Then
you've got to answer technology questions. You might have to guess on this
one, but you still need to think about it. How will your audience view your
page? Will your content appeal to a business crowd accessing the Net on
a T1, or is it for the folks at home with 14.4 modems? While considering
speed, you should also think about browsers and plug-ins as well. What makes
more sense for the purpose of your page? You don't need Shockwave, RealAudio,
or Java if you only want to post a picture of your cat. On the other hand,
they might be necessary if you want to impress people with fancy-shmancy
smoke and mirrors. Remember, Manhattan was purchased for US$24 and some
beads.
Now
that you've figured out what your site is about, who the viewers are, and what
kind of technologies you want to use, it's time to think about hierarchies.
Not everyone has a huge monitor, so your most important elements need to be
at the top of the page, where viewers will see it immediately. The smallest
monitor out there is 640 by 480 pixels, so your design should work on a basic
level within those parameters. If one of your goals is to get people to call
your 800 number, you better make sure they can see it without scrolling. (Advertisers
don't want their banners placed three clicks down for a reason.) Think of that
first screen as the front page of a newspaper. Really important stuff goes on
the front page, and the most important stuff goes on the top or "above the fold,"
as newspaper folks say.
Another
thing to remember is that people read left to right and top to bottom. They
almost always look at the upper-left corner first, which is a good place to
put something really important. None of this holds true, of course, if you're
Japanese and read top to bottom, right to left, but the point is that it's good
to be aware of how your audience's eyes will travel across the page.
