Web Design Examples

Visit Scotland
Nice, clean simple layout.
Simple navigation and navigation history to easily return to a previous page.
White background and a light grey text is not the easiest to read large buttons help with accessibilty.
Colours look good and match throughout page.
Text colour could be darker to be easier to read.




The Scotsman
Busy layout with many articles but navigation is obvious and easy to use with link to different sections and main stories on homepage.
White background and black text is easy to read.
Annoying advert at top that covers half of screen when rolled over.





Scotland.org
Simple clean layout.
Large buttons with rollover effect make easy navigation and help accessibility.
High contrast between background and text colours make page easy to read
Colours match theme of page.
Link at bottom of page for added accessibility with info on increasing text size.



Amazon.co.uk
Well laid out dynamic webpage offering product recommendations for returning users.
Prominent search bar.
Well structured navigation, with history of recently viewed products.
Nice colours with coperate feel running through site.
Large headings attracting attention to new products.
Text is mininal on page using images instead of lots of text.


BBC.co.uk
Dynamic webpage allowing customisation for returning users. Page offers choice of colours and content for users.
Navigation is easy with links to main stories and different sections of web site.
Accessibility is well thought through with ability to change background and text colour to make page easier for individuals to read.




art.yale.edu
Horrible repeating background making some text hard to read espically page header.
Navigation is clear with links using rollovers on left where expected.
Accessibility is comprimised with the busy back ground and text over the top.
Colours don't match with no theme apparent.
Black text on light green is ok to read.



Basil Marceaux
Very bad design with page wider than screen, text coming off side of screen, side scrolling and up and down scrolling.
Navigation is poor and badly named, with one page called "page 4".
Low contrast between background and foreground text.
Huge pictures that could have been much smaller for a neater design.
No obvious colour theme.

Shop In Paradise
Page is very busy with too much information not well spaced out.
Navigation is clear but low contrast rollover could be better with more contrast between on and off.
Light background and light colour text make for poor accessibility. Text is very compact and hard to read.
Poor design.

Design terms

HTML
HTML or HyperText Markup Language is the main language used to write web pages on the web. It consists of "tags", these "tags" tell the web browser how the web page should display text, images and other content.

JavaScript
JavaScript is a scripting language that can be used to add interactivity and functionality to a web page or application. JavaScript uses functions that can be embedded in an HTML file and is read by the web browser. JavaScript runs client-side meaning that it is run on the users computer.

PHP
PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a server-side scripting language. PHP can be embedded in HTML to create more complex dynamic web pages. The PHP is run on the server and generates dynamic web pages.

Web Authoring Software
Web Authoring Software is a piece of software specifically designed for creating webpages. Most web authoring software is WISIWIG (what I see is what I get) that allows the user to create a webpage with little or no knowledge of HTML. Code is generated by the web authoring software and can be helpfull adding functionality to a web page.

Image Manipulation Software
Image Manipulation Software allows a user to manipulate images, reducing file size and optimizing image for use on a web application. The software can be used to create the smallest file size with the best detail. Layers, image size alteration, cropping, noise redustion and removal of unwated elements are some of the functions availbe in image editing software.

Static Web Page
A static web page is a web page that is wrote in HTML and displays the same information for every visitor.

Dynamic Web Page
A dynamic web page is a page that displays content customised for the visitor. The page may look the same as a static web page but the content changes for each visitor. The pages can be generated server-side or client-side.

Web 2.0
Web 2.0 refers to web pages with user created content. Pages such as FaceBook, YouTube, MySpace and social networking sites with an emphasis on human collaboration. The term Web 2.0 does not refer to a new technology but the new way people are using the internet. It allows user to create their own content alongside content provided by the website on the site platform.

Web Accessibility
Web Acessibility is the practice of making the information on a web page available to as many users as possible. The ease of which a user can naviagate the website and how easy text can be read are parts of accessibility. W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) have created a set of standards and guidelines for web accessibilty. The practice of making web pages accessible allows the information on the site to reach as many people as possible.