese and bland slogans. Since users don't have time to read everything, such hidden info might almost as well not be there.
Discourse markers: softening and correcting
I think; I feel; I reckon (informal); I guess (American); in my view/opinion (formal); apparently; so to speak; more or less; sort of (informal); kind of (informal); well; really; that is to say; at least; I'm afraid; I suppose; or rather; actually; I mean
I think/feel/reckon/guess and in my view I opinion are used to make opinion and statements sound less dogmatic - they suggest that the speaker is just giving a personal opinion, with which other people may disagree.
Home Page Hints
It's your 'cyberhome', but remember that websites are different from books or magazines. Think about these suggestions to make people want to stay.
1. Use a navigation bar to organise your hyperlinks to other pages.
2. Hyperlinks also let visitors navigate up or down long pages.
3. Keep your use of colour and buttons consistent. If a Next Pade button is a pink circle, all Next Page buttons should be the same, and in the same place on the screen.
4. If you use a lot of animations, your Web page will take a long time to download.
5. If you use a lot of graphics, animations and text your Web page will be too busy.
6. It's difficult to read a text that's next to an animation.
7. Keep texts short and simple! Surfers don't like reading on a computer screen much.
8. It's not easy to read multi-coloured text.
9. Lots of bright colours look nice at first, but often give people headaches!
10. Make sure you use a spell check and use good grammar.
11. Try not to use too much slang. People who visit your site may not understand.
12. Don't be afraid to be original. Good websites have something that is different about them and that comes from you!
Task 7. Discuss the following questions.
1. How would you design your personal website?
2. What graphics, images and colours would you use?
3. What would you say in your text?
4. How many pages would you have?
5. What would you call the links on your navigation bar to show the different pages?
Task 8. Match the words and phrases in the text with the definitions (1-7).
1. connections to a Web page or part of a Web page___________________________________
2. make or produce_______________________________________________________
3. plan or build a Web page________________________________________________
4. a group of organized Web links, usually in a line ______________________
5. does not change, always the same_________________________________________
6. the type of software that helps create Web pages_____________________________
7. new, not done before____________________________________________________
Task 9. Complete the sentences (1-8) with the words in the box.
busy consistent generate home pages structure
surfers upload Web-authoring
1. That Web page is much too _________________. I don’t know what to look at.
2. An FTP server is a computer that lets you ______________ files to the Internet.
3. The buttons on this page are not ____________ with the button on the last page.
4. Net never like reading a lot of text on the screen.
5. ____________ software means you don't have to learn HTML to make a Web page.
6. Many students have their own _______________________on the World Wide Web.
7. HTML creates the ___________________ for Web pages to run on a browser.
8. Web-authoring programs __________________HTML tags for you.
Task 10. Do you know how to design a website? What do people or companies need websites for?
Read the interview and do make up the list of hints on web site advancing.
