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Page 1134

Figure 51.3.
Web pages should flow
like any computer
applicationa set of
clear menus , not a
jungle of links.

A simple hierarchical menu should be the foundation of your Web site. In such a model, your home page is what drives the user through the different levels of your Web site. Figure 51.4 is a tree structure in which users can move up and down with ease.

Figure 51.4.
A sane approach to the
Web design of a widgets
Web site.

Page 1135

Be sure your tree is not too deep. You don't want your user to have to click through many screens to get to a favorite area of your Web site. Likewise, if your Web page is too wide, or is cluttered with many options, it becomes more like a text document than an appealing menu.

When you map the menu structure, it will look very wide. (See Figure 51.5.)

Figure 51.5.
Users must spend a
great deal of time
looking at the home
page to decide where
to go.

This mess of a Web site forces the user to do a great deal of reading. Remember, the Web is similar to commercial television as a medium. People are surfing for fun, and there are an endless number of related Web sites. You will have only a short attention span from your customers. You need to grab them quickly. If your Web site is hard to use or boring, your users will probably move on.

The advantage of this layout is that you would have only four items that you can turn into graphical images for your home page. From these four catchy and simple areas of an apple, users can drill down and explore further. Notice how option 16, Order Apples, escaped your eye until I brought it out as a separate menu item. If this were an apple company, just think of the lost orders you could save by making this change. The key to Web page design is balance.

It is important to map out every link of your Web page in this skeletal form, which is a great way to measure your work in progress and keeps you focused on the big picture. Some of the greatest Web pages follow a simple tree structure menu design and have great graphics that are easy to use. The tree structure helps users keep place in graphical worlds so they can enjoy the content and not get worried about where they are or where they are going.

Even though you are using a graphical tree structure to plan your Web site, remember that this is HTML, and document linking is sometimes necessary, even between different branches in the tree. If you find you have a relationship like this in your menu structure, you don't necessarily have to change it. (See Figure 51.6.)

But if you have this throughout your structure, maybe it is time to rethink your strategy. Also, consider offering the same documents but not letting the user jump branches. In most cases, confusion will ensue, unless you have a veritable Web monkey crawling through your site.

Page 1136

Figure 51.6.
Even with the jump to
the other branch, the
user will not be
confused if you allow
him to return to where
he came from.

A final scenario with the tree-structured menu diagrams is the dreaded loop. Many times I surf to a Web site, click a document, click a link to that document, find something again, and end up at the original document. I have just ended up going in a loop. Many times this is unavoidable if you are linking to another Web site that also links to yours; but aside from that case, try to eliminate loop structures, because they will frustrate the user. (See Figure 51.7.)

Figure 51.7.
A journey from page to
page to page only ends
up as an endless loop for
the disappointed Web
surfer.

Page 1137

The Medium Is the Message

It is important to define the medium in which your Web page is going to communicate your message. There are three basic levels of Web page publishing. These levels are determined by what type of media objects you want your Web page to handle. There are graphical objects, sound, 3D objects, and video to chose from, aside from textual design. Regardless of which of the three levels you need for your Web site, you should go through each level in the process of your development:

  • Level One: Implementing simple HTML pages and links without graphics, and formatting clear text.
  • Level Two: Implementing a graphical presentation in which each page is graphically enhanced and graphical links move the user from page to page. (This is the most common type of Web site today.)
  • Level Three: Incorporating a multimedia presentation using complex objects such as VRML, sound, and video. The Web page becomes an interactive audio-visual commercial for your product or service. This level-three page will require more computing resources for the user, his or her Internet link, and your Web Server.

Even if you are planning to build a level-three site, with complex presentation tools for the user, I recommend that you complete level one first. By doing so, you will have a textual backdrop and a logical menu structure for your Web site. Without all of the fancy graphics in your way, you might notice some changes needed in the links or the text. Your Web site should be clear and sensible at this level.

Certain simple standards, such as having a reference for your home page on every page and having your menu clearly centered or left-justified will save you headaches later. It is much easier to change an HTML page before you have added all of the fancy frames and graphics. It is also always a good practice to have a Web site that makes sense without graphics. If a user's browser cannot read your graphics, it will ignore them and print a level-one skeleton structure.

When working on a level-two site, with graphics presenting your HTML output, make sure that you are graphically consistent. If one of your menu items is a fancy apple with a bite in it that says "Order Apples," make sure that as the user drills down he uses the same graphical icon and that you remind the user where he or she is in the overall tree structure of the menu.

If you are using a certain size and shape for a graphical object as a link in one section, don't stop using the object in another section. The user will click the similar object and become frustrated when nothing happens. Use something consistent, such as your company logo or the main graphic, as an icon in every menu. This will allow the user to return to the home page. With graphics, you are actually giving the user subtle clues about how to move around your Web page. The identical graphics should do the same thing, regardless of where the user is in a document.

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The level-three presentation is the presentation of the future. The Web surfer will surf to your URL, and you will lead him or her through a multimedia presentation with interactions that will leave the user dazzled, as if he or she left an opening night premier in Hollywood. Today, the narrow bandwidth of phone lines and modems make level-three presentations slower, but ultimately you can be rewarded by a thoughtful conversion. Be sure to warn users about special plug-ins or tools they will need, and offer links to download them.

Don't be put off by doing a level-three presentation with sound and video. There are packages such as Corel Click & Create (www.corel.com) and VayuWeb (www.vayuweb.com) that help you build multimedia Web pages and will take the user through a series of graphical presentations. Because everyone is running a different speed computer, sometimes it is nice to ask the user if he or she wants an extra flashy presentation. For users in a slower environment, these new technologies are not dazzling but slow and frustrating.

The key to Web publishing standards and practices is to put yourself in the user's place. Always keep your Web site up to date. Many times, links that you have created to other sites become obsoleteand even though this isn't your fault, Web users will blame you for the old link. Be sure to include the e-mail address of the Webmaster who is running your site and read through the suggestions. You might be losing a whole section of your market if someone finds an error with their browser. This browser could be run by millions of potential customers who will never see your product. Be responsive ; you are now publishing for the world.

The Role of the Browser

A browser is a piece of software that is designed to allow a user to move effortlessly around the World Wide Web. The two most popular browsers on the market are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Just because you have a browser doesn't mean that you have instant access to the Web. Your computer needs to be part of a network that can access the Web. Either it is hooked locally (such as at your company site), it is hooked to another computer that has a direct network line to the Web, or you use a modem and can link your computer to an ISP that completes the network link for your browser to use.

An important role of a browser is to be capable of translating the latest standards that have been agreed upon for HTML, Java, VRML, and HTTP. These languages and protocols are constantly updated, and it is important that your Web browser can translate new documents and applets into the appropriate graphical codes. The browser simply follows the commands of these languages and displays the appropriate text, sound, and graphical information.

The browser can be seen as an interpreter, but it is more than that. If it simply translated documents for you and displayed them, an application that only read HTML documents on your computer but couldn't link to the World Wide Web would be called a browser. A browser is a network bridge, a layer between you and the HTTP protocol. It sends requests through HTTP and receives information from HTTP and the Internet. (See Figure 51.8.)

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Oracle Unleashed
Oracle Development Unleashed (3rd Edition)
ISBN: 0672315750
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 1997
Pages: 391

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