Teaching and Training: Web Design that Gets the Job Done

by Ellen Foster
Web Design School Review Columnist

It’s just common sense that Web designers must tailor their work to benefit the Web site’s audience. Whether searching for e-commerce, news, or job training, site visitors benefit when Web designers have their needs in mind. The catch? User needs are often as different as users themselves. For Web designers, a Web site’s target audience should dictate the use of graphics, information hierarchy, and site depth. Take a moment to read about Web designs for teaching or training your visitor.

Training Applications Require Linear Web Design

If you’re used to designing information-rich Web sites with complex (and deep) organizational structures, a Web-based training application can throw you for a loop. These types of sites usually limit visitor use to an hour or less. In order to work within this time constraint, you’ll want your Web design to permit as little digression as possible. Avoid extraneous links that may draw your visitor astray; limiting navigation options to “previous” and “next” buttons keeps the visitor moving toward the finish line.

Teaching Applications: Give the Visitor a Little Room to Explore

At first it may seem that Web designs for training and teaching applications would roughly coincide, however, while both applications generally offer a central message for site visitors, teaching applications should allow the visitor more freedom. Teaching sites often present more complex or detailed information, so it’s nice to provide visitors with opportunities to pursue related interests. You may want to offer links to more information; however, if these links take the user away from your Web site, consider grouping them on a separate page. It’s also nice to provide the visitor with a “print” version of this information, in case he or she would like to review it later.

Sources

“Teaching,” Web Style Guide
“Training,” Web Style Guide

About the Author

Ellen Foster is a freelance writer and teacher. She has taught students ages 5 to 45.

Posted at 12:22 PM on March 23, 2007

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