- Alertbox - http://www.useit.com/alertbox/
Jakob Nielsen's bi-weekly column on current issues in Web usability, focusing on simple and minimalist design based on real user needs.
- Usable Web - http://usableweb.com/
Collection of links and accompanying information about human factors, user interface issues, and usable design specific to the World Wide Web.
- Navigation 101 - http://wdvl.com/Location/Navigation/101/
A simple, understandable navigation scheme is a critical aspect of site design and has a direct effect on the bottom line.
- Web Pages That Suck - http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/
Learn good web page design by looking at bad web pages.
- SIGCHI World Wide Web Special Interest Area - http://www.acm.org/sigchi/webhci/
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.
- Magnetic-Media - Web In Motion - http://www.magnetic-media.com/webinmotion/
A commentary on web usability, design, and direction aimed at the beginning web developer.
- Usefo.com - http://patsula.com/usefo/
Web design resources, Usableword newsletter, and web usability guidelines to make web sites faster, more educational, and usable.
- HTML Authoring Tools - http://www.delorie.com/web/
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.
- AnyBrowser.com - http://www.anybrowser.com/
Web page viewer presents a site as it might be seen by visitors with different browsers.
- Lynx Friendly - http://www.cs.umanitoba.ca/~djc/personal/lynxfriend.html
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.
- Something 4 Nothing Web Pages - http://www.webdeveloper.com/html/html_something_4_nothing.html
Tips for building pages which are visually pleasing, and yet still download quickly and make information easy to access. From Webdeveloper.com.
- Web Usability - http://ijhcs.open.ac.uk/
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".
- WebWord Usability Consulting - http://www.webword.com
Usability and human factors for the Internet. Including book list, expert articles articles and interviews, recommended Web sites.
- Fifth Conference on the Human Factors and the Web - http://zing.ncsl.nist.gov/hfweb/index.html
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.
- HTML Style Issues - http://ppewww.ph.gla.ac.uk/~flavell/www/
Alan Flavell discusses HTML usability and provides links to many style and usability sites.
- Internet Brothers: Layout and Design Fundamentals - http://internetbrothers.com/layout.htm
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.
- Internet Brothers: Helpware for the Cybercommunity - http://internetbrothers.com/
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.
- The WDVL: Designing Attractive Web Pages - http://wdvl.com/Authoring/Design/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.
- WEBehavior - http://www.webehavior.com/
A behavioral research, usability testing, and customer experience evaluation firm.
- WebMetric Tools - http://zing.ncsl.nist.gov/WebTools/
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).
- Theory - http://www.merges.net/theory/
A weekly column by Adam Baker that discusses web usability, interface, and interaction design. Includes previous columns for review.
- Usability.gov - http://www.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.
- 100 Things to Do to Make a Better Site - http://philip.greenspun.com/wtr/100-things
List of several (actually, eight) ways to make a more user-friendly site. Also has other reader comments on the same topic.
- Useit.com - http://www.useit.com
Jakob Nielsen shares his thoughts on usability.
- Daily Blooper - http://deyalexander.com/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.
- Art and the Zen of Web Sites - http://www.tlc-systems.com/webtips.shtml
Suggestions and guidelines for putting together a usable and attractive web site.
- More Than Screen Deep - http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/screen/index.html#contents
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.
- Usability Engineering - http://www.consult-me.co.uk/csc-usability-engineering-page.htm
"Designing for Ease Use", Article written by Corporate Solutions Consulting (UK)on usability engineering.
- Usability First - http://www.usabilityfirst.com/
Diamond Bullet Design offers their experience and knowledge on website and software usability.
- Usable Webs - http://www.usablewebs.com/
Information on basic web usability principles, including hints on helping search engines find your site. Web usability assessments and content development are available.
- Guide to Usability for Software Engineers (GUSE) - http://otal.umd.edu/guse/
Pages collected by the University of Maryland, Masters of Software Engineering. These guidelines will assist software engineers to create effective user interfaces.
- Fluff and Contenders, Revisited - http://www.contentious.com/archive-main.html#1999-04
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".
- Starling Access Services - http://www.starlingweb.com/webac.htm
Interesting definition of Accessible Web Design. For use by "anyone, any web browsing technology and any site".
- Designing a More Usable World - http://trace.wisc.edu/world/
Trace Research and Development Center at the University of Wisconsin. Excellent guidelines for universal web design.
- ShoreWalker - http://www.shorewalker.com/
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.
- Usability Matters - http://www.ida.liu.se/labs/aslab/groups/um/
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.
- Conference on Usability Tools and Techniques - http://www.research.att.com/conf/hfweb/proceedings/scholtz/index.html
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.
- Designing Information-Abundant Web Sites - http://ijhcs.open.ac.uk/shneiderman/
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.
- JavaScript and Web Site Usability - http://webword.com/interviews/goodman.html
An Interview with JavaScript Guru, Mr. Danny Goodman on how JavaScript can make a web site easier to use.
- Web Development - http://www.december.com/web/develop.html
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 Usability Findings - http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bing/oversite/webusefind.html
Compilation of surveys of web usability engineering and test results.
- User-Friendly Web Sites for All Ages, Microsoft PressPass - http://www.microsoft.com/PressPass/press/1999/May99/GuidelinePR.asp
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.
- Stevesdomain.net - http://www.stevesdomain.net/
Focuses on furthering the education of web related topics, including web design and navigation tips, advice and techniques.
- Usability Must Die - http://www.usabilitymustdie.com
Examines what's wrong with the usability movement, with some humour, and experiences from the coal face of software design.
- eShopability - http://www.eshopability.com
Provides design and usability information and advice on how to convert browsers into buyers and keep them, analysis and trends. Free fortnightly newsletter.
