Trends in Online Advertising

Regular web users will almost certainly be aware of an increasing amount of ‘invasive’ advertising appearing online. A variety of methods are now being used to make online advertising almost unavoidable for the user.

Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>Usability

Trust by Design

Studies regarding how people evaluate a web site's credibility show the critical importance of information design and structure. Users trust sites that are well-designed and well-organized. Poor navigation is the key element that decreases earned web credibility.

Semantic Studios (2004). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Rhetoric

The Truth About Google's So-Called "Simplicity"

Anybody can make a simple-looking interface if the system only does one thing. If you want to do one of the many other things Google is able to do, oops, first you have to figure out how to find it, then you have to figure out which of the many offerings to use, then you have to figure out how to use it.

Norman, Donald A. uiGarden (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Search

Turn Usable Content into Winning Content

Findable. Scannable. Readable. Concise. Layered. We know much these days about how to make Web content usable--thanks to experts such as Robert Horn, Jakob Nielsen, Ginny Redish, and Gerry McGovern. What we don't understand as well, however, is how to make content win users over to take the actions we want them to take or have the perceptions we want them to have. We don't understand how to make Web content both usable and persuasive. I, by no means, intend to imply that we should sacrifice the usability of content to make it more persuasive. Truly winning content must be both.

Jones, Colleen. UXmatters (2008). Articles>Web Design>Usability

Two Sigma: Usability and Six Sigma Quality Assurance

On average across many test tasks, users fail 35% of the time when using websites. This is 100,000 times worse than six sigma's requirement, but Web usability can still benefit from a six sigma quality approach.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2003). Articles>Web Design>Usability

UK Accessibility Investigation of 1,000 Web Sites - Results Released

An investigation of 1000 UK Web sites carried out on behalf of the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) reveals unacceptably poor (in fact woeful) accessibility. At least 81% of sites failed to meet the minimum accessibility standard, and this figure is likely to be much higher.

Dodd, Jon. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability

Understanding Usability Issues of Bidirectional Bilingual Websites

Over the past ten years, there has been an ever-increasing amount of usability recommendations for improving website design. Much of the data has focused on navigation of single-language websites. But few studies have tackled the problems of bilingual sites, and virtually no information has been gathered about usability of bilingual or multilingual sites where the languages are not written in the same direction (for example, English, which is read from left-to-right, and Hebrew, which is read from right-to-left).

Guren, Leah. Usability Interface (2007). Articles>Web Design>Localization>Usability

Usability and the Future of the Web

This article contends that the primary cause for the popularity of the Internet is usability. Developments to network protocols, computer systems, application software, and other technologies made the sudden surge in Internet usage possible, but what made it so appealing was the system’s usability.

Dreyfus, Paul. Netscape (1998). Articles>Usability>Web Design

Usability and the Web: An Overview

An organization's Web site is a gateway to its information, products and services. As such, it should ideally be a reflection of the needs of the clients it serves. Unfortunately, Web site design and development is often driven by technology or by organizational structure or business objectives, rather than by user needs. In recent years however, Web site owners and developers have gradually begun to acknowledge and address the issue of usability. The key to Web site usability is ensuring that the site is both useful andusable for the intended audience.

Murray, George and Tania Costanzo. National Library of Canada (1999). Articles>Web Design>Usability

Usability as Barrier to Entry

Web users are getting more impatient every year: reduced desire to learn new interaction techniques, less ready to download plug-ins, and unwilling to tolerate slow downloads. If a site doesn't provide immediate gratification, they leave. Impatient users imply increasing difficulties in launching new websites, since the users will not bother with anything that requires additional learning time. Usability becomes a barrier to entry: a new site will fail unless users can grasp it in a few seconds.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1999). Articles>Usability>Web Design

A Usability Evaluation of Web Map Zoom and Pan Functions  

Due to limitations on screen size and resolution, the usability of web maps relies heavily on their interface design. The main goal of this research is to find better interface designs for web maps and to facilitate their usage by the public. The research consists of two stages of investigation: (a) a survey on the operation interfaces of popular web maps; and (b) a usability evaluation of simulated interfaces by measuring task performance and conducting subjective evaluations.

You, Manlai, Chun-wen Chen, Hantsai Liu and Hsuan Lin. International Journal of Design (2007). Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Usability

Usability in Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

In CRM, user acceptance is a huge issue. End users, who are rarely the same people who choose applications in the first place, can be extraordinarily resourceful when it comes to undermining or working around new products or implementations introduced by manager. All this means that creating applications that are efficient and enjoyable to use is imperative for both ISVs and CRM implementers.

Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Web Design>E Commerce>Usability

Usability of U.S. Presidential Candidate Blogs: Why it Matters

When it comes to the usability of the presidential candidates' blogs, they all need some work from a usability standpoint. Applying good usability practices would make better use of campaign funds, attract young voters, and give candidates a better idea of what is important to the electorate.

Russo, Thomas. Usability Interface (2005). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Blogging

The Usability of Usability: An Interview with Jared Spool, Founding Principal of User Interface Engineering

For example, it is often stated as if it was almost a law of nature that the faster pages download, the more usable the site was. But when we actually compared the usability of sites to their download times, we didn't see any correlations. None, zero, zip. If this 'fact' was true, we should've seen something. To go farther, we found that when we asked users to rate the speed of a site, that didn't correlate to the actual download time either. Instead, the perceived speed of the site correlated strongly to whether they completed their tasks! This tells us that, when users are complaining about download time, they probably aren't actually talking about the download time, but about their ability to complete tasks.

