The design of sites : patterns, principles, and processes for crafting a customer-centered Web experience

In order to survive, Web sites must focus on enhancing the customer experience. This text uses patterns to help Web designers quickly develop a site which is logical, exciting, trustworthy and familiar to visitors. It uses an incremental approach, implementing small steps at a time, to see what works best for each individual site. Based on research, it shows ways to understand customers and their needs, and ways in which to keep customers involved through good design. The patterns cover: different types of sites; creating a powerful home page; managing content; building trust and credibility; enhancing e-commerce; designing easy-to-use page layouts; making navigation easy; speeding up the site; and more.

• Foreword p. xxvii
• Preface p. xxxi
• Acknowledgments p. xxxvii
• Part I Foundations of Web Site Design p. 1
• Chapter 1 Customer-Centered Web Design p. 3
• Chapter 2 Making the Most of Web Design Patterns p. 19
• Chapter 3 Knowing Your Customers: Principles and Techniques p. 31
• Chapter 4 Involving Customers with Iterative Design p. 61
• Chapter 5 Processes for Developing Customer-Centered Sites p. 87
• Part II Patterns p. 107
• A Pattern Group A Site Genres p. 108
• B Pattern Group B Creating a Navigation Framework p. 183
• C Pattern Group C Creating a Powerful Homepage p. 227
• D Pattern Group D Writing and Managing Content p. 243
• E Pattern Group E Building Trust and Credibility p. 315
• F Pattern Group F Basic E-Commerce p. 351
• G Pattern Group G Advanced E-Commerce p. 409
• H Pattern Group H Helping Customers Complete Tasks p. 461
• I Pattern Group I Designing Effective Page Layouts p. 503
• J Pattern Group J Making Site Search Fast and Relevant p. 529
• K Pattern Group K Making Navigation Easy p. 545
• L Pattern Group L Speeding Up Your Site p. 601
• Part III Appendixes p. 625
• Appendix A Running Usability Evaluations p. 627
• Appendix B Sample Web Site Evaluation Plan p. 643
• Appendix C Sample Consent Form p. 647
• Appendix D Sample Observer Form p. 649
• Appendix E Online Research p. 651
• Glossary p. 669
• Resources p. 695
• Credits p. 727
• About the Authors p. 731
• Index p. 733