Designer Notes

The templates that I've created for the various 4802 projects haven't been that complicated, so I can't really say much for those, besides the fact that they could obviously be more visually attractive and accessible to users (and I did commit a small sin by centering the sidebar text on one of my pages). But in general, I've noticed that the problems mentioned in ch. 6 tend to pop up on a lot of websites, most notably with repetition. There are a number of websites out there that use completely different templates on different pages. This is an especially big problem for online newspapers. Many papers have a basic template on the majority of their pages, but for a special flash page, the entire setup of the page changes. Readers of the page have to go out of their way to figure out how to control the new page.

I think a good example of a website that's keeping their website template similar throughout is The Washington Post. They've got a new feature up on the midterms, but they've correctly integrated it into the main template of the site.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/madness/

By contrast, The Washington Times does not make it as easy to navigate their pages. Text and links on their page are often aligned incorrectly. On this page, with all of the buttons and ads, it's tough to find the "next page" button.

http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20061024-123943-1274r.htm

As the chapter shows, a simple set up -- with a strong sidebar, good use of contrast, and proper alignment -- is preferable.