Checklist for Checking of Design considerations of Websites

Posted in: Checklists for Testers & Developers

Checklist for Checking of Design considerations of Websites

General design checking checklist is a very powerful fact-gathering tool deployed to ensure that our new web application behaves as expected from several design considerations.

Sr.	Check Point	Yes/No
Check Points related to Home Page & Inner Pages
1.	Home page logo is larger and more centrally placed than on other pages.
2.	Home page includes navigation, summary of news/promotions, and a search feature.
3.	Home page answers: Where am I; What does this site do; How do I find what I want?
4.	Larger navigation space on home page, smaller on subsequent pages.
5.	Logo is present and consistently placed on all subsequent pages (towards upper left hand corner).
6.	“Home” link is present on all subsequent pages (but not home page).
7.	If sub-sites are present, each has a home page, and includes a link back to the global home page.
Check Points related to General Page Design
1.	Content accounts for 50% to 80% of a page’s design (what’s left over after logos, navigation, non-content imagery, ads, white space, footers, etc.).
2.	Page elements are consistent, and important information is above the fold.
3.	Pages load in 10 seconds or less on users bandwidth.
4.	Pages degrade adequately on older browsers.
5.	Text is over plain background, and there is high contrast between the two.
6.	Link styles are minimal (generally one each of link, visited, hover, and active states). Additional link styles are used only if necessary.
7.	Specified the layout of any liquid areas (usually content) in terms of percentages.
Check Points related to Fonts and Graphics
1.	Graphics are properly optimized.
2.	Text in graphics is generally avoided.
3.	Preferred fonts are used: Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans-serif.
4.	Fonts, when enlarged, don’t destroy layout.
5.	Images are reused rather than rotated.
6.	Page still works with graphics turned off.
7.	Graphics included are necessary to support the message.
8.	Fonts are large enough and scalable.
9.	Browser chrome is removed from screen shots.
10.	Animation and 3D graphics are generally avoided.
Check Points related to Content Design
1.	Uses bullets, lists, very short paragraphs, etc. to make content better viewable.
2.	Articles are structured with better viewable nested headings.
3.	Content is formatted in chunks targeted to user interest, not just broken into multiple pages.
4.	No moving text; most of the text is left justified; sans serif for small text; no uppercase sentences / paragraphs; italics and bold are used sparingly.
5.	Dates follow the international format (year-month-day) or are written out (July 30, 2010).
Check Points related to Page Titles
1.	Follows title strategy … Page Content Descriptor : Site Name, Site section (E.g.: Content Implementation Guidelines : CDG Solutions, Usability Process )
2.	Tries to use only two to six words, and makes their meaning clear when taken out of context.
3.	The first word(s) are important information-carrying one(s).
4.	Avoids making several page titles start with the same word.
Check Points related to General Headlines
1.	Describes the article in terms that relate to the user.
2.	Uses plain language.
3.	Avoids enticing teasers that don’t describe.
Check Points related to CSS
1.	Uses CSS to format content appearance (as supported by browsers), rather than older HTML methods.
2.	Uses a browser detect and serve the visitor a CSS file that is appropriate for their browser/platform combination.
3.	Uses linked style sheets.
Check Points related to Naming Conventions
1.	Uses clients preferred naming method. If possible, uses longer descriptive names (like “content_design.htm” vs. “contdes.htm”).
2.	Uses alphanumeric characters (a-z, 0-9) and – (dash) or _ (underscore) Doesn’t use spaces in file names.
3.	Avoids characters, which require a shift key to create, or any punctuation other than a period.
4.	Uses only lower-case letters.
5.	Ends filenames in .htm (not .html).
Check Points related to Writing
1.	Writing is brief, concise, and well edited. Information has persistent value.
2.	Avoids vanity pages.
3.	Starts each page with the conclusion, and only gradually added the detail supporting that conclusion.
4.	One idea per paragraph.
5.	Uses simple sentence structures and words.
6.	Gives users just the facts. Uses humor with caution.
7.	Uses objective language.
Check Points related to Folder Structure
1.	Folder names are all lower-case and follow the alpha-numeric rules found under “Naming Conventions”
2.	Segmented the site sections according to: Root directory (the “images” folder usually goes at the top level within the root folder)
3.	Sub-directories (usually one for each area of the site, plus an images folder at the top level within the root directory)
4.	Images are restricted to one folder (“images”) at the top level within the root directory (for global images) and then if a great number of images are going to be used only section-specifically, those are stored in local “images” folders