While doing some research on search engine optimization (SEO) for my web design book, I came across a page from Google’s User Experience team that discusses the organization’s design principles. Upon reading these principles, I felt compelled to share it with the world (or at least the three people who read my blog ).

The folks at Google have come up with a “words to live by” list for web designers everywhere – not just those employed by Google. Here are the top ten principles. Read the details at Google’s site.

1. Focus on people – their lives, their work, their dreams… above all, a well-designed product is useful in daily life.
2. Every millisecond counts… unnecessary clicks, typing, steps, and other actions are eliminated.
3. Simplicity is powerful… think twice before sacrificing simplicity in pursuit of a less important feature.
4. Engage beginners and attract experts… the best designs appear quite simple on the surface but include powerful features that are easily accessible to those users who want them.
5. Dare to innovate… it is the element of imagination that transforms designs from ho-hum to delightful.
6. Design for the world… design products that are contextually relevant and available through the medium and methods that make sense to users. [Amen!]
7. Plan for today’s and tomorrow’s business… if a profitable design doesn’t please users, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
8. Delight the eye without distracting the mind… a positive first impression makes users comfortable, assures them that the product is reliable and professional, and encourages people to make the product their own.”
9. Be worthy of people’s trust… make sure the interface is efficient and professional, actions are easily reversed, ads are clearly identified, terminology is consistent, and users are never unhappily surprised.
10. Add a human touch… text and design elements should be friendly, quirky, and smart – not boring, close-minded, or arrogant.

I’m usually a fan of the underdog. Chris Daughtry was one (he didn’t WIN American Idol, or really come that close, but look at him now). And what about poor Tom (the cat) of the Tom and Jerry duo? Of course, one of the most famous underdogs was David, who beat the giant Goliath with his slingshot. And anyone who knows me even a little bit knows I am a die-hard Apple fan. But here’s one case where I am not: search engines.

I did use AltaVista for a long time after many others came on the scene. I guess I felt a bit loyal to the first major search engine. But after Google went big-time, I abandoned the AV ship for good.

Over the past decade, many search engines have come (and gone). Remember Excite? OK, it still exists, but no one really uses it (sorry if any Excite lovers are reading this). But only one has dug in its heals and garnered 84.5% of the market share.

Sometimes clients ask about the benefits of advertising on any other search engine, and I usually say this: what benefits? When one company has 84.5% of the search engine market share, you can usually get a pretty good return on your investment by putting your money in that “basket.”

Yes, I realize that I’m telling you to ignore 15.5% of the market. It might be harder to ignore that portion if there was one other search engine with a larger percentage. But, given that the 15.5% is broken up into several other smaller portions, it just doesn’t make sense to focus energies there… at least not until you’ve “wrapped up” the 84.5% portion.

I’m certainly still rooting for a few of the underdogs (such as Bing), just not putting my money with them… yet.

I recently came across some interesting comments about what designers commonly refer to as “the page fold.” In the print world, this concept originated with folded newspapers. The theory is that any content displayed “above the fold” on the top page would be the key to someone buying the paper and continuing to read. Without something to hook readers in that section, you risk them not picking up the paper at all.

That concept has carried over into web design, with designers and content developers pushing the content most likely to hook readers into the area immediately visible without scrolling. Is that unwarranted?

A design agency in the UK thinks so. But I’m not entirely convinced. For example, I just read about Facebook’s new redesign. Based on customer feedback, they are moving the birthday list “above the fold.” In other words, customers don’t like having to scroll to see who’s celebrating a birthday. Or, more likely, they are missing birthdays because the information is not immediately visible when the page loads. (Confession time: I admit to the later.)

So here’s what I think: users will scroll for information they deem scroll-worthy. However, they might get lazy and forget sometimes, so just in case you might want to put the really-good stuff in the top part of the page (you know, the place otherwise referred to as “above the fold”)…

The fourth edition of my first book is now shipping. I wrote the first edition 10 years ago, during my oldest daughter’s first year of life. I can’t believe it has been that long! In many ways it feels like yesterday, but I digress

The new edition has been updated to address the latest version of Internet Explorer, as well as the upcoming HTML5. In addition, it has a brand new chapter on creating HTML for email. (Which, by the way, I was really excited to include!)

As always, I look forward to helping you learn to create your own web pages. Keep the valuable feedback coming, as that is what helps me make each edition better.

Download the project files for the fourth edition.
Now, I move on to my next project, which is a long-awaited update to my Web Design book. Happy coding!

I’ve been thinking about redesigning my site (it’s about time), but like the old adage about the cobbler’s kids wearing old shoes, my site often takes a back seat (particularly when I’m busy). While I am quite busy these days, I have been feeling a strong desire to let out my interest in “vintage grunge” design. I’m not sure when or how that will play out, but in the meantime, I thought you might enjoy this collection of vintage design on the web for inspiration…

Click this preview to see the entire list: