Usability
In addition to writing style, usability impacts site design.
- More than half of web users rely on search engines. Therefore, make each page context-independent.
- Because MIT's pages reside on an open network and can be indexed by any internet search engine, your page may be viewed by anyone in the world. Include MIT branding on every page, and do not make assumptions about who your site visitors are and what they know.
- Graphics and text should be complementary, not unrelated. Do not convey an important message solely through a graphic. Avoid superfluous art.
- Your entire page should not exceed 30K -and that includes all graphics!- if your goal is a download time of 10 seconds, based on a slow but not unusual modem speed.
- Limit table nesting, i.e., tables within tables. Nested tables slow download speed, especially in Netscape.
- Test on a variety of platforms (UNIX, Windows, MAC), browsers (Netscape, Explorer, lynx), and screen resolutions. Test with javascript turned both on and off in your browser.
- Frames - In addition to accessibility issues, frames are discouraged in general. Your users can not easily bookmark or link to a frame, nor can all search engines find and display framed pages efficiently. So, don't use frames.
