There are many ‘Web Design Myths’, usability and design constraints that clients request having once heard that this is best practice. Most of these have come from the good old days of web design or even from constraints imposed on printed media. It is very often the job of a web designer to gently dispel these myths and dissuade clients from forcing them upon their site designs.

One such myth is the myth of the page fold, the point at which a user needs to scroll down to access content on your site. It was said that users would not scroll the page down meaning all content on your homepage should sit above this virtual line. The term originates from newspapers where the attention grabbing headlines would appear ‘above the fold’ so as to be seen on the newsstands.

Although Jakob Nielson, the self confessed usability guru and friend to all web designers was a big advocate of ‘above the fold’ content layout recent studies utilizing eye tracking software have shown that users almost always spend some time looking at the scrollbar to assess the size of a page.

The study carried out by U.K.-based design agency, CXPartners of 800 users recorded only 3 occasions where users struggled to scroll beyond the virtual fold line. The study also found having less above the fold actually encouraged exploration below the fold, completely dispelling the page fold myth.

As web designer’s we know that usability is as important as compelling content, leading users to the stickiest content first is common sense but trying to cram everything above the fold is just not good practice.

Next week: Debunking the Myth of the Tavistock Badger.

(Opinion: Simon Farow – Head of Digital)

Anyone thinking of going into web design or development should watch this video of Jeffrey Zeldman, one of the people credited with founding web standards. Click here.

(Si – NOW I understand why you keep banging on about AA this and AA that! Jim)

OK, well this might be a bit of a techie rant against the Microsoft machine and its shoddy, market dominating browser, Internet Explorer, but firstly its a valid one and secondly its more about recognising the huge achievements of a lesser known browser, Opera. There are a myriad of different browsers and different browser versions being used all with different capabilities and different ways of displaying the same website content, this makes our jobs as web content creators very tricky. One thing that is fairly unanimously agreed upon throughout the industry is that Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser is by far one of the worst and has gained its share of the market through dirty tricks and lack of user knowledge. Less known though is that a little browser called Opera has been at the forefront of browser innovation for many years, creating new tools to make your life easier that most of us only discover when we auto-download the latest version of Internet Explorer three years later.

Today, we reinvent the Web.

Opera’s latest innovation is called ‘Opera Unite‘. This claims to allow non-technical users to serve and share content and services directly from their own computers via the browser instead of traditionally just viewing content. Time will tell on this latest innovation, but if it’s as good as it claims to be you can expect to see it integrated into Internet Explorer in a couple of years time! The following article highlights some of the browser innovations that are now common place in nearly every browser but started many years previous in the perfectly crafted underdog that is Opera.

www.geektechnica.com/2009/06/8-browser-innovations-started-by-opera

Want to join the 2% of Opera users -  www.opera.com

(Opinion by: Simon Farrow – Web Development Manager)

Supporting this statistic is that over one third (40 per cent) of all adults surveyed said that they would feel more comfortable purchasing from a retailer who offers a wide range of payment methods than a retailer who only offers one payment option. 

To read the full article click here

Search engines exist to provide relevant, useful search results for their users. They are not there to benefit companies who are proficient at optimizing websites. If you think you have thought of a clever way to fool them – forget it. They are not easily tricked and, if they catch you, they will probably ban you. For businesses that depend on leads and enquiries from their websites, this can literally prove fatal.

If you want to drive people to your latest, beautifully designed website, concentrate on the following tips for generating web traffic, and don’t cheat! Click here.

Go to www.ascari.net to see the new website.