Issues of Saliency and Recognition in the Search for Web Page Bookmarks

Describes the effect of bookmark naming on bookmark recognition. The purpose was to provide empirically-determined guidelines for web producers on how to title pages in order to optimise the recognition of bookmarks by users, and to increase the rate of revisitation as a result.

Poole, Alex. Alex Poole (2005). Books>Information Design>Usability>Web Browsers

It Is Easy To Criticize But...Challenge to Find Examples of GOOD Usability

It is easy to find examples of poor usability and many books and sites devote themselves to this. We can learn from mistakes and we can laugh and feel superior about it, but what about learning from great design?

Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Web Design>Usability

It's a Small World After All: Western Usability Guidelines Predict Behavior of Chinese Users of On-line Bookstores

The present study examined whether Western usability guidelines apply to Chinese web sites. Nielsen et al (2000) proposed a set of 207 usability guidelines derived from observations in the field. We took a subset of 48 rules, and looked at the compliance rate (number of guidelines a web site complied with, divided by the total number of guidelines), task completion time, task accuracy, and users’ perceived usability and likeability for four Chinese online bookstores. Results showed a clear relationship between adherence to the rules and usability of the site: as the web site’s compliance rate increased, so did the usability and the impression the web site received from its users. These results suggest that the rules governing behavior of Chinese users are similar to those of Western users. More generally, this study calls into question the widely-held intuition that usability for Asian web sites should be different than usability for Western sites.

Yau, Josephine K. Y. and William G. Hayward. uiGarden (2005). Design>Web Design>Usability>China

It's Pretty, But is it Usable?

Just because a website looks good, doesn't mean that it's easy to use.

Rockley Group, The (2008). Design>Web Design>Usability

Iterative Design

If we have usability improvements with each iteration, is this evidence that 'usability testing' works? I believe the answer is 'Yes.' We have many studies showing that each iteration does help to improve the usability of a system—even if the improvements are only modest ones (which is usually the case).

Bailey, Robert. Web Usability (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability

A Journey Through Accessibility

Identifies web accessibility problems throughout the web generations, and summarises where we are now, and what we can expect for the future.

Scano, Roberto. Juicy Studio (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability

Just How 'Blind' Are We to Advertising Banners on the Web?

The most common medium for advertising on the Web is through the use of banners. This form of advertisement often combines animation, sophisticated graphics, and even audio to endorse product information. Currently, advertising companies test the effectiveness of banners  by calculating their 'click-through' ratio rate (Briggs & Hollis, 1997). This ratio is the number of times an ad appears on a page compared to the number of times an individual clicks on the banner. It has been argued by Nielsen (1997) that click-through ratio rates are typically about 1%, which suggests that 99% of the time Internet users don’t bother to click on advertisements.

Bayles, Michelle. Usability News (2000). Articles>Usability>Web Design

Just Say No to Dead Fragments

A dead fragment of text is what's left after a usability expert has had his or her way with some perfectly good copy. The process works a little like this... First, take some great text that engages the reader on a number of levels. Here are a few words from Martin Luther King, Jr.: 'I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.' Now cut that back to make it more 'usable': 'Have sons judged by character and not color.' What are you left with? A brief, but dead, fragment. The substance of the communication remains, but the soul has been ripped out of it.

Usborne, Nick. ClickZ (2001). Articles>Writing>Usability>Web Design

Keeping Users Stuck to Your Site

Discusses the effect of drop-off and how usability initiatives reduced drop-off at Staples.com by 73%. This discussion begins with a definition of drop-off and moves into an explanation of the value of drop-off data. Then we delve into the correlation between drop-off and return on investment. Finally, we highlight two examples of Staples.com initiatives that were focused on reducing drop-off by using a systematic process of customer research and redesign.

Hynes, Colin. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Web Design>Usability

Kids' Corner: Website Usability for Children

Our usability study of kids found that they are as easily stumped by confusing websites as adults. Unlike adults, however, kids tend to view ads as content, and click accordingly. They also like colorful designs, but demand simple text and navigation.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability>Children

Label Placement in Forms

Placing a label above an input field works better in most cases, because users aren't forced to look separately at the label and the input field. Be careful to visually separate the label for the next input field from the previous input field.

Penzo, Matteo. UXmatters (2006). Design>Web Design>Forms>Usability

The Language Problem

Inappropriate use of language is one of the most common causes of usability issues in interface design. When using a product (either online or offline) the words used to label functions or buttons are of paramount importance to the user attempting to understand how the object works. After all, these labels are often the only differentiator within a row of identical buttons. If a user has difficulty understanding what these words or labels mean, there is a fundamental problem in mapping functions to their relevant buttons on the interface. If a term is vague, the user is unsure about the resulting action, and if it cannot be understood, it is likely to cause a 'critical' usability error - an inability to complete a simple task. And these difficulties arise surprisingly often - not because users have limited vocabularies, but because designers and developers insist on using terms unfamiliar to them. How does this happen? The one common factor behind every language difficulty is a failure to conduct a user test, or 'phrase audit', with real end-users.

Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2000). Design>Language>Web Design>Usability

The Latest Hot Trend Tests Usability of Web Sites

E-tailers grapple with everything from out-of-sight marketing costs to troubles with shipping. But another problem is close to home: Sites are hard to use, and that's turning off customers. Thirty leading e-commerce Web sites are riddled with flaws, concludes a soon-to-be-released site usability report. The study by Forrester Research and User Interface Engineering, a Bradford, Mass., usability testing company, is based on the experiences of 18 customers who were given $50 to buy things online. Amazon.com, L.L. Bean's site and REI.com were among the 30 sites surveyed. Forrester will issue the full report card later this month, but all sites had flaws. Shoppers in the test ran into dozens of problems that ranged from locating products to finding enough information to make a purchase decision to checking out.

Riedman, Patricia. AdAge.com (2000). Design>Web Design>Usability>E Commerce

Lessons Learned from Usability Testing Web Pages  

This session brings you actual case studies and specific advice based on 'lessons learned' from usability tests of Web sites.

Redish, Janice C. 'Ginny', Janet R. Borggren, Meghan R. Ede and Laurie A. Roshak. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Web Design>Usability

Lessons Learned: Developing and Testing a Web Site  

What is the purpose of my Web site? Who is my audience? How important is the overall appearance of my Web site? Can the user successfully navigate through my site? Can the user locate the desired information? How can I market my Web site? This session will highlight the key factors in developing an external Web site. In addition to all of the aspects of designing a web site, attention should also be paid to its usability features, such as navigation, accessibility of information, and overall appearance to the user.

Wilkinson, Theresa A. and Debota J. Malone. STC Proceedings (1997). Design>Web Design>Usability

Let Them Eat Cake

A growing debate pits accessibility against usability. From our point of view, it’s like pitting peanut butter against jelly. This article helps you create a page that is both usable and accessible, saving readers the trouble of scrolling with a little help from JavaScript and the Document Object Model.

Gustafson, Aaron. List Apart, A (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability

Let's Learn How Not To Mess Up With Your Web Site Content

Every web site is conceived and designed keeping in view a particular purpose to serve. The aim of web site may vary: some web site intends to showcase products or services of the company it belongs to, some provides information to its target audience, or some just exposes its company on the web in a brand building exercise. This is to note that whatever be the nature of web site, web copy plays it own crucial role in furthering the interest of the site. It is imperative that web content is easy-to-read, easy-to-find, and easy-to-understand.

Azam, Rahbre. Insider Reports, The (2008). Articles>Web Design>Content Management>Usability

Link Color Déjà Vu

It seems that Jakob Nielsen is back grinding on one of his old organs with the current AlertBox and the tune is 'standard link colors improve usability'. No one can blame Jakob for recycling old material. My goodness, he has been publishing a weekly column for almost 10 years, things are bound to come around again and again.

Anderson, David J. UIdesign (2004). Design>Web Design>Usability>Color

Link List Color on Intranets

Lists of links are an intermediate case between content-embedded links and menu items. Showing listed links in blue or in the site's main link color is the recommended design — and the one most intranets follow.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Color

Linking Out Is Good

Linking out to external websites is a great thing - it can enhance your website's usability, credibility and search engine ranking.

Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2004). Design>Web Design>Usability

Location of the Scrollbar

Are scrollbars located close enough to where users typically work with a Website or list box to encourage the fastest possible use?

Bailey, Robert. Human Factors International (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability

Location, Path and Attribute Breadcrumbs

Three type of breadcrumbs on the web are defined, examples are given of each, and a set of research questions involving breadcrumbs are presented. Location breadcrumbs, the most common, show the single location of a page within a site. Path breadcrumbs, which are becoming more common with database-driven sites, show the particular path the user has taken within the site to the page. Attribute breadcrumbs are meta-information within the site that are represented in a breadcrumb-like fashion.

Instone, Keith. Instone.org (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability

Long vs. Short Articles as Content Strategy

Information foraging shows how to calculate your content strategy's costs and benefits. A mixed diet that combines brief overviews and comprehensive coverage is often best.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2007). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Writing

Low-End Media for User Empowerment

Fancy media on websites typically fails user testing. Simple text and clear photos not only communicate better with users, they also enhance users' feeling of control and thus support the Web's mission as an instant gratification environment.

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

Major User Interface Issues in the Near Future

A discussion of new technologies from the November 2002 COMDEX.

Bailey, Robert. Web Usability (2003). Design>Web Design>Usability