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Krug, Steve: Advanced Common Sense, Nielsen, Jakob: Papers and Essays, Rosenfeld, Louis: Information Architecture Reveale, Veen, Jeffrey: Homepage
100 Things to Do to Make a Better Site
List of several (actually, eight) ways to make a more user-friendly site. Also has other reader comments on the same topic.
7 Debilitating Diseases of Business Websites
Illnesses make websites inefficient. The cures, by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson:Web Marketing Today, Issue 41, February 1, 1998.
A Heuristic Evaluation of a World Wide Web Prototy
Experiment by the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS)finding a large number of usability problems that were identified and suggestions for correction.
A List Apart - The Perfect 404
Ian Lloyd gives strategies for building custom 404 error pages that enhance usability.
Accessible Web
A guide to creating accessible web pages and downloadable documents. From the University of Newcastle, Australia.
Adaptive Path - 90% of All Usability Testing is Us
Lane Becker writes, "Rather than a validation done once before completing a product... internal, qualitative usability testing [should be] done earlier, more frequently, and as part of the design process - not separate from it."
AgeLight Institute
Guidelines written for webmasters, communicators and marketers to assist with website design for maximum usability for seniors and older internet users.
Alertbox
Jakob Nielsen's bi-weekly column on current issues in Web usability, focusing on simple and minimalist design based on real user needs.
Alertbox : Top-10 Guidelines for Homepage Usabilit
Following key guidelines for homepage usability is well worth the investment.
All Things Web: The Usable Web
Tips and techniques for building reader-friendly Web pages.
alt tags - Muddling Through
Web site designers should think hard about how to keep users from muddling around on their sites. "Users muddle when it isn?t clear what they are supposed to do in any given situation."
AnyBrowser.com
Web page viewer presents a site as it might be seen by visitors with different browsers.
Art and the Zen of Web Sites
Suggestions and guidelines for putting together a usable and attractive web site.
BBC News
Web design 'causes confusion' - Web designers are not on the same wavelength as surfers when it comes to creating sites, says a US study.
Bohmann Usability
News weblog covering web usability in Europe.
Business Benefits of Accessible Web Design
Describes the many business and technical benefits that are realised by applying the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to Web applications.
CNET.com - Study: Design lacking in e-tail sites
The design of some of the leading online stores is mediocre at best, but, according to a new study, it is improving.
CNN.com - Analysis: Web sites are locking out the
Office buildings have wheelchair ramps and TV has closed captioning, but many Web sites are inaccessible to people with disabilities. Things don't have to be that way.
Comparison of Usability Evaluation Methods
A listing of the most popular methods for determining usability, including the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Conference on Usability Tools and Techniques
A summary from the conference sponsored by AT&T Labs. The goal is to develop software tools and techniques for evaluating the usability of web sites.
Croc O' Lyle
Weblog by a practicing User Experience Architect. Usually about usability, design information architecture and e-business.
Daily Blooper
Showcases examples of poor web interface design from real web sites. The aim is to teach good (user-centered) design by showing what not to do.
Designing a More Usable World
Trace Research and Development Center at the University of Wisconsin. Excellent guidelines for universal web design.
Designing Information-Abundant Web Sites
This article is extracted and adapted from Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction 3rd edn., Reading, MA: Addison Wesley (forthcoming). Longman Publishers, Copyright 1998.
Don't Link to Us
Highlights stupid linking policies by linking to web sites that attempt to impose substantial restrictions on other sites that link to them.
eShopability
Provides design and usability information and advice on how to convert browsers into buyers and keep them, analysis and trends. Free fortnightly newsletter.
Eyetools Research
Greg Edwards on design and content optimization through eyetrack testing: measuring what people read, look at, skip, and ignore on webpages.
Fifth Conference on the Human Factors and the Web
A forum for sharing information among a community of human factors engineers, designers, and developers who are interested in producing web sites that are more useful and usable. Site contains proceedings of the most recent (3/Jun/1999) conference and archives of all previous conferences.
Fluff and Contenders, Revisited
A monthly web zine for professional web writers and editors who create content for the web. This archived article, April 1999, is a follow-up of the April 1998 "Cut the Fluff" in designing web sites and suggest not to "lose sight of usability and functionality".
