Web Design vs. Print Design

The web is not print; it is not a CD-ROM. Although it has words and images like printed materials and uses multimedia like CD-ROMs, the web is its own unique medium: it has its own language, issues, and problems. A web site must travel across networks and function on unknown computers and on various browsers, which will display pages differently.

"Users of web documents don't just look at information, they interact with it in novel ways that have no precedents in document design" (Lynch and Horton 11). Web sites respond to users' input: a mouse click transports them to another page or to an entirely different site. Users can type a key word in a search field, and after another mouse click, the page will display dozens of sites containing that key word. Web sites await users' input--users have different experiences when surfing the web because they have their own way of interacting with the site.

Web pages are more than printed pages transmitted electronically. Web pages are fundamentally different from print media: a great print design cannot be replicated into a great web design. (2.3) Different approaches need to be used to capitalize on the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of each medium. Print design differs from web design in four areas: dimensionality, navigation, response time, and interactivity.

Dimensionality: Print design is linear. The reader turns the page for more information. Considerable attention is placed on layout, usually a fixed page size. Print design relies on the user's eye to scan through information. In contrast, web design is nonlinear; users scan horizontally and scroll vertically through information on various levels. Unlike in print, precise placement of elements on a web page is impossible; their placement can only be approximated. Web page sizes vary in length and width, relying on the user's hand to move through information by scrolling and clicking.