This tolerance factor is particularly important to consider when designing media-rich Web sites. Because your students must access the materials to excel in the course, their tolerance for delays will be higher than that of a casual user. Nonetheless, to design an effective media interface, high-demand content such as large images or media files should not be part of your basic page design. These materials should appear on secondary pages that are described and can be accessed from the main pages of your site. For example, the thumbnail interface to the image collection on the Africa Focus Web site provides users with three options for viewing search results.
Users can browse thumbnails before electing to load the full-sized images.
Provide information about your media so users can make informed decisions. Large files and proprietary formats are not the bane of the Web. Indeed, the Web thrives in part because it provides access to materials in different formats. The trouble comes when users happen upon high-demand materials and are unprepared to receive them. For example, we all dread the moment when, on loading a Web page, the browser announces some sort of system deficiency.