Boot Camp

Web Authoring Boot Camp
• White space: White space refers to the open space on a page where there is a visual
break from blocks of text, images, etc. White space is important because the
visitor’s eyes get strained if things are too crowded together. They also lose their
ability to get key decision-making information when everything looks squashed
together and too busy.
• Alignment: Content can be left, right, or center-aligned. Choosing a generally
consistent alignment is important since it allows for white space, is easier for the
eye to follow, and looks tidy and put-together in a way that mixing alignments
don’t.
• Think in “blocks”: Much of design is about knowing how to direct attention.
Block out the navigation area, the identification area, the sub areas for text and
image content, the footer area, etc. Make things easy to scan.
Design for Scanning
Don’t make your visitors think. They are usually busy, in a hurry, and are not going to
read any more than they have to in order to act or make a decision. Make any readable
items very, very easy to see and read.
• Visitors scan, they don’t read. Give them the key info in scannable bits, like
subheaders and bulleted lists.
• Break up information. Use subheaders, and occasional sub subheaders. Use a
back-to-top anchor when needed. Use a sidebar for nice but not critical information.
• Place critical information and navigation above the scroll / on the first
screen. Think of a web page like the first side of a folded newspaper. A visitor
looks at, and makes fast decisions, based on what they see at the top of the page
before they have to scroll down. Do not put critical information below the first
screen because the visitor will likely miss or ignore it.
• Basic scanning methods. Visitors scan, they don’t read. One common scanning
method is the Z-method, when a visitor scans top left-to-right, diagonally down
to the lower left, and then lower left-to-right. Another way is the F-method, when
a visitor scans top left-to-right, darts to middle left-to-right, then darts down to
lower left.
• Make sure the visitor has control over their use of the site. Give them what
they need without fuss and they will keep at it.
28