Keep It Simple, Silly!

Viewer Activity

Print this page. Find any web site, print out a copy of it as well. Using the table, evaluate the site to see if it follows the KISS attributes. Make sure you tell why the site does or does not follow the attribute listed in the space provided. Put your name on your paper and turn it into the instructor.

ATTRIBUTES

YES

NO

a

Keep pages balanced

a

Use same colors throughout layout

a

Keep page memory below 60K

a

Use white space effectively

a

Avoid excessive noise

  • Balance: Draw the user into the material with a combination of text descriptions and interesting graphics related to the subjects. The most efficient designs for general (mostly modem-based) Internet audiences tend to use careful layouts of text and links with relatively small graphics.
 
  • Color: The same colors and layout in a site should be used. This makes it easier to read. Veer away from drastic changes, don't use harsh colors, like red text on black backgrounds.
 
  • Memory Specifications: Try to keep (especially the opening page) below 60K. Pages that take five minutes to load often encourage the visitors to click the back button on the browser thus they never actually view the page.
 
  • White Space: Treat white space as more than just a background. Without adequate amounts of white space, text would be unreadable and there would be no easy flow in the layout on the page.
 
  • Excessive Noise: Don't have too much on the page. For example, don't have flashing backgrounds, too many animated graphics, obnoxious music that can't be shut off, and fonts of different sizes. This will cause eyestrain and often put off the viewer.

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