WebWord

“The problem with this design approach is that the resulting site may be very “plain vanilla,” since the oldest browsers don’t allow for much interactivity beyond simple links. Designing exclusively for older browsers can severely limit the appeal of your Web site for audiences with later browsers, who can make up a significant majority of […]

I don’t like snakes. When I see them in the wild, I avoid them or try to scare them away. Or, I run away and cry like a little girl. (Or boy. You get the point.)
While I don’t like snakes when I see them au naturel, I really don’t like them in […]

Minnesota Daily — “Installing Really Simple Syndication readers and subscribing to services are active processes, and adoption by the masses has been slow in coming.”
Talks about the usual stuff: newspapers are dying, young people get news online, people like choice, RSS is really easy, RSS is really hard, etc. If this is news to […]

“Classic System Solutions, a provider of usability products and training services for corporate software developers, today announced the release of its newest Usability and Advanced User Interface Design workshops. These instructor-led workshops will transform design theory into practical usage during a series of 2 day interactive seminars where students will learn how to define user […]

ClickZ — “Many usability professionals discount the querying process because once people arrive on a Web site, they’re more likely to browse than perform a search. Additionally, usability professionals don’t consider the search engine persona.”
Does Search Engine Optimization (SEO) come before usability?

“Effective in-site search, good navigation, and clear, well-constructed content are the most important usability issues for disabled internet users, according to new research which also found many visually impaired users rejecting the importance of ALT tags.”
Learn how disabled users ranked the factors which aid their ease of use when online…

Information Week — “About 90 percent of online users have problems completing Internet business transactions, according to a survey released Monday by TeaLeaf Technology. TeaLeaf commissioned a study of online shopping, banking, travel and insurance Web site transactions. The study, by Harris Interactive, found that one in three consumers would go to a competitor […]

Apogee (Szuc and Quesenbery) — “Technology continues to change the customer service equation. Making the right decisions about which channels to use for marketing, communications and customer service requires an understanding of tasks, users and optimizing the use of each channel. Comparing user needs and channel strengths will help you make the right decision for […]

Simple Bits — “There are a few browsers (Firefox, Opera) that treat image alt text as if it were normal text on the page, when the image isn’t present. If the reader turns images off to save bandwidth, we can still visually treat the images by styling the alt text, and this could be especially […]

A List Apart (Nick Usborne) — “Testing like that is a beautiful thing. There is no space for fancy arguments. An expert’s credentials and opinions mean squat. When you serve alternative versions, one after the other, and measure reader actions, you get the real deal.”
Why usability testing is a Good Thing TM

“By invalidating my entire site with this one line of code, I ensure that I am made aware the instant it matters. The instant this stuff starts to break anything in the real world, I will know. If I only had a few small errors on a few random pages around my site, I could […]

“Based on the results of this study, Orbitz was best able to achieve that goal. Sixty-three percent of study participants ranked Orbitz as the easiest to use — that figure was consistent across both novice and experienced users. Sixty-seven percent of participants, regardless of their Internet skill level, ranked Southwest as the hardest to use.”
Read […]