#28218
Usability and Online Branding Central
As corporate websites are often the initial and most frequented brand touch points, usability and online branding have become a central to any business.
Information Architects Japan (2006). Design>Web Design>Usability
#31803
Usability and Security: Unlikely Bedfellows?
With people having to remember more and more usernames, passwords and PINs, it's crucial that any online security offers the best possible usability. Find out how you can help customers remember their passwords and continue using your website in the long-term.
Kodali, Mrudula. Webcredible (2008). Design>Web Design>Usability
#10032
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
#20652
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
#10256
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
#29819
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
#20258
Usability Experts are From Mars, Graphic Designers are From Venus
Usability mavens like Jakob Nielsen think the web is an ill-used database. Graphic designers like Kioken think it is a fledgling multimedia platform. Could both groups be right?
Cloninger, Curt. List Apart, A (2000). Design>Web Design>Usability
#19936
This website provides information and resources for key issues related to usability in website and software design. We believe that helping people do their work in an effective and enjoyable way should be the top priority in design because if a product is not usable, people will not use it.
Diamond Bullet Design (1996). Resources>User Interface>Usability>Web Design
#26499
With a small budget to create a website, many small businesses bypass usability testing. While it is not always possible to do a full-blown usability test on a small website, there are steps that website developers can take to help make sure users are not ignored during the process.
Weise Moeller, Elizabeth A. IEEE PCS (2005). Design>Web Design>Usability>User Centered Design
#13558
The Internet enriches many seniors' lives, but most websites violate usability guidelines, making the sites difficult for seniors to use. Current websites are twice as hard to use for seniors than for non-seniors.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability
#25759
Web usability covers the organization of the content (structure) of the site and its individual pages, navigation through the site, the text used to label the structure and navigation, user interaction through forms, and the structure, layout, and wording of text content. In most cases, recognizing the structure of the content and minimizing the effort to find and use content are enough to make for good 'usability.'
Boynton, J.R. Diamond Lane, The (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability
#19292
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
#18696
A bibliography of published books related to usability in website design.
Usability and Beyond. Resources>Bibliographies>Usability>Web Design
#28215
Since I've started developing websites I've been looking for the ideal layout. Today I got another hint on the direction to take. Jacob Nielsen calls it the 'F-Pattern.'
Information Architects Japan (2006). Design>Web Design>Usability>User Centered Design
#21081
The Usability of eBay's Checkout Feature
The article briefly highlights some frustrations sellers have with eBay's Checkout feature.
Rhodes, Matt. WebWord (2001). Design>Web Design>Usability>E Commerce
#25384
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
#13739
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
#25195
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
#11909
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
#21150
Usability Perspective on Banner Ads
I recently have read a lot about the use of banner ads. My short answer is that they don't work. They might be useful for branding and image campaigns but they are not usable and users don't like them at all.
Rhodes, John S. WebWord (1999). Design>Web Design>Marketing>Usability
#28817
Every page on the Web should ensure that users can understand its purpose. Even users not in the target audience should be able to figure out enough about the site to know whether it has content they are interested in or not.
Marshall, Samuel. Leaf Digital (2001). Design>Web Design>Usability>Methods
#22375
Usability Problems to Fix Today
List of common usability problems that are easy to fix on most well-organized small- and mid-sized websites.
Bohmann, Kristoffer. Bohmann Usability (2000). Design>Web Design>Usability
#13707
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
#13774
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
#28818
Once a site has been developed (or partially developed), you can test it to ensure that it is usable and spot any potential problems.
Marshall, Samuel. Leaf Digital (2001). Design>Web Design>Usability>Testing
