Website Design Checklist
Purpose
- Stance: Is the stance clear? Does your site grab the user’s attention in 10 seconds or less?
- Audience: Will the audience understand your site’s purpose? (e.g., clear call to action, project description, or gallery).
- URL: Is the site URL related to the project’s purpose and easy to remember?
Navigation
- Overall Site: Is it easy to move between pages and sections?
- Internal Flow: Is it easy to navigate using buttons or links within each section?
- Menu Clarity: Is the navigation menu clear, or does it need to be simplified/re-organized?
Order & Visual Hierarchy
- Is the order of importance (headlines, subheadlines, photos) clear within the design?
- Does the design clearly indicate how a user should move around the page?
Visual & Multimedia Elements
- Relevance: Are all visuals (including stock photos) connected to the topic?
- Alignment: Are elements arranged neatly to complement surrounding content?
- Accessibility: Do images have simple alt text for screen readers?
- Quality: Are images high quality (no pixelation) and easy to open?
Written Elements
- Font Choice: Are fonts deliberate, legible, and consistent across body text and headlines?
- Scale: Is it easy to distinguish between different kinds of written elements?
- Alignment: Is the text properly aligned to maintain a clean layout?
Color
- Appropriateness: Do the colors fit the project’s specific purpose?
- Cohesion: Is there a purposeful color theme across the entire project?
- Contrast: Are the colors high-contrast enough to be easily readable?
Accessibility Note: Ensuring your website is accessible means more than just alt text. Check your color contrast ratios and ensure your site is navigable via keyboard for a truly inclusive design.