How to Design Websites for Kids
Children are spending more and more time online; the internet is a teaching aid for reading, math, history and science and even is a tool for teaching fundamental skills to preschool-aged kids. Websites for kids require a different design aesthetic than they do for adults. Kids need bright, upbeat sites with large fonts and simple content. Designing sites for children requires easy usability and a lot of animation. If you follow a few simple rules when designing children's websites, you can make a successful site that is entertaining and educational.
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Instructions
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Choose the color scheme for your websites. Websites for kids should be brightly colored and upbeat. You'll often find that the color schemes you use for children could never be used for adult websites; however, it is these bright colors that draw children in and keep them entertained. Use a color-picking tool, such as ColorSchemer.com or PageTutor.com, to help you choose colors and shades that complement each other well.
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Create a happy, vibrant mood for your website. Choose a happy, positive focal point for your website. For instance, if you are designing an online gaming site, create a happy, friendly-looking character to greet the child visually when she first visits the site, and incorporate the character throughout the site.
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Incorporate nature themes into the site. Children enjoy scenes from nature because these scenes give them a peaceful feeling, and it's something recognizable and that relates to them. Whether it's bright sunshine, flowers or underwater scenes, they will appeal visually to the child and make them more comfortable using the site.
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Design large graphic elements. Large, bubbly designs, especially ones that talk or interact with the child, will keep the child's attention longer. Also, design graphics with depth and layers. Incorporate outdoor scenes outside a window in a room scene, characters and visual elements that look thee-dimensional, and realistic images because children like to lose themselves in a "virtual world."
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Decide what action you want the child to take on your site, and then position bold calls-to-action throughout the design. If you want them to play certain games or sign up for a mailing list, have the talking characters encourage them to take action, post signs along the road in the virtual world, and create a pop-up window that gives them the option as they leave the page. Use simple language that is straight to the point because they are not likely to spend much time reading on the site.
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Provide printable pages for the kids to print off and use offline. Make printable color pages and simple games, such as connect the dots and tic-tac-toe. Also, create an area for the child to design and "paint" on your site and then print off their creations for their parents to see. Not only will the kids want to come back to your site, but the parents will encourage them to do so because painting offline is a lot cleaner than painting online.
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Create sound effects for your site. Make a site with a talking navigation bar, sound effects and talking instructions. This will help children who cannot yet read very well use the site. Design the site, so when the child hovers over the navigation or certain words, the words are repeated out loud for them as well.
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