GUI Bloopers
Home for Jeff Johnson's book "GUI Bloopers". Covers problems with text, graphics, interactive dialog and web design. Table of contents available for viewing, and Chapter 4 ("textual bloopers") available for download.
Guide to Usability for Software Engineers (GUSE)
Pages collected by the University of Maryland, Masters of Software Engineering. These guidelines will assist software engineers to create effective user interfaces.
GVU: The Graphics, Visualization and Usability Cen
Development of new technologies in graphics, usability and visualization.
Hot Text: Web Writing That Works
Articles from trainer-writer team Jonathan and Lisa Price. Ideas and services for web writers, editors, and content managers.
HTML Authoring Tools
Delorie Software provides a number of free services to the web community to assist web authors who wish to make their information available to the largest audience. These tools provide alternate ways of viewing your pages, so that you can ensure that your content is received properly by all viewers.
HTML Style Issues
Alan Flavell discusses HTML usability and provides links to many style and usability sites.
Human Behavior and the Web Research Center
Research center with useful information on the interface between human behavior and new technology, especially the web.
Human Factors International - Web Usability Tips
These tips are provided to help you improve the interaction between humans and computers in your web design.
IBM - Ease of Use
Resourcs for discovering user-centered design, guidelines, and technologies to help improve the total user experience for web-based products and services.
IBM DeveloperWorks: Web Architecture
Offering tools needed to understand usability and accessibility issues. Includes materials that can help you create user-centered applications and gain insight into accessibility challenges.
Improving Web Site Usability and Appeal
Guidelines compiled by MSN Usability Research to provide designers and producers with ideas to increase the usability and appeal of Web sites.
Internet Brothers: Helpware for the Cybercommunity
Expanding web community by offering free tips and tutorials about HTML and DHTML, graphics editing, site promotion, digital photography, and desktop publishing. Presented often with a touch of humor, and always with examples.
Internet Brothers: Layout and Design Fundamentals
Avoid common web page mistakes. Learn about proper alignment, coloring and typography, plus how to put your best foot forward when you have two left feet.
Java Software Human Interface
Essential information about human interface design and usability for applications and applets written in the Java programming language.
JavaScript and Web Site Usability
An Interview with JavaScript Guru, Mr. Danny Goodman on how JavaScript can make a web site easier to use.
Jef Raskin
A site by and about Jef Raskin, interactive systems design expert.
Klariti Guide to Usability and Information Archite
Directory contains over 500 links, mainly to scholarly articles.
Lynx Friendly
The key to being Lynx Friendly is to be consciously aware of the HTML which goes into creating a web page and to ensure that those using a non-graphical browser are not ignored.
Macromedia - Flash : Usability
Usability tips, examples, test case, quotes, related articles and a Flash forum for site developers.
Magnetic-Media - Web In Motion
A commentary on web usability, design, and direction aimed at the beginning web developer.
Millennial Living
Articles on web usability, e-government, government performance, and technology tips for small businesses, nonprofits, and government.
Missinfom
Resources and links on web design and usability.
More Than Screen Deep
Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) of the National Research Council convened a steering committee to evaluate and suggest fruitful directions for progress in user interfaces to computing and communications systems. A very informative site.
Morville, Peter: Building a Synonymous Search Inde
Help users find the documents they're looking for by incorporating a 'thesaurus-like' hierarchy for your site.
Morville, Peter: Virtual Documents: The Challenges
Advice for determining a level of granularity in breaking up documents for online viewing.
Navigation 101
A simple, understandable navigation scheme is a critical aspect of site design and has a direct effect on the bottom line.
Nielsen Norman Group
Reports and columns on usability and human interface design by Jakob Nielsen, Don Norman, and Bruce 'Tog' Tognazzini.
Nielsen, Jakob: Feedback From Users of an Archive
How to collect usability data from site users, using a historical archive as the case study. Keep surveys simple, collect data from real-world usage, and get feedback from friends of the site.
Nielsen, Jakob: Frames Suck Most of the Time
Why frames are usually a very bad idea.
Nielsen, Jakob: Guerrilla HCI
Guerrilla HCI: Using Discount Usability Engineering to Penetrate the Intimidation Barrier
Nielsen, Jakob: Multimedia Guidelines
A broad set of guidelines for multimedia on the web.
Nielsen, Jakob: Print design vs. Web design
Dr. Jakob Nielsen highlights key differences between designing for print and designing for the web.
Nielsen, Jakob: Site Map Usability
Most site maps fail to convey multiple levels of the site's information architecture. In usability tests, users often overlook site maps or can't find them. Complexity is also a problem: a map should be a map, not a navigational challenge of its own.
Nielsen, Jakob: Web design vs. GUI design
Designing for the Web is different from traditional user interface design. Fundamentally, the designer gives up a lot of control to the user - get used to it: WYSIWYG is dead
Norman, Don: Human Centred Design
Don Norman discusses the approach to usability when building his own website. This includes links to related content by Jakob Nielsen
Pointafter.com - 20 Do's and Don'ts of W
Tips from George Prociuk.
Principia Hypertextica: Introduction
A mathematics educator's view of web design. Encourages speed, accessibility, validity, and navigability. Discusses difficulties of math typesetting on the web.
Publish.com - Five Usability Principles For Web De
Ilise Benun elaborates on the principles of consistency, interaction, instruction, choices and control.
Publish.com - Flash and Usability
Guidelines for usable Flash, By Ilise Benun.
Publish.com - Usability Matters
Article by Marcia Ludkin. "Again and again... usability experts discover that real people may not understand what may be obvious to a site?s designers."
Readability Of Websites With Various Foreground/Ba
1997 psychology research project by Alyson L. Hill at Stephen F. Austin State University. Participants scanned simulated websites for a target word; readability was inferred from reaction time.
Roger C. Parker - Eleven Common Web Page Design Fr
How to keep web page design from interfering with communication to visitors.
Rosenfeld, Lou: Is Less Really More?
When it comes to the usability factor of tables of contents, is less really more?
Rosenfeld, Lou: Yahoo! is Dead. Long Live Yahoo!
Discussion on the inevitable collapse of Yahoo directory due to its size and complexity. He Predicts mini-yahoo sites within corporate intranets.
Royal National Institute for the Blind: Web Access
Web accessibility resources.
Schaffer, Eric: How to Develop a Corporate Intrane
From the consultants of Human Factors International (www.humanfactors.com). Requires Acrobat Reader.
Schaffer, Eric: How to Develop an Effective GUI St
From the consultants of Human Factors International (www.humanfactors.com). Requires Acrobat Reader.
Schroeder, Will: Testing Web Sites with Eye-Tracki
Describes an experiment carried out to monitor the eye movements of visitors to a prototype web site.
Scottberkun.com
Expert columns on web usability, interaction and web design.
Seattletimes.com: A primer for a good Web page
Users want indicators of how good (e.e., current, accurate, credible) the page's information is.
Section 508 Accessibility - Extreme Cross-Browser
Section 508 Accessible Menu and navbar system for those wanting compatibility with the widest group of browsers. Uses Dreamweaver MX and above.
ShoreWalker
Covers every area of good site design as well as what not to do. Steers you away from hype and towards more practical, user-friendly Web design. Based in Australia.
SIGCHI World Wide Web Special Interest Area
WWWSIA is a subgroup of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI). It focuses on the human factors of the World Wide Web.
Some Simple Techniques In Making Your Website Acce
Tutorial by Andrew Pae, Technical Coordinator at the ADAPTS Office at Georgia Tech. General design principles plus resources for additional information.
Something 4 Nothing Web Pages
Tips for building pages which are visually pleasing, and yet still download quickly and make information easy to access. From Webdeveloper.com.
Spool, Jared: Hard Evidence from Research
Spool uncovers the lessons his research has taught him about how best to design a site so that users don't end up thwarted
Spool, Jared: Web Graphic Design Is Not What You T
"The number one activity on the Web is information retrieval." In part of his tutorial, Spool explained his findings on graphic design and users' success.
Starling Access Services
Interesting definition of Accessible Web Design. For use by "anyone, any web browsing technology and any site".
STC SIG - Usability
Forum to share information, resources and experiences on issues related to the usability and user-centered design. It is the home of the Usability Special Interest Group of the Society for Technical Communication.
Stevesdomain.net
Focuses on furthering the education of web related topics, including web design and navigation tips, advice and techniques.
Szuc, Daniel: Usability in Hong Kong
Interview detailing the approach to web usability in Hong Kong.
The Scent of Information
The reason why so many people lose their way on the Web, according to usability expert Jared Spool, is because they lose the scent of the information they are looking for. Jared shares his thoughts and perspectives on the Web, usability, and the user's quest for information.
