Web Interfaces: What is a good way to display many static fields?

Question

My web applications have pages that display many static fields.

I know that poor layout invariably leads to information overload and poor readability.

My Question:

Are there any best-practices or heuristics for laying out a screen that contains many static fields?

Ordinarily, I would reference Bill Scott and Theresa Neil's excellent book, but I can't seem to find any guidance for this issue.

Here are some guidelines that I'm inclined to follow:

1. Group related fields.
2. Position the major (or parent) fields towards the top and the left. Position the minor (or child) fields towards the bottom and right.
3. Don't feel obliged to fill every pixel. Consider white space if it will improve readability.
4. Favor progressive disclosure wherever possible.
5. Consider an accordion control.

Answer 1

I think you pretty much answered your own question, especially the grouping of important fields tied to progressive disclosure.

Answer 2

Perhaps a Details on Demand approach would work well. Ask yourself which data are absolutely and immediately relevant to the user and group those, while hiding the other data. You can always provide an 'Expand' link or control that would allow a user to view the details if desired.

(It's good to see that you're looking at interface design patterns. They are often overlooked!)

Answer 3

I work on HR software and have faced this problem many times. One thing that we keep seeing in feedback when we introduce collapse controls or any progressive disclosure pattern really is that our users don't like the way those types of "web 2.0" (their words lol) pages don't print out. So just a reminder if your user base still insists on printing large pages of data include a print media stylesheet.

Depending on how large your set of data is I'd seriously consider a some search functionality or a sorting mechanism. Many times when the data set is large different users have different priorities and allowing customization is the only way to satisfy a wide audience.