User profile represents an important factor in the process of developing information and
counselling web pages. The beneficiary of Internet counselling services is an abstract
construct and the danger may arise that the counselling service fails to respond to
concrete needs.
Internet user behaviour. The research of the Poynter Institute on the way users read
information on the Internet reveals a series of important characteristics (Istrate, 2003):
- due to the large volume of existing information the great majority of users
(approximately 3/4) mainly skim-read diagonally (just the table of contents
or abstract), and when they identify relevant information they make recourse
to selective probing. Consequently, web site designers must structure
information so as to allow quick identification and finding details for a
specific issue; - very frequently users hunt for information and ignore details;
- when first accessing a page, the user’s eyes focus on the text, identifying
titles, subtitles and abstracts, and ignoring images and graphs; - often users read several pages at once, opening several windows and
searching trough them alternatively, opening various new pages, looking for
web or e-mail addresses.
Principles of web design. For an effective use of web page contents, designers must take
into account a series of principles (Istrate, 2003):
- Clarity and elegance. Contents must be presented under an accessible form, with
a pleasant aspect and logical structure. - Predictability and regularity. Efficient navigation with the resources pertaining
to a site presupposes maintaining a constant presentation framework. Applying
these principles must not generate monotony in resource use, therefore certain
functional changes being justified. - Standardization and consistency in style. Layout must allow quick focus with no
hesitation on important elements, and formatting style must be unitary. - Easy orientation through the contents. The menu and location bar must be visible
permanently and indicate the current section or chapter, and allow quick access to
other parts of the site. The relevant information will appear under the form of an
abstract, which should not be larger than the screen, allowing the user to continue
the search for further details on other pages. - Unity and simplicity. Detail abundance must be avoided and where details are
necessary they must be accessed through links to separate pages, so as not to
confuse users who do not need them.