Web page design

Published on 12/06/2015 by admin

Last modified 22/04/2025

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18 Web page design

With the growth of the internet, more and more departments are creating their own websites. This section discusses the information required for readers to create and maintain their own departmental website. The final website should be clear to read and accessible to all, it should be able to be quickly downloaded and easy to navigate round. Remember that the UK’s Disability Rights Commission found that if a site is easily accessible to a disabled user then it will be a third quicker for an able-bodied person to complete tasks on the site

Preparation

Who is the website for?	• Staff • The public • Patients • Healthcare professionals • Other organisations
Why is it being produced?	• To give information • To raise the profile of the department • To answer questions from interested parties
When will it be maintained?	• Daily • Weekly • Monthly
What will be included?	• Contact details • Departmental information (location, etc.) • Appointment booking/cancellation • Radiation regulations • Referral procedures • Information about specific procedures • Who’s who in the department • Comments/complaints procedure • Clinical Governance issues • Academic research • Links to other websites
Illustrations?	• Size • Download time • Confidentiality
Accessibility?	Accessible for the: • Visually impaired • Hard of hearing • Elderly Can be achieved by using Cascading Style Sheets

• Web publishing software

• Internet access

Use of Hospital site and host name

Basic design

Text • Use clear and simple language • Consider using bullet points • Keep pages short • Left justify pages (easier to scan	A simple test: • Ask a 10–12 year old to look at the page: Do they understand it? Do they find it easy to navigate? • If not, look at redesigning to make it accessible for all users
Font • Main page – consider using Font size 12 pt • Use scripts that are clear to read	Think about using Arial rather than Vivaldi or Times New Roman
Colour • Do not rely on colour alone to provide information • Try to have good contrast between print and background	• Green links may not be read by the visually impaired or people who are colour blind • Contrast is critical for people who are visually impaired and colour blind. Think about using blue, yellow, white and black • Use text as well, or use shapes or texture
Images • Save images as jpeg files to reduce the memory of the image • Consider compressing images using image editing software	People tend not to use websites that take a long time to download, the larger the file the longer it takes to download and not all users will have Broadband
Disabled Access Can your website be accessed by using: • A mouse • Keyboard • Voice input	• Test your completed website by navigating with just the keyboard – can you access all areas? • Consider using Cascade Style Sheets as these enable different pages to be presented in different styles: On screen In print By voice Braille-based tactile equipment

Creating the site

Planning
The Content of the Home Page Brief introduction and topic menu	Title and introductions are important as the first few words are used by Search Engines to locate your site
Menu Topics These define the subject areas on the web page	Always have an option to return to the Home Page or Main page
Hyperlinked Pages Give details of the topics covered on the site	Bullet point lists are easier to scan than long, wordy paragraphs
Setting up the Site
Web Publishing Software • Needed to design the site • Wizards are easy to follow	Do not forget to Password-protect the site to prevent unauthorised access
Points to Note
• An e-mail address can be included for responses • Use ‘Insert-Break’ for normal sized line breaks • Your Home Page should be in ‘index.htm’ • Use ‘Format–Shared Borders’ to place a list of ‘Hyperlinks’ in all your pages	• Do you have the time to respond promptly to queries? • Enter/Return produces large line breaks