The choice of design must be made, according to Sampson, function of the policy,
objectives, and specificity of the counselling services. The most frequent information and
counselling web site development modality is taking into account both strategies by
ensuring the ease of relevant resource finding for the specific needs of each client, but
also by adding indices or FAQ lists, maps / structure of the site and search facilities.
In the design process, one should always consider the user’s perspective. The user must
always be supported through help texts and tips, error messages, and the information
presented must meet a series of exigencies such as: accuracy, consistency, wholeness,
comprehensibility, and structuring (Hagglund, 1989, apud. Istrate, 2003). Error messages
must be phrased in a positive manner.
The layout includes background colour, font size, images, tables, lists, as well as the way
information is grouped on the screen. The visual quality of a web page is measured by the
legibility, clarity, and structuring of the information. Inadequate or erroneous phrasing
must be avoided, as well as spelling errors.
In order to ensure a high usage level, any web site requires a Help function, where the
client will be instructed on how to use the various facilities of the system, guided towards
the desired resources, and offered assistance in using information sources on other sites.
For an easy access to available resources, any web site includes man–computer dialogue
facilities, known as user interface.
Designing user interface. The quality of interactive systems is judged by the easy use
(Berndtsson and Ottersten, 2002, apud Mjornheden, 2004). In order to evaluate how user-
friendly a computer system is, Hagglund and Vainio-Larsson (1989, apud Mjornheden,
2004), suggested four investigation directions: user, task, system, and environment. The
factors conditioning the use level are: adaptability, flexibility, friendliness, user
competence, and system robustness:
- adaptability presupposes designing system facilities so as to allow optimal
user–computer interaction; - flexibility of the system targets the permanent possibility of changing the
course of the investigation function of the needs and particularities of an
individual, keeping to the scientific character of the contents; - user-friendliness involves, for Alwood (apud Mjornheden, 2004), a few
essential aspects such as: availability of the system, user-computer
compatibility, the possibility of individual navigation, help quality; - satisfaction in using the system and its acceptability are essential for the
effectiveness of use; without appropriate motivation a user will never learn
how the system works and consequently the effectiveness will be
compromised;