You don't know

Truth

When you create a print document, you know exactly what the result will look like to the reader.  The web is different.  When you design a web site, you don't know:

• How big the user's browser window is, in either inches or pixels.
• What fonts the user will actually see.
• What size those fonts will appear.
• What text foreground and background colors the user will see.  (The ones you see now are those specified, perhaps by you, perhaps as factory defaults, in your browser.)
• Which browser the user has.
• What 'extra' capabilities, beyond HTML rendering, the user's environment will (or won't) support, including:
  • Images (dial-up users may suppress them)
  • Style sheets
  • JavaScript
  • Cookies
  • Java
  • Flash
  • Adobe Reader
  • Microsoft Word
  • Etc., etc.
• How fast the user receives data (dial-up, DSL, cellular, cable or optical fibre).
• How well the user can see (perhaps not at all).
• Whether the user will navigate using a mouse or the keyboard.

Consequences

Each time you make an assumption about any of the above things, you are going to be wrong part of the time.  Each time you are wrong, the user will not experience the site as you intended.  If the user's experience is unsatisfactory, they may leave the site without receiving your message.

Recommendations

Design your site in such a way that it is functional and attractive regardless of the unknown user environment.  Test it in a variety of environments to provide a high level of confidence that the design was successful.

Tips

1. Make sure that the HTML alone contains all of your essential content and navigation and that the appearance of the site is satisfactory without add-ons.
2. Use CSS to make the site more attractive and to improve usability.
3. Use a 'fluid' design, in which widths are as flexible as possible and CSS floats allow sections of the page to rearrange themselves when the width is constrained.
4. If you use JavaScript or other add-on functions, make sure that their absence is either transparent to the user, or is politely explained. ("You must have JavaScript to use this site" is not polite).

Index

Last revised 25 Jul 2011