This is the ninth in a series of rules for website design, which I began writing in June 2008. I have so far covered basic topics such as website size, website backgrounds, website colours (including link colours), website layout, and—in the last 2 rules—the central importance of communication.
A rule, in my terms, is a bit of advice that you should always follow—unless, in the particular case, you know better. A rule should never be broken unknowingly. It is worth knowing, and worth remembering. So here is the ninth rule.
9. Put elements in expected places,
There are places where people expect to find particular Web page elements, like the website logo, website navigation, website search. If you want your visitors to find these elements quickly, put them in the obvious places. Put the logo at the top left of the page, before anything else. Put the primary navigation at the bottom of the page header, under the logo. Put the search box on the right hand side of the Web page, at or near the top.
Well, that’s definite enough, I should imagine. And of course a particular Web design can call for quite different positioning. I quite often break this rule myself. But only in the spirit I have defined. In the case of each particular Web site or Web page. I consider the default places, and only choose another when I am quite sure it will be better.
