| Alertbox - Jakob Nielsen's bi-weekly column on current issues in Web usability, focusing on simple and minimalist design based on real user needs.
Rate this
|
| Usable Web - Collection of links and accompanying information about human factors, user interface issues, and usable design specific to the World Wide Web.
Rate this
|
| Navigation 101 - A simple, understandable navigation scheme is a critical aspect of site design and has a direct effect on the bottom line.
Rate this
|
| Web Pages That Suck - Learn good web page design by looking at bad web pages.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Magnetic-Media - Web In Motion - A commentary on web usability, design, and direction aimed at the beginning web developer.
Rate this
|
| All Things Web: The Usable Web - Tips and techniques for building reader-friendly Web pages.
Rate this
|
| Usefo.com - Web design resources, Usableword newsletter, and web usability guidelines to make web sites faster, more educational, and usable.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Say What You Mean on the Web! - Content strategies for your e-business website; 50 ways to make your site easy to understand and use; free newsletter; regular reports on information design and usability for e-commerce; Los Angeles-based consultant with online services available.
Rate this
|
| AnyBrowser.com - Web page viewer presents a site as it might be seen by visitors with different browsers.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| 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".
Rate this
|
| WebWord Usability Consulting - Usability and human factors for the Internet. Including book list, expert articles articles and interviews, recommended Web sites.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| HTML Style Issues - Alan Flavell discusses HTML usability and provides links to many style and usability sites.
Rate this
|
| Usability Professionals' Association - A network through which usability professionals can communicate and share information about skills and skill development, methodology used and/or proposed in the profession, tools, technology, and organizational issues.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 - W3 Consortium publication.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Uiweb.com - Monthly expert columns on web usability, interaction and web design.
Rate this
|
| WEBehavior - A behavioral research, usability testing, and customer experience evaluation firm.
Rate this
|
| 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).
Rate this
|
| Theory - A weekly column by Adam Baker that discusses web usability, interface, and interaction design. Includes previous columns for review.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Useit.com - Jakob Nielsen shares his thoughts on usability.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Art and the Zen of Web Sites - Suggestions and guidelines for putting together a usable and attractive web site.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Usability Engineering - "Designing for Ease Use", Article written by Corporate Solutions Consulting (UK)on usability engineering.
Rate this
|
| Usability First - Diamond Bullet Design offers their experience and knowledge on website and software usability.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| 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".
Rate this
|
| Starling Access Services - Interesting definition of Accessible Web Design. For use by "anyone, any web browsing technology and any site".
Rate this
|
| GVU: The Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center - Development of new technologies in graphics, usability and visualization.
Rate this
|
| Designing a More Usable World - Trace Research and Development Center at the University of Wisconsin. Excellent guidelines for universal web design.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Design Considerations - Designing web sites for readers with visual impairments. General design principles and resources for additional information.
Rate this
|
| Usability Testing of Advanced Web Concepts - Case study of usability. A sidebar to Jakob Nielsen's article on Sun's new Web design.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| A Heuristic Evaluation of a World Wide Web Prototype - Experiment by the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS)finding a large number of usability problems that were identified and suggestions for correction.
Rate this
|
| JavaScript and Web Site Usability - An Interview with JavaScript Guru, Mr. Danny Goodman.
Rate this
|
| Towards a Model of Trust for E-Commerce System Design - A paper, by Florian N. Egger, presents a model of trust that informs the human-computer interaction (HCI) design of electronic commerce systems.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Human Behavior and the Web Research Center - Research center with useful information on the interface between human behavior and new technology, especially the web.
Rate this
|
| Web Usability Findings - Compilation of surveys of web usability engineering and test results.
Rate this
|
| CNN: Web Sites are Locking out the Disabled - 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.
Rate this
|
| User Interface Design - Software Design Smorgasbord - A comprehensive resource page on UI Design, maintained by Craig Marion, the webmaster of Chester County Internet Services.
Rate this
|
| Digital Web Magazine - Article by Rick Cecil: Composition and Usability.
Rate this
|
| User-Friendly Web Sites for All Ages, Microsoft PressPass - 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.
Rate this
|
| Stevesdomain.net - Focuses on furthering the education of web related topics, including web design and navigation tips, advice and techniques.
Rate this
|
| Usability Must Die - Examines what's wrong with the usability movement, with some humour, and experiences from the coal face of software design.
Rate this
|
| eShopability - Provides design and usability information and advice on how to convert browsers into buyers and keep them, analysis and trends. Free fortnightly newsletter.
Rate this
|
| Missinfom - Resources and links on web design and usability.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| WDVL: Usability Testing in Practice - Reveals one company's usability testing practices and procesures.
Rate this
|
| Readability Of Websites With Various Foreground/Background Color Combinations, Font Types And Word Styles - 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.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Macromedia - Flash : Usability - Usability tips, examples, test case, quotes, related articles and a Flash forum for site developers.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Alertbox : Top-10 Guidelines for Homepage Usability - Following key guidelines for homepage usability is well worth the investment.
Rate this
|
| Human Factors International - Web Usability Tips - These tips are provided to help you improve the interaction between humans and computers in your web design.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Educorner - Online introductory course on Information Architecture, (making a website easy to use).
Rate this
|
| Design Not Found - Critical reviews of web contingency design, or how sites communicate error conditions and/or recover from them. Includes real-life screen shots with analysis and discussion.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| AgeLight Institute - Guidelines written for webmasters, communicators and marketers to assist with website design for maximum usability for seniors and older internet users.
Rate this
|
| Usability.gov - Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines - Quantified, peer-reviewed website design guidelines. PDF format, both in chapters or as one big (39 MB) file.
Rate this
|
| Royal National Institute for the Blind: Web Access Centre - Web accessibility resources.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| GUI Bloopers - Presentation and promo of Jeff Johnson's book "GUI Bloopers". Covers problems with text, graphics, interactive dialog and web design.
Rate this
|
| Comparison of Usability Evaluation Methods - A listing of the most popular methods for determining usability, including the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Rate this
|
| Java Software Human Interface - Essential information about human interface design and usability for applications and applets written in the Java programming language.
Rate this
|
| Klariti Guide to Usability and Information Architecture - Directory contains over 500 links, mainly to scholarly articles.
Rate this
|
| Nielsen Norman Group - Reports and columns on usability and human interface design by Jakob Nielsen, Don Norman, and Bruce 'Tog' Tognazzini.
Rate this
|
| Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003 (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox) - 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.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Hot Text: Web Writing That Works - Articles from trainer-writer team Jonathan and Lisa Price. Incorporating research on usability, readability, reading comprehension, and writing methods.
Rate this
|
| User Interface Engineering -- Web Site Usability Book - Spool, Jared. Excerpted from book, "Web Site Usability: A Designer's Guide". Useful links, articles and resources.
Rate this
|
| 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."
Rate this
|
| Publish.com - Is branding compatible with Web usability? - Article by Roger C. Parker. "Branding... often conflicts with the goal of creating fast-loading, easy-to-use Web sites." The author goes on to explain how branding can coexist with a very usable website.
Rate this
|
| A List Apart - The Perfect 404 - Ian Lloyd gives strategies for building custom 404 error pages that enhance usability.
Rate this
|
| Publish.com - Five Usability Principles For Web Design - Ilise Benun elaborates on the principles of consistency, interaction, instruction, choices and control.
Rate this
|
| Publish.com - 10 Commandments of Information Architecture - Roger C. Parker elaborates on ten usability points to keep in mind when designing a website.
Rate this
|
| Adaptive Path - 90% of All Usability Testing is Useless - 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."
Rate this
|
| Publish.com - Flash and Usability - Guidelines for usable Flash, By Ilise Benun.
Rate this
|
| Accessible Web - A guide to creating accessible web pages and downloadable documents. From the University of Newcastle, Australia.
Rate this
|
| Usability Watch India - Blog on usability of software and websites through the eyes of Suman kumar.
Rate this
|
| Vaspers the Grate: Web Credibility Destroyers - List of design issues that pollute an overall impression of trustworthiness and dependability.
Rate this
|
| Vaspers the Grate - Insights into web writing, user-focused web design, and web credibility enhancement.
Rate this
|
| 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.
Rate this
|
| Pointafter.com - 20 Do's and Don'ts of Web Usability - Tips from George Prociuk.
Rate this
|