#33912
Improving Mobile Internet Usability
Even in these relatively advanced times, there's a whole set of problems faced by mobile users when it comes to accessing the Internet. Read about the importance of mobile usability.
Webcredible (2009). Articles>Web Design>Wireless Web>Usability
#33939
Twitter, Tweetdeck and Simplicity
The usability of a website is relative to the audience that it was designed for. A website that is designed well for its primary audience will not necessarily provide a great user experience for everyone that tries to use it. It’s important to identify your target user if you’re going to make a site that works well for the right people.
Hamill, David. Good Usability (2009). Articles>Web Design>Audience Analysis>Usability
#33953
Usable Accessibility: Making Web Sites Work Well for People with Disabilities
When people talk about both usability and accessibility, it is often to point out how they differ. Accessibility often gets pigeon-holed as simply making sure there are no barriers to access for screen readers or other assistive technology, without regard to usability, while usability usually targets everyone who uses a site or product, without considering people who have disabilities. In fact, the concept of usability often seems to exclude people with disabilities, as though just access is all they are entitled to. What about creating a good user experience for people with disabilities—going beyond making a Web site merely accessible to make it truly usable for them?
Quesenbery, Whitney. UXmatters (2009). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
#33956
Starting from Zero: Winning Strategies for No Search Results Pages
Search results pages are some of the most visited pages on typical e-commerce sites—to say nothing of a search engine like Google. Many articles appear each year about optimal search algorithms, database performance, and the like. In contrast, very few publications focus on improving the search experience from the customer’s perspective.
Nudelman, Greg. UXmatters (2009). Articles>Web Design>Search>Usability
#33963
It can be difficult to move from a static, pixel-based design approach to an elastic, relative method. Properly implemented, however, elastic design can be a viable option that enhances usability and accessibility without mandating design sacrifices.
Griffiths, Patrick. HTML Dog (2003). Articles>Web Design>CSS>Usability
#34080
Experience vs. Function — a Beautiful UI (User Interface) is Not Always the Best UI
If your site’s core function is in the content you publish, then the interface should take a back seat. Make an interface that’s transparent and not distracting to use. Remember that the UI is not the content and not the focus of your site. Getting these priorities right will help you make a great user interface.
Usability Post (2008). Articles>Web Design>Usability
#34125
Do you want faster-loading Web pages? Learn how you can make the browsing experience better for dial-up users by reducing loading times by as much as 80 percent, in some cases.
Kotrotsos, Marco. IBM (2009). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Minimalism
#34285
Seven Tips for Designing for Older Users
Looking to design a website for older users? Read through these top tips and ensure your site is as effective as possible.
Marianne Markowski. Webcredible (2009). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Elderly
#34291
First Two Words: A Signal for the Scanning Eye
Testing how well people understand a link's first 11 characters shows whether sites write for users, who typically scan rather than read lists of items.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2009). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Usability
#34292
Donation Usability: Increasing Online Giving to Non-Profits and Charities
User research finds significant deficiencies in non-profit organizations' website content, which often fails to provide the info people need to make donation decisions.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2009). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Case Studies
#34293
Mega Drop-Down Navigation Menus Work Well
Given that regular drop-down menus are rife with usability problems, it takes a lot for me to recommend a new form of drop-down. But, as our testing videos show, mega drop-downs overcome the downsides of regular drop-downs. Thus, I can recommend one while warning against the other.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2009). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>Usability
#34299
Mobile Web 2009 = Desktop Web 1998
Mobile phone users struggle mightily to use websites, even on high-end devices. To solve the problems, websites should provide special mobile versions.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2009). Articles>Web Design>Wireless Web>Usability
#34300
Public Relations on Websites: Press Area Usability
As three studies of journalists show, they use the Web as a major research tool, exhibit high search dominance, and are impatient with bloated sites that don't serve their needs or list a PR contact.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2009). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Press Releases
#34304
Simplifying Website Usability: The Three Step Approach
Simplicity is key to any successful website or web app. If your site is too complicated, the user will have to go through too many hoops to find what they are looking for and won’t even bother trying it out.
Munroe, Lee. Webdesigner Depot (2009). Articles>Web Design>Usability
#34463
Back To Basics: How Poor Usability Effects Accessibility
In recent user testing with a range of participants including Visually Impaired (VIP) and Blind users we found that the majority of problems were common across all groups. However the effect of poor usability is more severe for users with visual disabilities. Surprisingly all of the issues are very familiar and are easy to fix so we thought we’d revisit some of the basics of accessible web design.
Frontend Infocentre (2009). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
#34464
Webpage Layout: Right Hand Side Blindness
In several recent websites we have user tested, the site designers have placed important task critical links and information on the right hand side (RHS) of three column page layouts. The user testing was conclusive, users ignore any information presented on the RHS. We think this is a similar effect to the well documented banner blindness. It is essential to ensure that import links or information is not positioned on the RHS as they will surely be ignored.
Frontend Infocentre (2009). Articles>Web Design>Document Design>Usability
#34479
When we’re creating sites, we act as though people are going to pore over each page, reading our finely crafted text, figuring out how we’ve organized things, and weighing their options before deciding which link to click. What they actually do most of the time (if we’re lucky) is glance at each new page, scan some of the text, and click on the first link that catches their interest or vaguely resembles the thing they’re looking for. There are usually large parts of the page that they don’t even look at.
Krug, Steve. Sensible.com (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability
#34537
Guesses vs. Data as Basis for Design Recommendations
Even the tiniest amount of empirical facts (say, observing 2 users) vastly improves the probability of making correct UI design decisions.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2009). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Research
#34538
Investor Relations (IR) on Corporate Websites
Individual investors are intimidated by overly complex IR sites and need simple summaries of financial data. Both individual and professional investors want the company's own story and investment vision.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2009). Articles>Web Design>Business Communication>Usability
#34617
New Accessibility Guidelines Part II: Operability
The concept behind website operability is simple: Can everybody use the tools and mechanisms required to operate your website? Operability may seem easy, but it can be very challenging. Every control, every link, and every button on your site is a potential point of failure for operability. Without appropriate consideration for the disabled, you run the risk that disabled users will be unable to access your site.
Dolson, Joseph C. Practical eCommerce (2009). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
#34686
#34759
A 25-Point Website Usability Checklist
Four major components are covered in this checklist: accessibility, identity, navigation and content. The list is a printable PDF and contains a rating system and space for comments.
User Effect (2009). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Workflow
#34803
Web Apps, Usability, and the Mobile User
Usability and compatibility testing is a must. If you’re developing a Web application, test it with not only the major desktop browsers but with the popular mobile browsers as well. If your application isn’t friendly to mobile devices, say so up front when someone visits that application using a mobile browser. It will prevent a lot of frustration on the part of users.
Nesbitt, Scott. DMN Communications (2009). Articles>Web Design>Wireless Web>Usability
#34870
The job of a retail site is to attract the consumer, sell the product, and deliver it. In the case of a manufacturer site, the only difference when encountering a retail customer is that, instead of delivering the product, the site may deliver the customer—to an authorized retailer.
Tognazzini, Bruce. Nielsen Norman Group (2007). Articles>Web Design>E Commerce>Usability
#34872
Making an Impact: Measuring Web Design Effectiveness
Want to build a great website incorporating aesthetic design and usability? Find out what to measure to help ensure your site has great aesthetic design.
Gray, Alistair. Webcredible (2009). Articles>Web Design>Aesthetics>Usability
