Checklist for Designing Web Page Architecture

Have the technical capabilities of the audience been assessed (i.e., platform, browser, access to application, connection speed, and level of experience with Internet use)?

Is the Information Architecture, outlining the site constituents, understood?

Has the scheme to implement the navigational metaphor been designed?

Does the navigation scheme provide a sense of context and consistency?

Does it facilitate browsing and searching?

Have graphical or textual aids (e.g., hypertext links, arrows, maps or icons) been designed to implement the scheme?

Are the navigational aids in keeping with generally accepted Internet practices (e.g., colored text indicates a hyperlink, or cursor turns into a pointing hand over a hyperlink)?

Has the ability to move easily from any page to any other page on the site been balanced against the provision of unnecessary clutter on each page?

Has the design of standard graphic elements (e.g., corporate logo, icons, or navigation bar) been finalized and approved?

Have colors been selected from the 216 browser safe color palette?

Has the layout of information on each individual page (or type of page) been designed?

Has the medium for each information element been defined (e.g., graphics, text, animation, audio, script, or interactive element)?

Have elements of style and function been balanced in the graphic design of the page layouts?

Have the user interactions as well as the relationships between pages been prototyped?

Have the technical implications of the design been assessed?

Will the type of interaction with the user require excessive traffic on the server?

Have the performance implications been considered?

Have the capabilities of the programming language and the latest tools available in the marketplace been considered when identifying the effects to be realized on each page?

Has the length of time required to implement the design been considered?