Usability on the Web
What are Design Patterns
Design patterns are a useful tool to make sure that your site elements work as they are supposed to work. But if you don't know what a design pattern is, you can't use them. This article explains what a design pattern is and how to use them to improve your site.
Why Use Design Patterns
Once you start understanding how useful design patterns are it can be tempting to use them for everything. But as with all technology moderation is more effective than over-doing it. This article explains why to use design patterns and when to use them.
usability
Definition of the term usability as it relates to Web design and development
What is Graceful Degradation and Why Should Web Designers Care?
Creating a Web site with the most advanced features in Ajax, CSS, and XHTML can be a lot of fun. But the first time your page is viewed in IE 5 or a cell phone you end up with a page that is hideous at best, and often unusable. Your goal shouls be to write Web pages that degrade gracefully - they still work even on a cell phone or in older browsers.
The Back Button - How People Use Web Sites
The back button is the most important button on a Web page, and it's not even part of the page itself, but the browser.
Link Names Should Match the Page They Link To - Links and Usability
When you click on a link, you want to know where you're going. If your link text doesn't match what's on the page the link goes to your reader can get confused and possibly lose trust in the Web site where they clicked.
Tabindex - Set Tabindex for Easier Navigation
Tabindex is a seldom used attribute that could make Web pages so much more accessible and usable if only it were used more frequently. Tabindex provides an order for the clickable elements on the page so that someone using a keyboard does not have to resort to the mouse to get to the more important links.
Is Your Site Cool?
Many sites that rely on "cool" and innovative Web techniques are not usable by the readers. From your About.com Guide to HTML, Jennifer Kyrnin.
Alertbox
You may have noticed that I've linked a lot of these articles around the site. Jakob Nielsen is an expert in usability, and how it pertains to the Web. These articles are a must read.
Most Important Web Usability Issues
Usability is crucial to create websites that your customers will want to return to. If they can’t use the site, they won’t stay. There are some simple steps you can take to create a site that is accessible and useful for your readers.
Click Heat Maps Help Target Usability Issues
When you use a click heat map on your web pages, you can visualize where people are clicking and then use that information to improve the design of your site. Click heat maps or click visualizers allow you to see the most popular areas of your pages for clicking as well as show you areas that should be getting clicks but aren't. Learn how to...