Jakob Nielsen and Font and Colour Research

Font: As I am in the middle of designing my website, I have taken the time to research which fonts and colours work on websites. I have come to realise that not everyone has the high-resolution monitors we use in our school, therefore according to www.newbiewebsitedesign.com website designers must refrain from using serif fonts on the pages. If we wish to have pure text that is easy to read, we must use Sans Serif fonts. Sans serif fonts have been the main style of font used for the pure text for websites, they don't become unusual on low-resolution monitors, making it the perfect choice for the pure text of websites. The four serif fonts that all operating of all recent versions can display are Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet MS and Verdana.

Colour: When choosing a colour scheme for my website, I became aware that it's actually not beneficial to the audience if you put white or light text on a black or dark background. Although this may seem the obvious and clearest way of presenting text, it causes the eyes to strain. Text is actually presented better if two colours that have little contrast between them, rather than using black text on a yellow background and vise versa. The best colours for websites are black or dark on a white of pastal coloured background reducing strain on the eyes and it also gives the right amound of contrast.

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Jakob Nielsen has a vast range of opinions regarding website design, including the Do's and Don't of website planning. Using a wide range of search engines, I have discovered the Top 10 mistakes in Web Design

1 - Bad Search
Search engines that are very literally may reduce usability because they are unable to handle typing errors, plurals and other typing problems. These search engines may be particularly difficult for elderly people to use. Instead of simple searches, advanced searches could be used, however, simple searches are often more popular.

2 - PDF Files for Online Reading
Most users dislike seeing PDF files while browsing, because it can be very distracting and irritating. Even the simplest things like printing or saving documents are difficult to do because standard browser commands don't work.

3 - Not changing the colour of Visited Links
Knowing your previous locations makes it easier to decide where to go next. Links are important in this navigation process. Users may revisit links they found helpful in the past.

4 – Non-scan able Text
A large amount of text is very bad for an interactive experience. It would be much better to have scan able text, as it would draw more users in.

• subheads

• bulleted lists

• short paragraphs

• the inverted pyramid

• a simple writing style, etc.

5 - Fixed Font Size
Websites have the power to disable a Web browser's "change font size" button. The majority of the time, this fixed size is tiny, meaning it reduces readability.

6 - Page Titles With Low Search Engine Visibility
Search engines are the most important way for users to discover new websites. They can also help the reader find excactly what they are looking for.

7 - Anything that looks like an advertisement
Web users have now learned to stop paying attention to any adverts that get in the way of what they were originally trying to do

8 - Violating Design Conventions
Consistency is one of the most powerful usability principles. Users always expect things to behave in the way they usually do.

9 -Opening New Browser Windows
This disables the Back button which is the normal way users return to previous sites.

10- Not Answering Users Questions

Users visit sites because there's something they want to achieve. The worst qualitiy a website can have is to not provide the information that users are looking for.