Atlantic Freedom Tour URL

http://mywebspace.quinnipiac.edu/jlleblanc/index.html

Chapter 8

Dynamic content publishing makes it easier to update sites automatically since the site's content and formatting are separate. With HTML the content may be obscured by loads of code making it much more difficult to make changes.

Dynamic content publishing also allows the designer to cater to the user on more of an individual level. A great example of this is on Amazon.com. The site presents items that it thinks may be of interest to the user based on previous searches.

Dynamic content can also make a site more interesting to repeat visitors but monitoring the date and displaying only current information.

In general, web users believe that information on the web should be free to access so web businesses are better served by web-based applications that can provide a service to the user, not just information.

Templates are a great way to create consistency throughout a site without having to do a lot of work. They establish a concrete personality but they are flexible so they may work around different contents.

Templates can also help avoid the need to create different versions of a website to cater to different browser capabilities. With dynamic publishing, the browser and version can be detected and the proper template will be used to display the content correctly.

When designing a template, be sure to know what to expect. The template has to know what it may encounter and know how to deal with it.

Web applications may be viewed as half web site and half client application. The overall personality of the application should match the web site but the actual application functions on its own.

Web applications can be a powerful tool in creating repeat users. A user is likely to be willing to spend more time with a web application than they would trying to search a site for information because they will benefit from their time spent based on the service provided.

It may cause confusion if a user still has access to the browser navigation while the web application is open. This problem may be solved by making the web application full-screen or opening it up in a new browser-less window.

Chapter 7

Clearly, the home page on any site is the page which is most commonly visited and therefore all content displayed on the homepage is what the most exposure. This does not mean that a home page should be cluttered with as much content as possible. The designer should carefully choose which elements and information will be of most interest to the end user. That information is put on the home page while useful links will direct the user to all of the other content.

Avoid placing large elements on a home page if they do not enhance the user’s experience. Everything on a page should work toward increasing usability and enhancing the user’s understanding of the site. If a large element is not serving a purpose, then it actually weakens the design.

The author of the text loosely compares a home page to the front window of a store inside a mall. Its function is to give the user a glimpse of what they may find inside. The home page should identify who you are, what you do, what you may be able to provide to the user, and it should clearly establish that personality discussed in previous chapters. All a user has to do to quickly leave your site is click the back button. The home page is responsible for keeping them there.

Anticipate what users will be looking for when they come to the home page and make those elements or that information dominant in the visual hierarchy. This makes the users experience fast and convenient and will increase the likelihood of their return to your site.

Highlight new additions to your website on the home page. If there are never any changes to a site, why should the user return? Notify them of the changes right up front but do so in an organized fashion and avoid creating too much clutter on the home page.