ptg16476052Considering User Experience Level 60922
Not all sites have as large and complex a structure as DMOZ, but you can still provide
context for your users through your navigation scheme. By altering your navigational
elements based on the page that the user is on, you can indicate to them not only where
she can go but also where she is. This is also particularly helpful to users who arrive at
your site not via the home page, but from an external link. Enabling users to immediately
deduce where they are in the larger scheme of things makes it more likely that they’ll
take in more of your site.
Are Your Users Tourists or Regulars?
When you’re designing a site, one of the things you need to remember is that your users
are generally either tourists or regulars. If many of your users are tourists, which means
that they don’t use your site very often or will probably only ever use it one time, you
should design your site so that the first-timer can easily figure out what he should be
doing and where he needs to go.
However, if your site is normally used by the same existing group of users who come
back once a day or once a week, your emphasis should be on providing shortcuts and
conveniences that enable them to use your site as efficiently as possible. It’s okay if it
takes a bit of work to learn about the conveniences because it’s worth your users’ time.
Clearly, the secret is to strike a balance for two reasons: You want to continue to grow
your user base, and that means constantly getting new users. And, you want to make sure
that your existing customers get what they need as quickly and easily as possible. The
holy grail is a site that’s obvious and clear to new users but also provides the features that
FIGURE 22.1
A page from the
DMOZ directory.