Spool, Jared M. WebWord (2001). Articles>Usability>Web Design

Usability of Websites for Teenagers

When using websites, teenagers have a lower success rate than adults and they're also easily bored. To work for teens, websites must be simple -- but not childish -- and supply plenty of interactive features.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2005). Articles>Web Design>Usability

Usability On The Web Isn't A Luxury

On the Internet, it's survival of the easiest: If customers can't find a product, they can't buy it. It's cheaper to increase the design budget than the ad budget, and attention to usability can increase the percentage of Web-site visitors who complete a purchase.

Nielsen, Jakob and Donald A. Norman. Information Week (2000). Articles>Web Design>Usability

Usability Strategies for Intranet Web Site Design

The corporate Intranet is an interconnection of users and an organization’s servers and databases. It may be located in one building or multiple buildings, nearby or spread across the world. Think of wiring the Corporate Community. The structure may primarily consist of the organization’s service departments such as Human Resources, Marketing, IT, and Security, and company-wide programs and projects. Where does usability fit into all of this? Poor Web site design, complex tools, inability to locate information, and inconsistent navigation contribute to the frustration of users.

Dick, David J. Usability Interface (2002). Articles>Usability>Web Design

A Usability Test of Web-based User Assistance

Recently, WinWriters used the web-based registration process for its annual Online Help Conference as a case study to test several models of user assistance for the Web. We conducted a series of usability tests to: find out how what sort of questions and problems users have as they complete a web-based transaction; discover how users respond to various forms of user assistance available within a web-based task; define the registration process for future conferences. The tests provided some clear conclusions as to user preferences. We have described the tests and summarized the findings here.

Ellison, Matthew. WritersUA (2002). Articles>Usability>Web Design

Usability Testing of Travel Websites    

A usability study was conducted to identify usability problems as well as recommendations for improvement for three travel sales websites. The study performed testing on twenty participants, between the ages of 19 and 65, recruited from the university campus consisting of students, faculty, and staff. The three websites tested were Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, and Travelocity.com. Each participant was given general instructions and a pre-survey to determine their demographics and level of Internet experience. The usability study tested participants on the task of finding the same itinerary on each travel website. The participant during testing was under observation of the experimenter that maintained an observation log. A post-survey along with a debriefing session was conducted to gather additional feedback. The average testing time for participants was 30 minutes. The results of this study are presented as well as a future research discussion consisting of the development of usability guidelines for designers of travel websites.

Carstens, Deborah S. and Pauline Patterson. Journal of Usability Studies (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>E Commerce

Usability Testing: Use It or Lose It

We've heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare – but could they get to the commerce section of your site? OK, maybe primates aren't your target market, but before you launch your site you had better make sure that your users can use it. Usability doesn't mean that your best friend thinks it's 'cool,' your designer calls it 'cutting-edge,' or your VC sees it as 'viable.' What it means is that you get a group of users to hammer on it, and you watch them hammer. That way, you find out what paths they follow, which graphics they click, where they get lost, and, most importantly, when they lose interest. Usability testing is crucial to your site's success and profitability.

Skipton, Celia. Human Factors International (2000). Articles>Usability>Web Design

Usability: A Key Issue for Kids' Sites

The children starting primary school this year can be truly described as the first of the web generation, for all were born after 1992 when the World Wide Web as we know it today came into existence. The ability of web sites to stimulate and satisfy the needs of these kids, along with those of all other web users, will largely depend on web site usability.

Hudson, Roger. Usability.com.au (2000). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Search

Usable?...Or Not?...Factors Affecting the Usability of Web Sites

This article contemplates factors affecting the usabilty of web sites. It addresses issues from both the disciplines of psychology and computing and attempts to consider the relevance of these issues with regards to a study carried out at the Centre for Information Environments Research at BrunelUniversity. The study was developed in order to investigate issues affecting the usability of web sites. A test site was created and investigations revealed some interesting findings.

Rajani, Rakhi and Duska Rosenberg. Computer-Mediated Communication (1999). Articles>Usability>Web Design

User Experience Design for Working Web Sites and Applications  

As Technical Communicators, we’re often added as members of software and web site development teams merely as an afterthought. Executives, managers, programmers, and other team members frequently view the results of our work—manuals, online help systems, tutorials, and other documents—as 'nice-to-have' additions to products. This pervasive attitude is certainly not healthy for the profession of technical communication... but it’s not good for the applications our organizations and clients produce either. When Technical Communicators working in an e-business unit as user advocates are given more responsibility and more authority over the 'user experience' of a web-based application, for instance, they affect the bottom-line. They increase hits, product buzz, and completed transactions. By moving beyond manuals, beyond help, and into the new role of User Experience Designer, we increase the value we add to services and products and increase our professional status within organizations.

Sisler, Paul and Catherine M. Titta. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability

User Observation Tests: Forms and Procedures

Detailed explanation of how to conduct a web usability user observation test. Simple, step-by-step instructions for professional administration of testing program. How to select and supervise test subjects. How to design test task assignments. Suggested forms to use: test subject selection computer skills level telesurvey, link strategy survey, system usability scale questionnaire, site satisfaction survey.

Streight, Steven. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>Usability>Testing>Web Design