Criteria for optimal web design (designing for usability)

By Michael L Bernard

Users overwhelmingly prefer sites which employ common Web conventions (Nielsen, 1997). However, common standards are very rare in web design. Some of the few that exist are:

• Follow the standard hyperlink colors: blue for non-visited hyperlinks, purple for visited hyperlinks, and red for active hyperlinks (but if you have a site with a blue background -or any dark color- please choose a color that can clearly be contrasted from the background color. That is, if the choice is to either violate the standard or not be visible, choose visibility!).
   

• Place a navigational link to the homepage at the upper left corner and bottom of each page.
   

• Place the site's internal hyperlinks at the bottom of each page (in addition to other places).
   

• Images and text space should not cause horizontal scrolling on lower resolution screens. 

• At the bottom of each page, place the date that the page was updated and the URL address.
   

• The text should facilitate the scanning of information. 
   

• Use ALT-Tags for graphics, especially for graphics that serve as hyperlinks.

For an excellent and more detailed discussion of general Web conventions, see the Yale Style Manual website: http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/contents.html

Other fine guidelines include: 

• IBM: http://www-3.ibm.com/ibm/easy/eou_ext.nsf/EasyPrint/572

• W3C Accessibility Guidlines 1.0: http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/

• Usable Web Design for the Disabled http://www.lib.auburn.edu/
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• Vorburger, M.: http://www.vorburger.ch/kissfp/styleguide/index.html

References

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