site_design_guides

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From: Jerry Muelver <jerry@hytext.com>
Subject: Re: Basic site-design theory
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 03:17:34 -0600

On Wed, 24 Jan 2001 02:18:36 -0600, jorn@mcs.com (Jorn
Barger) wrote:

>[I started this list and then lost interest, for now.]
>
>1. Pages should load (and render) fast.
>
>2. It should be easy to find your way around-- no hidden resources, no
>misleading links.
>
>3. A sitemap-page should link to every subpage with a short description
>(and every page should include a 'sitemap' link).
>
>4. Every page should offer a 'mailto' link (or the equivalent) for
>feedback.
>
>
>How do you break up your resources into separate pages?
>
>Since people will probably only link one page within your site, you want
>that page to 'skim the cream' of your site, and link the rest. Including
>a list of recent news and/or site-changes will make people likelier to
>check back frequently.

No wonder you lost interest -- it's all been done before,
long ago, by people who actually understand the problem and
the technology for the solutions. Here's one take on it, for
instance:

http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/sites/site_design.html

Design guides like your list, only a bit more detailed, are
at the core of every serious intranet/extranet project, and
come complete with checklists for contributor/employees to
run before posting content to their corporate window to the
WWW.

---- jerry
-- 



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