D, U, and A

What do those letters stand for? Design, Usability and Accessibility, the three most important words to a web designer. Design is a natural, but some people don't realize how important the other two are when integrated with Design. In this article Emmanuel King Turner makes the case that information architecture works best when integrated naturally with good design. A flashy package must go with an organized presentation in order to be successful.

A good design without Usability is nothing. Something as simple as site navigation affects usability. Derek Powazek argues that at any given time, a user should be able to glance at a page and tell where exactly he is. From there, one should be able to click and navigate easily to where he wants to go and not be, for instance, sent back to the same page he was on.

Accessibility is the most elusive and, I imagine, most neglected part of web design. When creating a page, all smart designers consider the demographic that they will be appealing to, don't they? But they likely consider that demographic to be comprised of computer users without disabilities. Unfortunately, many websites don't take into account that they might have readers who are blind, paralyzed, or suffering from a learning disability such as dyslexia. Those readers have to use secondary programs such as text readers or move their cursors with means other than a mouse. Accessibility issues can also occur for those using alternative browsing methods, such as a cell phone. Making your site accessible to everyone means capturing the almighty dollar that other companies, like Target, will not get to see.