Introduction

These notes are included to highlight the line of action followed in the planning of the Softeco Sismat website, and as such they are a point of reference for attaining a high level of usability, which is an essential factor for this site, as well as for all Softeco Sismat products.
The aim of this site design is to create a product that:

• can make it possible to trace information easily
• can arouse interest and incite the user to continue navigating
• can persuade users to insert our site in their bookmarks!

In a recent study done on a group of important websites, it was proven that only in 42% of user searches, users succeed in successfully attaining the sought after information. In the other cases, even with a smart interface layout at their disposal, the user faces problems with both the navigation and function.
The aim of the Softeco Sismat website is to meet the needs of its users, within a highly technological context  in the clearest and most efficient way.

Requisites

Who is the target user of this site, and what factors can provoke the navigator to consult the site?
What are the site's aims? What kind of limitations could users have to face in terms of hardware, software, network connections and navigation experience?
All these problems lead to the first definitions in the following fields:

• priority degrees in presenting information
• interface structure and navigation modalities

The Softeco Sismat website has been designed to highlight the Company's skills and potentiality in the most innovative sectors, thus being a reference point aimed at improving and promoting the Company's image.
The typical user of this site is interested in the activities proposed by the Company: they can be a customer, or a potential customer, or merely a person interested in highly technological contexts, perhaps also contemplating a job opportunity.
This website is likewise intended to function as a magazine reporting news and activities concerning the Company that can arouse interest from  outside (workshops, training courses, etc.).

Criteria

It is necessary to give priority to what the user is looking for in terms of content and navigation tools.
The user can gain access to the information required:

• with the fewest possible number of 'clicks' 
• in more than one mode (e. g. also by means of a search engine)
• in the standard mode (i. e. it is possible to find different pieces of information with similar procedures)

In order to navigate smoothly through the site pages, the following elements have been designed and implemented:

• navigation tools on each page (an external search engine could not lead to the home page)
• cross-references (links to contents related to those displayed)
• toolbars grouping tools and controls necessary for  navigation into a rational and easily accessible position
• a search engine to immediately gain access to the pages required

Particular attention has been paid to the links, so that they are:

• clearly listed instead of being inserted in the text
• indicated with texts, and not only with images, as frequently as possible, in order to achieve the optimal clarity

The look of the site is closely related with usability parameters.
In order to achieve greater efficiency, the site designers have:

• optimized colours used in order to speed up downloading and achieve a correct visualization independently of the client browser, operating system or configuration (browser-safe colours)
• maintained a uniform look for the whole site, in order to not confuse the user with layout changes on different pages

The possibility to indifferently choose between different browsers and operating systems to make use of the site is an important requirement, which implies further rules:

• Avoiding use of HTML browser-specific code
• Not adopting excessively complex tables, in order to increase the rendering speed and to avoid substantial differences in the representation by different browsers
• Performing constant tests on different platforms

Architecture

The key aspects of navigability are closely related to architecture and layout.

Some criteria are valid for all pages:
• Insertion of the Company logo in each page, in a clearly recognizable position, in order to make the site always identifiable, also when an external search engine leads to an 'intermediate' page
• Characterization of each page by means of a title, in order to supply a clear and immediate description. Links with a given name lead to pages entitled with the same name
• Conditions implying horizontal scrolling in the navigation window must be avoided: studies on navigability show that the user is more inclined to use  vertical scrolling, and not horizontal scrolling. The various possible visualization conditions on the part of the user (screen resolution, screen size, font size) are to be taken into consideration as well
• Limitation of the page length within two to three times as much as the screen height and supply, if necessary, of content tables to simplify the search
• Adjusting colour hues and contrasts in order to not make the site appear dull, as well as to not create reading difficulties. Excessively wide empty spaces have also been avoided
• Avoiding frames that could imply problems for the bookmark memorization, as well as for history management and print procedures
• Defining and using templates applicable to the various pages of the site in order to define a regular graphic scheme which can be easily completed with the opportune contents. This makes it possible to keep a stylistic consistency among the pages, as well as to make the creation of new pages easier, also by different developers (a website should typically be continuously updated, but not often modified in its structure)
• Introduction of a modular structure (e. g. memorizing as much as possible javascript parts as external files to be imported)
• Links to the home page and to the most important pages must always be present

The most relevant aspects in the home page are the following:

• immediate visualization of the most important contents, i. e. what the user is looking for
• in the presence of important links to other sections of the site, the user is provided with a brief description of the contents they will find
• supply of cross-links beyond the hierarchic structure of the site about the most interesting themes and contents (updating them regularly: a constantly updated site is more interesting than a never changing one!)

There is another very important aspect which is seldom taken into consideration in the planning of a website, i. e. that of texts. Since a website is not a paper document, writing on the Web is not the same thing as creating a traditional document. For this reason many sites offer the possibility to download even very big documents also in different versions (e. g. in Microsoft Word format), in order to get them printed.One should also bear in mind that the reading speed on a monitor decreases by 25% in comparison with reading from paper. The following factors have thus been taken into consideration:

• The user is best disposed to make a fast 'scanning' of the contents rather than reading long texts
• Complete sentences are not necessary: it is better to use few words in order to draw the user's attention
• The terminology used is familiar to the user target
• The top left alignment accords with the most natural text scanning modalities

Finally, some remarks on the use of graphics, that must be primarily directed towards the attainment of usability; it can also be a key element to make the site look agreeable and smart. Also in this case some basic rules have been followed:

• Use of chromatisms in line with those to be found in the Softeco Sismat Company logo, in the product brochures as well as in the Intranet portal
• Clear distinction between buttons and other graphic elements having a functional role, also supplying them with an alternative text
• Strict limitations on the use of animation in the pages, that could cause lack of attention or merely cause annoyance