Design Practices

Design Practices 1

Plan exactly what design elements we want in the sites beforehand. E.g., drop-downs, auto-complete fields, modal windows.

Use only a limited number of design elements and make sure these will scale across all parts of our interface.

Identify key interaction points, i.e. what most users will want to access.

Design Practices 2

Key interaction points should be large-sized, and clearly visible.

Don't force the user to have to use the “Back” button to visit pages.

A user should not have to visit too many pages to get to the desired content. No more than 2-3 clicks.

Design Practices 3

Consistent style and user-interaction design (colors, form elements, lists) across all sites.

The user should be able to do what s/he anticipates. Consistent visual cues.

Don't set up links in such a way that users have no idea where they will end up.

Design Practices 4

Minimize mouse movement. Users should not have to move the mouse too far for each clickable operation.

Group relevant items close together in the layout. Keep all navigation clustered together, important links clustered together, etc.