Intranet Design vs. Internet Design

How is Designing for an Intranet Different? (conclusion)

It's important to find a balance between appearance and function. If your site has colors that clash, fonts that are hard to read, or backgrounds that are annoying, no one will visit your site long enough to glean the important information they need. On the other hand, if your site has so many effects that it is distracting, then users might either forget why they came to your site in the first place, or lose focus and stay on your site so long that they waste time.

Usability testing with several different design layouts can help you decide on a navigational structure that achieves a balance. Once you find a structure that works for your organization, it's a good idea to use it as your design standard. Additionally, the design standards should be made available on the intranet, so that other designers can use them.

In Designing Web Usability, Jakob Nielsen stated, "Consistency is important for all user interfaces, but it is essential for intranet usability because users will move between a large number of pages every day. If all pages have similar conventions for where to find what information and for how they use links, then your employees will be much more efficient in their intranet use" (280). So, using a design standard for your intranet will be very important.

Here are some tips for intranet design standards:

Remember that intranet users are always on a mission to get information or complete tasks. They are almost never there just to browse. As a result, intranet designers must provide very efficient navigation tools. It is a good idea to offer several different types of tools-perhaps a menu bar across both the top and bottom of the screen, an alphabetical site index, and an option for text-only or a printer-friendly version.

Intranet users spend a lot of time on the intranet-but they do so in frequent but short intervals. Intranet designers should remember that they don't have to worry about keeping users' attention. There is little need for interactivity on intranets, for example. Most users won't be on a site long enough to engage in a chat or submit a response.

On an intranet, is vital that users be able to distinguish information that is trade secret or confidential from information that is common knowledge. Intranet designers must label all aspects of each site. In some cases, it is wise to use a symbol in order to signify a link or section that contains confidential information. For example, on my company's intranet site, a small icon of a lock appears beside links to anything that is considered confidential. Some areas of the intranet even require additional passwords for access.

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