Below is the entire module on one page.
Which Would You Choose?
What is effective web page design?
Of course, its impossible to answer that question definitively. Still, a good place to start is to consider the purpose of your pages. We assume you are designing educational web pages, so here are some links that contain rubrics used by teachers to assess web design quality. Good rubrics will help you develop your own principles and measures of the effective of web pages design.
- Web Page Evaluation Criteria This scale is adapted from original work done by Al Rogers for the Global SchoolNet Foundation and CyberFair Contest. The adaptation is by Clarence Bakken and Sara Armstrong in conjunction with Challenge 2000, for the CTAP Region IV Technology Leadership Academy and the Institute for Research on Learning.
- The Blue Web'N Evaluation Rubric This is the web page evaluation criteria for the popular Blue Web'N educational site. The site is the brainchild of Tom March, classroom teacher, online educator, student of Bernie Dodge, and co-founder of the Education First/Knowledge Network Explorer.
- Web Pages that Suck This is a popular, lighthearted and sarcastic site that comments on the design of commercial web sites. Vincent Flanders is the author of: Web Pages That Suck: Learn Good Design by Looking at Bad Design and Son of Web Pages That Suck.
Elements of effective design
Rogers, Bakken, & Armstrong believe these elements to be the most important features.
- ideas & content,
- organization
- language & conventions
- presentation
- technical
Tom March puts the focus on:
- format
- content,
- learning process
Vincent Flanders identifies several keys that make or break a web page.
- accessibility
- usability (especially navigtion)
- graphics (distracting, ugly graphics are a deal breaker)
What do you think? Let's analyze.
Graphics
March includes graphics under format, Bakken & Armstrong place it in the technical category. Flanders collects examples of disastrous graphics. Graphics is obviously important to all three evaluators. Does that make graphic elements the most important measure of webpage quality? Have you ever found a really good web page without graphics?
Content
Bakken & Armstrong and March have entire categories just for content. Content is key to most educators. We are always looking for a way to increase content learning whether directly or incidentally. Does that make content the second most important feature?
That leaves the learning process for March and organization, language, & presentation for Bakken & Armstrong. If the process is mixed up or the reader can not follow the organization of the page, read the language, or figure out the presentation, the content and graphics aren't worth much are they? Ever landed on a foreign language site by accident? Even with strong graphics it can be difficult or impossible to understand the purpose of the web site.
The importance of any one feature on a site follows the main purpose of the site. If your purpose is to share student art with the public, then obviously graphics will be more important. If your purpose is to share student poetry with the public, then organization and format will be more important. Web design depends on your purpose.
How do we begin? |
These sites help educators design effective web pages. Six Tips for Web Design by Tammy Payton guide you through site design for schools. http://mercury.siec.k12.in.us/west/online/steps.htm Web Page Design for Instruction: Research Based Guidelines by Bonnie Skaalid provides solid theory, examples and resources. http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/skaalid/ Web Page Design for Designers, by Joe Gillespie, provides a more technical, business eye view of the designer’s world in plain, easy to understand English. http://www.wpdfd.com/index.htm WEBalley, by Gerben Hoekstra, will help you design, build, locate tools, locate web space, and upload your web pages like a professional. http://weballey.net/index.html |
Authored by Lora K. Kaisler 2003