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Design

EpicGames.com: A Case Study in Good Web Design

http://www.epicgames.com/

This is for a game publisher, but note how they solve problems common to universal web design.

* The home page is the introduction for 95% of all inbound traffic, it routes people to a bevy of topical info.
* The site serves many audiences using “trailheads” on the home page so visitors can segment themselves to find they content they want.
* It makes use of a central marquis on the home page that displays embedded rich media, something we can scale toward.
* Global nav is succinct and prominently displayed at the top to ensure visibility for all user agents, browsers, mobile, etc.
* Information is displayed in proportion to it’s relevance to the broadest swath of users. The company obviously knows their audiences.
* Utility nav elements are downplayed, but easily accessible. Search is in a global header, links & legal birdseed are in the footer and RSS feeds are couched in topic headers.
* Common UX/UI prompts like rollovers are reserved for ancillary data that is assistive in nature. All primary data a visitors needs is brought to the forefront, they don’t need to hunt and peck for data. This enables visitors to more readily make a decision about what they’d like to consume.
* Note the redundancy in nav links like technology and community which serves distinct visitor browsing styles. This is common software UX/UI practice that works naturally in web design. Think about all the ways you can print a document…File-> Print, CTRL+P, click the printer icon, etc.
* Note the tech page content layout. Content is organized by topic, subtle use of color, text treatment and iconography assist with user consumption. http://www.epicgames.com/technology/