Usability for Pagan web sites, by Yvonne Aburrow
- Things to avoid
- Things to include
- Some examples of good usability
- Other web sites about usability
- Home page templates
Things to avoid
Avoid black backgrounds: these are really annoying, as they don't help users to focus on the text very well, and they just confirm people's preconceived ideas about Paganism. They may cause problems with printing as well. The only exception to this is Vernemeton, where they've actually chosen to use a black background for accessibility. Personally I feel the best colour is cream (#ffffee) as this is recommended by most usability sites.
Avoid patterned backgrounds: It's fine to have a patterned border, as long as it's a small graphics file that does't take ages to load, but background patterns are really annoying, as they make your eyes go squiffy. If you've got too many jazzy graphics, have you actually got anything worth saying? (If you have got anything worth saying, chances are your background will prevent people reading it.) See How to build an annoying web page: backgrounds.
Avoid frames: these are generally annoying and actually decrease navigability. They also make it difficult for people to link to specific information within your site. Also, some search engines will have difficulty tracing content on your pages. If you can use a server-side include, that's great, otherwise, have some navigation on each page and use an HTML editor such as Notetab, which has a global find and replace function.
Avoid animated gifs and marquees: These are a particular favourite of Pagan web site owners (all those flames, yeuch!) - they distract from the text (which is after all the main purpose of the page).
Things to include
Use a style sheet: Don't use font tags, just link to a style sheet. See my CSS resources for more information.
Consider your audience: who is your site aimed at? Are there different sections for different groups? If so, add a link for each of these groups to follow which will direct them to the pages specifically for them (e.g. "Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced" or "Wiccan, Druid, Asatru, visitors". See Jakob Nielsen's top ten tips for home page design.
Make it navigable: Use breadcrumbs (navigation trail, e.g. Home > Resources > Links). Have a site map. Have a table of contents on long pages with links to anchors within the page. Have a "back to top" link after each section. Link to the home page of your site from each page (preferably at the top left of each page).
Use ALT tags for every image - some people may have text-only browsers, or be unable to interpret your weird and wonderful graphics...
Think about download times: If your page takes more than 10 seconds to load, users will lose interest.
Think about scrolling: If you have a very long page, either break it up with a table of contents, with "back to top" buttons, or spread the contents over several pages.
Follow these guidelines: make it usable, with interesting content, and not too many graphics. If you have a graphic you really want to use, include it as a thumbnail and make it a link to a larger graphic for people who want to look more closely at it.
Here are some Pagan sites which have good usability:
- Witch Vox (http://www.witchvox.com) - pretty good apart from the marbled background. I like the look and feel - green and white. Also has adjustable text size. You can also search for articles in a variety of ways.
- Reclaiming (http://www.reclaiming.org/) - home page is a bit long but there are good menus in each section. Nice simple graphics too.
- Pagan Path (http://www.paganpath.com/): has site navigation on each page. Clear layout too, with excellent content and no silly graphics.
- Ginnungagap (http://www.ginnungagap.info/ggeindex.html): has some marbled backgrounds but these are fairly easy on the eye. There is navigation info on every page.
- Ancient Latvian Paganism and Mythology (http://pagan.drak.net/wwcrew/): Interesting and well laid-out, with FAQs as the main menu. Also has a white background. And a site map (though it's not very good)!
- Silver Light Source (http://www.silverlightsource.com/) (Pagan online shop)
NB - there are so many Pagan web sites out there that I didn't have time to trawl through them all. If you think your web site deserves a mention, email me on Y.Aburrow@bath.ac.uk and I'll consider adding a link to your site. Make sure you've checked out all the usability resources first though.