Portfolio Design: Usability
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One of the components of Web design usability is that users be able to easily find what they want on your site. Below are some guidelines for increasing usability.
Navigation
These tips are designed to help users move between pages.
Note: The home page is the page you design to be the introduction to your site.
- Always include a way to return to the portfolio home page on each page of your portfolio. This link should be on the same location on each page.
- Include a link to your portfolio from your personal home page
- Include links to most of your pages on your home page
- Use more pages with shorter content rather than one page with a lot of text. Users may not scroll down the entire page.
- Make sure links are underlined and in a different color from the rest of your text.
Page Design
- Design pages to be legible.
- Use the same design elements for all portfolio pages. Switching between very different styles and colors can be disorienting.
- Format pages so that there are margins (i.e. white space) on each side of the page.
File Uploads
- Warn users if a link is going to a multimedia file, Powerpoint file, PDF file, Word file or anything other than a simple Web page. For instance, you can label a link as a "PDF" link if it goes to a PDF file.
- If you upload a Powerpoint or audio file, describe the contents before you ask users to download it. A screen capture of a Powerpoint page is especially helpful.
- Consider converting Word files to PDF files if you are using complex fonts or formatting. Not all users may have the same fonts, and downloads of Word files vary from browser to browser.
Note: PDF conversion utilities are available in all CLC lab machines. Often they are found as one of the available "printers."
Links to Other Sites
- Web Style Guide
- SURL Optimal Web Design - recommendations based on research
- Web Design for Instructors
- Information Architecture for the Rest of Us