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scott_lynch is looking for suggestions about author websites, which reminded me that when I was trying to figure out what I wanted my website to do, I spent an afternoon trawling through author websites and came up with, aside from a bad case of bleeding eyeballs, a list of Do's and Don'ts, most of which I'm pleased to observe I have followed my own self.
Legibility first.
Main font MUST have good italics
Accessibility should be part of the design.
Provide information about browsers, fonts, etc.--not ultimatums
The front page should be ONE screen, should explain the site's raison d'etre.
What's with these contentless entry pages?
Too many sites with nice front pages can't be bothered to carry through.
A little self-deprecation is okay, if handled correctly, but not to the point that it looks defensive.
Don't apologize or be defensive about web design choices (i.e., lack of graphics, etc.).
DON'T pretend world and/or characters are real.
Even if you have invented a language and/or alphabet (and even if it IS really cool), don't USE it on the website (explaining is okay, if necessary).
Cryptic is not cool.
Do not "sign" the webpage.
People can make up their own minds about bookmarking.
The site should be MORE than just a brag sheet.
Avoid at all costs seeming too self-satisfied.
Blurbs (either quotes from reviews or back-cover "read me now" descriptions) should be optional, if present at all; they CERTAINLY should not head the page.
Avoid "cute" and obvious metaphors, like talking about the site as if it were an RL house.
Provide content other than the endless variations on "Hi! I'm an Author!"
Yes, this is self-promotion, but it should feel as much as possible as if it isn't.
Grunge fonts are bad for menu items.
Uncials don't work as a content font, even for menu items.
Navigation should be intuitive and transparent.
The menu should (a) LOOK like a menu and (b) be readily legible in terms of size, font, and color; graphics should be secondary to the menu's purpose as a navigation tool.
The menu should also look attractive.
Menus should not be big, ugly icons with no text.
Drop-downs in the main menu don't make me happy.
It is okay for the menu to scroll off the screen.
Too much of any red is bad; too much primary red is painful: no bright red.
Blue on gray is ugly (favorite of science fiction authors).
Dark backgrounds in general are bad.
White-on-black is unreadable.
Too many fantasy authors use green, probably because it looks "Celtic."
Romance writers are drawn to purple.
Yellow, like red, is always heinous.
Orange and black look Halloween-y, not Gothic.
NO CELTIC-STYLE ANYTHING.
Use no graphics that simulate staring into bright lights.
The background MAY NOT distract from the content.
If images are obtrusively weird, then they should be explained.
No bandwidth hogs--except on a separate page and properly labelled.
Centering is not an infallible layout technique.
Right-justified isn't all that cool, either.
Webpage logos and titles should not be large or obtrusive.
Don't WASTE space.
Minimal CLUTTER: too many small boxes are bad.
Don't much care for what a multitude of buttons does to a page layout.
No horizontal scrolling
Consistent design for all pages; use IMAGES to avoid boredom.
No endless boxed off columns.
Beveling doesn't make boxes any better.
You should not have to scroll down to find the menu.
We wish to walk the fine line between visually interesting and distracting.
Rainbow links bad.
Over-produced is as bad or worse than underproduced.
No spawning new windows.
No sounds.
No animations.
No flashing stuff.
No plug-ins.
PROOFREAD.
scott_lynch is looking for suggestions about author websites, which reminded me that when I was trying to figure out what I wanted my website to do, I spent an afternoon trawling through author websites and came up with, aside from a bad case of bleeding eyeballs, a list of Do's and Don'ts, most of which I'm pleased to observe I have followed my own self.Legibility first.
Main font MUST have good italics
Accessibility should be part of the design.
Provide information about browsers, fonts, etc.--not ultimatums
The front page should be ONE screen, should explain the site's raison d'etre.
What's with these contentless entry pages?
Too many sites with nice front pages can't be bothered to carry through.
A little self-deprecation is okay, if handled correctly, but not to the point that it looks defensive.
Don't apologize or be defensive about web design choices (i.e., lack of graphics, etc.).
DON'T pretend world and/or characters are real.
Even if you have invented a language and/or alphabet (and even if it IS really cool), don't USE it on the website (explaining is okay, if necessary).
Cryptic is not cool.
Do not "sign" the webpage.
People can make up their own minds about bookmarking.
The site should be MORE than just a brag sheet.
Avoid at all costs seeming too self-satisfied.
Blurbs (either quotes from reviews or back-cover "read me now" descriptions) should be optional, if present at all; they CERTAINLY should not head the page.
Avoid "cute" and obvious metaphors, like talking about the site as if it were an RL house.
Provide content other than the endless variations on "Hi! I'm an Author!"
Yes, this is self-promotion, but it should feel as much as possible as if it isn't.
Grunge fonts are bad for menu items.
Uncials don't work as a content font, even for menu items.
Navigation should be intuitive and transparent.
The menu should (a) LOOK like a menu and (b) be readily legible in terms of size, font, and color; graphics should be secondary to the menu's purpose as a navigation tool.
The menu should also look attractive.
Menus should not be big, ugly icons with no text.
Drop-downs in the main menu don't make me happy.
It is okay for the menu to scroll off the screen.
Too much of any red is bad; too much primary red is painful: no bright red.
Blue on gray is ugly (favorite of science fiction authors).
Dark backgrounds in general are bad.
White-on-black is unreadable.
Too many fantasy authors use green, probably because it looks "Celtic."
Romance writers are drawn to purple.
Yellow, like red, is always heinous.
Orange and black look Halloween-y, not Gothic.
NO CELTIC-STYLE ANYTHING.
Use no graphics that simulate staring into bright lights.
The background MAY NOT distract from the content.
If images are obtrusively weird, then they should be explained.
No bandwidth hogs--except on a separate page and properly labelled.
Centering is not an infallible layout technique.
Right-justified isn't all that cool, either.
Webpage logos and titles should not be large or obtrusive.
Don't WASTE space.
Minimal CLUTTER: too many small boxes are bad.
Don't much care for what a multitude of buttons does to a page layout.
No horizontal scrolling
Consistent design for all pages; use IMAGES to avoid boredom.
No endless boxed off columns.
Beveling doesn't make boxes any better.
You should not have to scroll down to find the menu.
We wish to walk the fine line between visually interesting and distracting.
Rainbow links bad.
Over-produced is as bad or worse than underproduced.
No spawning new windows.
No sounds.
No animations.
No flashing stuff.
No plug-ins.
PROOFREAD.
