Re: [IxDA Discuss] Visual Importance of Page Titles
Thanks to everyone for your input. A few points/clarifications: - We are not considering removing the page titles, just determining whether it should be placed/weighted in such a manner that it is very much obvious - Our 'banners' are not ads, really. They are large graphics that promote something within that section; the main topic of choice at the moment, so clicking on it will not take the user out of the path. Instead, it will hopefully get them to information they want (yes, based on what that business owner wants them to want ;) ) - Someone emailed me asking for more detail about the 'genre of page' in question. First off, it's less about the genre of a page or set of pages, as it is about developing a cohesive architecture across our site. Understandably, there is the possibility of having a couple/few different structures based on the content of a page. However, I tend to think that a page's title should be handled similarly throughout a site. That said, the 'genre' of our pages is software sales/support and security information. We are broken up by type of consumer. - Lastly, we don't run a 'banner' graphic on every single page, so there are many cases - typically the 3rd level or further in - where a more obvious page title wouldn't 'interfere' with anything else on the page. The more I've been thinking about it while reading all your replies, the more I think I'm realizing that our current language is mixing a 'section heading' with a page title. Meaning, we are placing the same level of emphasis and importance on language that identifies: A) the section of the site (e.g., consumer segment, store, etc.); and B) the title of the content page within that segment/store/etc. So, I've got some more thinking to do... and your input is very helpful! Best, Jennifer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=39171 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Visual Importance of Page Titles
Have both but in a way where the user clearly sees the title and the banner message. How about something like this: title - top left menu - top right banner - right underneath title and menu And have the banner be something the user can interact with, e.g. if they click on a part of the banner, it takes them to another section of the site. If the title and menu are aligned...title won't go missed. And take the gestalt approach, make sure everything blends together in a way that the user feels comfortable; organized and structured as a whole. http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/gestalt_principles_of_form_perception.html . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=39171 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Visual Importance of Page Titles
What Courtney said. That's true. Not to mention the fact that if your users eyes are immediately drawn to a banner, you risk losing them to the response to that call to action. Oh, but they can come back really easily (say your detractors). No doubt, but why would they. Once a call to action is responded to (and this doesn't mean the user takes an action that's discernible to an observer), the whole site is likely to fall off the mental to-do list. And then there are all the studies which universally show that users basically skip whatever's first on the page if it looks at all ad- like, so what are your "meaty messages" doing up there in the first place? Katie Albers Founder & Principal Consultant FirstThought User Experience Strategy & Project Management 310 356 7550 ka...@firstthought.com On Feb 24, 2009, at 12:56 PM, Jordan, Courtney wrote: Title! Title! Just as you said, title is what users are looking for to ensure them they're in the right place. If users don't immediately see the expected title when they click from some similarly labeled call to action, uncertainty sets in. Did I click the right link? Am I in the right place? Important elements that provide users with a sense of place and ensure them that they're not lost (and that the company is taking care of them, at least while they're on the site) should always take precedence over marketing banners for the best user experience. Courtney -Original Message- From: discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf Of Jennifer Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 4:54 AM To: disc...@ixda.org Subject: [IxDA Discuss] Visual Importance of Page Titles Hi everyone, We have a bit of an internal debate going on about the importance of page titles - from a visual standpoint - as compared with other elements of a page. That is to say, should a page title (what displays *on* the page, not in the browser frame) be the most important item of information on the page that a user first sees upon arriving there? Or, should the key marketing message - in our case, a 'banner' image/graphic - take priority over a page title? The argument for a page title being more important is that its raison d'etre is to help the user understand where they've arrived at. The argument for the 'banner' message being more important is that it is the 'meat' that we want users to see and interact with. In this case, it's not being suggested to remove page titles; instead, to make them considerably smaller so that the focus is on the banner space (which is top/center and large). Thoughts? Opinions? I'd love your input! Regards, Jennifer Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Visual Importance of Page Titles
I think you can, and should, have both. The page title can be obvious and clear to the user, while there can also be a clear call to action (your marketing splash). Your title is not only the description of the page's content, it's part of the navigational scent of the site, and as such is can't be left out. This in no way stops you from having a clear "center" to the page's content. In fact, having a primary focus to your content is better than scattering the focus. If marketing wants to leave the title off completely, that's a problem not only in usability but in SEO. There's a reason the H1 tags are important to search engines - they're important to users! And as search engines overcome the Heisenbergian issue of depth of analysis vs breadth of pages, things like semantically sound page construction will become even more important. bests, Alex P.S. As an aside, I would recommend trying to eliminate either-or questions in design. Frequently there are many choices, not just two, and in the few cases where their truly are only two options, the attempt to find more will be the exception that proves the rule. :-) The tyranny of dichotomy limits much more than it resolves. -- The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The next best time is now. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Visual Importance of Page Titles
I might get shot for this, but the page title isn't the most important thing on the page. "The thing the page is supposed to do or say." That's the most important thing on the page. The title's reason for being is, indeed, to tell people they are where they intended to be. Therefore, it must be easy to find and perhaps even subconsciously scanned while one absorbs the whole page. But I disagree that it should be more important/prominent (in general) than a marketing message in the banner. If you can tell the page title at a glance and it's only 12 px, then it has served its purpose. Of course, on a case by case basis, you can easily find marketing messages that are less important than the page title, but that's a different question. 2 cents =] Bryan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=39171 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Visual Importance of Page Titles
Title! Title! Just as you said, title is what users are looking for to ensure them they're in the right place. If users don't immediately see the expected title when they click from some similarly labeled call to action, uncertainty sets in. Did I click the right link? Am I in the right place? Important elements that provide users with a sense of place and ensure them that they're not lost (and that the company is taking care of them, at least while they're on the site) should always take precedence over marketing banners for the best user experience. Courtney -Original Message- From: discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf Of Jennifer Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 4:54 AM To: disc...@ixda.org Subject: [IxDA Discuss] Visual Importance of Page Titles Hi everyone, We have a bit of an internal debate going on about the importance of page titles - from a visual standpoint - as compared with other elements of a page. That is to say, should a page title (what displays *on* the page, not in the browser frame) be the most important item of information on the page that a user first sees upon arriving there? Or, should the key marketing message - in our case, a 'banner' image/graphic - take priority over a page title? The argument for a page title being more important is that its raison d'etre is to help the user understand where they've arrived at. The argument for the 'banner' message being more important is that it is the 'meat' that we want users to see and interact with. In this case, it's not being suggested to remove page titles; instead, to make them considerably smaller so that the focus is on the banner space (which is top/center and large). Thoughts? Opinions? I'd love your input! Regards, Jennifer Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
