Tips for Designing a Child-Friendly Site
In case you have a product or store that is targeted at children specifically, it would be advisable to design a site which is child-friendly. The following are some of the things you need to consider when building such a site.
1. Comply with legal regulations
Most countries have laws and regulations which protect young children from submitting any personal details online without their parent’s permission. If your site will require users to share personal details, be sure to add a privacy policy requesting for parental consent and showing what information will be required and how it will be used. Remember to clarify whether or not the personal details collected will be shared with third parties.
2. Use fun graphics and bright colors
If you are targeting children, use a bold design with splashes of color. Vibrant colors, such as bright yellows and reds, are especially effective for grabbing the attention of children. Animated images are also very powerful. You can find a wide range of child-friendly and royalty-free photos at sites such as iStockphoto or Fotosearch.
3. Add information for parents
Most parents are concerned about what their children get involved with online. You should therefore include an informative ‘parents’ section’, offering details about your store, products and company. This will enable them to make informed decisions.
4. Use clearly visible navigation icons
You need to make it as easy as possible for any child to get around your site. Use large, picture-based buttons to navigate around the different sections of your site.
5. Link wisely
Be careful to link only to sites which are credible. Never make the mistake of including links to sites which have content that would be unsuitable for children. Take time to confirm that all outgoing links are safe. Once in a while, check the links again to be sure that they lead to the same sites. In case they get suspicious, just remove them.
6. Try out the site
Before launching your site, you should first test it to see if it actually appeals to children. One of the best ways of doing this is by forming a ‘focus group’ comprised of a few children and allowing them to experiment with your site. Observe how easily they are able to navigate between different sections. Find out if there are any symbols or words that are not clearly understood. Listen to the feedback from your focus group and make the necessary adjustments to your site before you get it online.