- Missinfom - http://www.missinform.net
Resources and links on web design and usability.
- Business Benefits of Accessible Web Design - http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/benefits.html
Describes the many business and technical benefits that are realised by applying the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to Web applications.
- Macromedia - Flash : Usability - http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/productinfo/usability/
Usability tips, examples, test case, quotes, related articles and a Flash forum for site developers.
- IBM - Ease of Use - http://www-3.ibm.com/ibm/easy/eou_ext.nsf/Publish/558
Resourcs for discovering user-centered design, guidelines, and technologies to help improve the total user experience for web-based products and services.
- Seattletimes.com: A primer for a good Web page - http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=issu&date=19980329
Users want indicators of how good (e.e., current, accurate, credible) the page's information is.
- BBC News - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2041040.stm
Web design 'causes confusion' - Web designers are not on the same wavelength as surfers when it comes to creating sites, says a US study.
- The Scent of Information - http://www.ddj.com/documents/s=3110/nam1012433977/
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.
- AgeLight Institute - http://www.agelight.com/Resources/webdesign.htm
Guidelines written for webmasters, communicators and marketers to assist with website design for maximum usability for seniors and older internet users.
- IBM DeveloperWorks: Web Architecture - http://www-136.ibm.com/developerworks/web/
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.
- Java Software Human Interface - http://java.sun.com/developer/techDocs/hi/
Essential information about human interface design and usability for applications and applets written in the Java programming language.
- Nielsen Norman Group - http://www.nngroup.com/reports/
Reports and columns on usability and human interface design by Jakob Nielsen, Don Norman, and Bruce 'Tog' Tognazzini.
- Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003 (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox) - http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20031222.html
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.
- Don't Link to Us - http://www.dontlink.com
Highlights stupid linking policies by linking to web sites that attempt to impose substantial restrictions on other sites that link to them.
- STC SIG - Usability - http://www.stcsig.org/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.
- Hot Text: Web Writing That Works - http://www.webwritingthatworks.com/
Articles from trainer-writer team Jonathan and Lisa Price. Ideas and services for web writers, editors, and content managers.
- A List Apart - The Perfect 404 - http://www.alistapart.com/articles/perfect404/
Ian Lloyd gives strategies for building custom 404 error pages that enhance usability.
- Adaptive Path - 90% of All Usability Testing is Useless - http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000328.php
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."
- Accessible Web - http://www.newcastle.edu.au/policy/web/access/
A guide to creating accessible web pages and downloadable documents. From the University of Newcastle, Australia.
- Usability Watch India - http://sumankumar.com/usability/
Blog on usability of software and websites through the eyes of Suman kumar.
- Vaspers the Grate - http://vaspersthegrate.blogspot.com/
Insights into web writing, user-focused web design, and web credibility enhancement.
- Principia Hypertextica: Introduction - http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/chaff1ra/m132/WWW/type/
A mathematics educator's view of web design. Encourages speed, accessibility, validity, and navigability. Discusses difficulties of math typesetting on the web.
- Bohmann Usability - http://www.bohmann.dk/observations/
News weblog covering web usability in Europe.
- Croc O' Lyle - http://crocolyle.blogspot.com
Weblog by a practicing User Experience Architect. Usually about usability, design information architecture and e-business.
- alt tags - Muddling Through - http://www.alttags.org/archives/2004/06/29/37/
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."
- Web Usability Articles - http://www.digital-web.com/topics/usability/
Several years of usability-related articles from Digital Web Magazine.
- CNN.com - Analysis: Web sites are locking out the disabled - http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/08/07/web.site.accessibility.idg/index.html
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.
- Scottberkun.com - http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/
Expert columns on web usability, interaction and web design.
- Publish.com - Usability Matters - http://www.publish.com/article2/0,,1762078,00.asp
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."
- GUI Bloopers - http://web-bloopers.com/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.
- Improving Web Site Usability and Appeal - http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnsiteplan/html/improvingsiteusa.asp
Guidelines compiled by MSN Usability Research to provide designers and producers with ideas to increase the usability and appeal of Web sites.
- Jef Raskin - http://jef.raskincenter.org/
A site by and about Jef Raskin, interactive systems design expert.
- Nielsen, Jakob: Feedback From Users of an Archive - http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990110.html
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: Guerrilla HCI - http://www.useit.com/papers/guerrilla_hci.html
Guerrilla HCI: Using Discount Usability Engineering to Penetrate the Intimidation Barrier
- Nielsen, Jakob: Site Map Usability - http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20020106.html
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 - http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9705a.html
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 - http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/hcd_website_design.html
Don Norman discusses the approach to usability when building his own website. This includes links to related content by Jakob Nielsen
- Rosenfeld, Lou: Yahoo! is Dead. Long Live Yahoo! - http://www.ddj.com/documents/s=3011/nam1012433819/
Discussion on the inevitable collapse of Yahoo directory due to its size and complexity. He Predicts mini-yahoo sites within corporate intranets.
- Spool, Jared: Hard Evidence from Research - http://www.ddj.com/documents/s=2894/nam1012433859/
Spool uncovers the lessons his research has taught him about how best to design a site so that users don't end up thwarted
- Tognazzini, Bruce: First Principles - http://www.asktog.com/basics/firstPrinciples.html
Bruce Tognazzini discusses basic prinicples of usability for both traditional applications and web services.
- Eyetools Research - http://blog.eyetools.net/
Greg Edwards on design and content optimization through eyetrack testing: measuring what people read, look at, skip, and ignore on webpages.
- Millennial Living - http://millennialliving.com/weblog/
Articles on web usability, e-government, government performance, and technology tips for small businesses, nonprofits, and government.
- WeBreakStuff - http://www.webreakstuff.com/blog/
Weblog reports on the latest news on technology, design, usability and interaction.
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