The WDVL: Designing Attractive Web Pages
Before you can design avant-garde Web pages, you have to know what the rules are before you try to break, bend or amend them.
Theory
A weekly column by Adam Baker that discusses web usability, interface, and interaction design. Includes previous columns for review.
Tognazzini, Bruce: First Principles
Bruce Tognazzini discusses basic prinicples of usability for both traditional applications and web services.
Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003 (Jakob Nielsen
Sites are getting better at using minimalist design, maintaining archives, and offering comprehensive services. However, these advances entail their own usability problems, as several prominent mistakes from 2003 show.
Towards a Model of Trust for E-Commerce System Des
A paper, by Florian N. Egger, presents a model of trust that informs the human-computer interaction (HCI) design of electronic commerce systems.
Usability Engineering
"Designing for Ease Use", Article written by Corporate Solutions Consulting (UK)on usability engineering.
Usability First
Diamond Bullet Design offers their experience and knowledge on website and software usability.
Usability Matters
From the Usability Matters Group at the Linköping University in Sweden. Their goal is to make computer systems more usable. The 1995 essay "Perspectives on Usability" by Jonas Löwgren is available for download in PDF format.
Usability Must Die
Examines what's wrong with the usability movement, with some humour, and experiences from the coal face of software design.
Usability Professionals' Association
The UPA's purpose is to promote usability concepts and techniques worldwide.
Usability Testing of Advanced Web Concepts
Case study of usability. A sidebar to Jakob Nielsen's article on Sun's new Web design.
Usability Watch India
Blog on usability of software and websites through the eyes of Suman kumar.
Usability.gov
Provided by the National Cancer Institute. Includes information and resources on making web sites and other user interfaces more useful, usable, and accessible. News and current publications and additional links are provided.
Usability.gov - Research-Based Web Design & Us
Quantified, peer-reviewed website design guidelines. PDF format, both in chapters or as one big (39 MB) file.
Usable Web
Collection of links and accompanying information about human factors, user interface issues, and usable design specific to the World Wide Web.
Usable Webs
Information on basic web usability principles, including hints on helping search engines find your site. Web usability assessments and content development are available.
Usefo.com
Web design resources, Usableword newsletter, and web usability guidelines to make web sites faster, more educational, and usable.
Useit.com
Jakob Nielsen shares his thoughts on usability.
User Interface Design - Software Design Smorgasbor
A comprehensive resource page on UI Design, maintained by Craig Marion, the webmaster of Chester County Internet Services.
User Interface Engineering -- Web Site Usability B
Spool, Jared. Excerpted from book, "Web Site Usability: A Designer's Guide". Useful links, articles and resources.
User-Friendly Web Sites for All Ages, Microsoft Pr
Guidelines for businesses, developers and web designers on how to make their web sites more user-friendly and accessable for the adult community. A white paper issued by Microsoft, "Effective Web Design Considerations for Older Adults." is available for download.
Various: WebWord Interviews with the Experts
Site includes usability articles written by John S. Rhodes. This page is a good starting point.
Vaspers the Grate
Insights into web writing, user-focused web design, and web credibility enhancement.
Vaspers the Grate: Web Credibility Destroyers
List of design issues that pollute an overall impression of trustworthiness and dependability.
WDVL: Usability Testing in Practice
Reveals one company's usability testing practices and procesures.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
W3 Consortium publication.
Web Development
A summary of the complete life cycle of web development: planning, analysis, design, implementation, and promotion. Key practices and online resources are given for each process. By John December, author of numerous material for web development methodology.
Web Pages That Suck
Learn good web page design by looking at bad web pages.
Web Usability
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. Special issue of WWW Usability arising from a symposium entitled "The Missing Link: Hypermedia Usability Research and The Web".
Web Usability Articles
Several years of usability-related articles from Digital Web Magazine.
Web Usability Findings
Compilation of surveys of web usability engineering and test results.
WEBehavior
A behavioral research, usability testing, and customer experience evaluation firm.
WebMetric Tools
Good usability is vital to the success of any web site. This site has downloadable sets of web evaluation tools to assist in analysis of a web page based on numerous usability guidelines. Registration is required (free).
WebWord Usability Consulting
Usability and human factors for the Internet. Including book list, expert articles articles and interviews, recommended Web sites.