Layout
Frank Minichini
Layout is an important factor in avoiding information overload, because when a user visits a website what they see is what they get. Too much information presented in the layout can result in an information overload. Websites in the past used to suffer from a feature known as using page frames to navigate to different parts of a website. Frames can be annoying to use in a web layout because as it is presented to them, their browser may make the page look more cluttered, especially when viewing the page at a low-resolution and the frames sections would show many unnecessary scrolling bars.
The best way to avoid information overload from a web-layout perspective is to design a page so that way everything is centered. Titles are bolded and used headers to separate the content from its own title. The best practice is to K.I.S. (keeping it simple) which basically means what it says, a web page with less detail, gets straight to the point, will allow the user to be able to look at the website and get the information they need so they can move on with their necessary tasks to do. Another way to avoid information overload is to avoid using cluttered items. Filling up a page with unnecessary links, pictures, text, will make the page more detailed, but it would also be more likely to cause an information overload.