Why the web isn't the same as paper

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

The web is not paper - it's a relatively new medium and in fact, it's often referred to as just that, "new media". Practical graphic design on the web is still less than ten years old really and this means that plenty of so-called web designers are really just print graphic designers trying to transfer their methods onto a computer screen. What you have to remember though, is that the web is not paper so these methods do not always transfer well:

1) Paper Doesn't Scroll:

If you design a site to fit onto one sheet of A4, you are doing your visitors a disservice. Text on the web has a potentially infinite amount of space. Why make your visitor press a button to go to your next page? Stick to the rule of one page for one article, and you'll do much better in retaining your visitors (as long as you provide useful content!)

2) Paper Has No Bandwidth Issues:

You can cover a sheet of paper with all the pictures and backgrounds you like, and it doesn't take any more time to pick it up and read it. That's not true on the web - despite most people being on bandwidth and being able to download large animations and high numbers of graphics easily, there are still plenty of people out there using the web on dial-up. It's a surefire way to lose your visitor if they have to sit and wait while your design loads, when all they wanted to do was read some text.

3) Columns Work on Paper:

One of the biggest issues for print designers is that they find it difficult not to use columns. The web is a different type of media from print and columns do not work. Reading left-to-right in a narrow column on a computer screen is difficult - using full widths means that text selection and browser resizing is far easier for your visitors.

4) Paper Isn't Linked:

One of the easiest ways to spot a site designed by a print designer is the lack of links and notes like "go to our downloads page to see..." Links make the web what it is, and make it easier for your visitors to navigate your site.

5) Paper Will Only Be Seen One Way:

Web pages will be seen in a variety of web browsers, in all sorts of screen sizes and on many different devices. You can't control the way your website looks to every visitor; what you're doing is offering a set of guidelines, for their software to interpret and display. If they choose to make all their fonts larger because they have visual difficulties, who are you to set your page to override that?

The web designer's role isn't to make sure that everyone sees the design exactly as they intended rather to let as many people as possible see the site as close to the intended design as possible.

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