Web Design for a Teenage Audience
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Were now seeing the first generations of teens and young adults that have grown up with the internet. For them its an essential way to do homework find music play games connect with friends read up on sports teams find relevant news read up on issues which affect them and buy a wide variety of goods.
However that doesnt mean that teens are any more adept at using the web than adults. If anything a website needs to be easier to use and offer simpler navigation or teens are likely to surf away. If theres one fair stereotype about teenagers its that patience isnt their strongest point.
Sites need to be clear cool and compelling. But whats cool now is almost guaranteed not to be so in a years time. Before you can say Facebook theres a new site on the block. So what do you need to consider when starting web site development for a teenage audience
Natural born techies
Around 80% of all teenagers in developed countries use the web regularly but that doesnt mean theyre all amazingly technoliterate. Usability studies show that teenagers may struggle with navigation issues more than adults due to poorer attention spans and reading skills. We can bear this in mind when it comes to design:
Make it visual. Try not to include long passages of text or dull lifeless colour schemes. Where you do use text use large clear fonts. However...
Dont fall into the trap of blitzing your site with flashy graphics and animations in an effort to avoid being boring. Many teenfocused sites throw in everything but the kitchen sink. This usually only confuses and irritates users no matter what the age.
Remember teenagers are young adults not children. As soon as they think theyre being talked down to they tend to move on pretty quickly. Dont use childish colours or design. Theyre more likely to react better to clear professional web site design.
Teens are less likely to fill out any registration forms to use a website. This is partly because theyre often warned by teachers and parents to avoid giving personal details out online and partly because of the perceived hassle.
The interactive factor...
To quote web usability expert Jakob Neilsen websites targeted at teenage users should be: simple but not childish and supply plenty of interactive features.
If you can incorporate some interactive or community features into your website teens are more likely to react positively. For example:
Forums and areas for social communication are hugely popular especially if a profile can be tailored to reflect tastes opinions and personality. Teenagers often identify themselves with musical genres films and apparel and so offering the ability to share these tastes is a huge bonus.
The same applies to the ability to upload photos videos audio or other content.
Flash games and animations are very much attractive to younger users but only if theyre well made fun to play and dont take ages to load.
Although not keen on registration forms teenagers are interested in interactive quizzes and even giving feedback.
Ultimately the key when designing for teenagers is not to become obsessed with whats cool. The danger is that whats cool might last the blink of an eye before its deemed overexposed and embarrassing. You need to use simple vivid design and exciting ideas for longer term success.
About the Author
Oliver Pluckrose is the Head of Development for Online Business Solutions UK Limited (OBS Group) a web design agency based in London. Formed in 1998 OBS Groups ethos has always been to provide simple end userdriven web and multimedia development services for a sensible fixed price.
Tags: web site design registration forms web site development passages flashy graphics techies stereotype young adults play games attention spans developed countries colour schemes sports teams reading skills music play
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_809035_4.html