Accessibility 23DisplaysA Variety ofAccessibilityWeb Design in a Nutshell, eMatter Editionespecially for WebTV or some other display device, you should follow the appro-
priate guidelines for those devices.
And as always, test your designs in as many monitor configurations as you can get
your hands on to see how your page holds up under diverse conditions.
Designing “Above the Fold”
Newspaper editors have always designed the front page with the most important
elements “above the fold,” that is, visible when the paper is folded and sitting in
the rack.
Likewise, the first screenful of a web site’s homepage is the most important real
estate of the whole site, regardless of whether the page is fixed or flexible. It is
here that the user makes the decision to continue exploring the site or to hit the
“Back” button and move along. Web designers have adopted the term “above the
fold” to apply to the contents that fit in that important first screen. Curiously, my
personal experience shows that users tend not to scroll beyond the first page,
even when the vertical scrollbar is visible. That places the burden of enticing them
to stay on the first screen.
As discussed throughout this chapter, a “screenful” can be quite different
depending on the resolution of the monitor. To play it absolutely safe, consider
the space available for the lowest common denominator 640×480 monitor—
approximately 600×300 pixels. That’s not a lot of space!
Some elements you should consider placing above the fold include:
- The name of the site.
- Your primary marketing message.
- Some indication of what the site is about. For instance, if it is a shopping site,
you might place the credit card logos or shopping cart in the top corner to
instantly communicate that “shopping happens here.” - Navigation to other parts of the site. If the entire navigation device will not fit
(such as a list of links down the left edge of the page), at least get it started in
the first screenful; hopefully users will scroll to see the remainder. If it is out
of sight completely, it is that much more likely to be missed. - Any other information that is crucial for visitors to the site, such as a toll-free
number or a special promotion.
Accessibility
Responsible web design includes making pages accessible even to users with
disabilities, such as hearing or sight impairments. The World Wide Web Consor-
tium (W3C) has launched its Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), which aims to
make the Web more universally accessible. The WAI develops technologies, HTML
authoring guidelines and tools, and also promotes education and research. The
success of the initiative, however, relies on the participation of web developers to
build sites according to the proposed guidelines.