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Index
Preface
What Is Usability?
Where to Find Detailed User Research
Usability Then and Now
Who Should Read This Book?
Chapter 1. Introduction: Nothing to Hide
Where We Got Our Data
How We Did the Book Study
Sites Tested
What if a Site Has Changed?
User Testing in Three Days
Tell Me Again: Why Do I Need to Do User Testing?
The Exceptions
Chapter 2. The Web User Experience
How Well Do People Use the Web?
The Measure of Success
Web-Wide Success Rates
Success by Experience Level
Success Rates and Experience
User Satisfaction with Web Sites
How People Use Sites
Three Guidelines for Supporting Deep-Link Users
The Homepage: So Much to Say, So Little Time
Average Time Spent on the Homepage
Four Goals in Thirty Seconds
Page Views by the Screenful
Interior Page Behavior
Homepage vs. Interior Pages
Tip: Optimizing Interior Page Links
Search Dominance
The Rise of “Answer Engines”
Four Ways to Grab Value from Search Engine Visitors
Organic vs. Sponsored Links
How People Use the Search Engine Results Page
Where Users Click on the SERP
Number One Guideline for Search Engine Optimization
Using Keyword Pricing to Estimate Usability Improvements
How To Determine the Optimal Bid for a Search Keyword Ad
How Much Is Improved Usability Worth?
Three Reasons to Improve Your Site
Scrolling
Tip: Design for Short Scrolling
Scrolling by Page Type
Complying with Design Conventions and Usability Guidelines
Defining Standards and Conventions
Seven Reasons for Standard Design Elements
Information Foraging
Recommended Reading
Information Scent: Predicting a Path’s Success
Diet Selection: What Sites to Visit
Three Ways to Enhance Information Scent
Patch Abandonment: When to Hunt Elsewhere
New Design Strategies for Attracting Information Foragers
Informavore Navigation Behavior
More Information
Under Construction
Chapter 3. Revisiting Early Web Usability Findings
Eight Problems That Haven’t Changed
Links That Don’t Change Color When Visited
Why Designers Don’t Believe Us
Breaking the Back Button
Fitts’ Law of Click Times
Opening New Browser Windows
The Curse of Maximization
How Can You Use Windows if You Don’t Understand Windows?
Pop-Up Windows
Most Hated Advertising Techniques
Design Elements That Look Like Advertisements
Violating Web-Wide Conventions
Avoid Influencing Users During Testing
Vaporous Content and Empty Hype
Dense Content and Unscannable Text
Technological Change: Its Impact on Usability
1986 Air Force Guidelines Stand the Test of Time
Slow Download Time
Don Norman’s Three Levels of Emotional Design
Frames
Flash
Flash: The Good, the Bad, and the Usable
Low-Relevancy Search Listings
Multimedia and Long Videos
Frozen Layouts
Teenagers: Masters of Technology?
Cross-Platform Incompatibility
Sad Mac
Mobile Devices: A New Argument for Cross-Platform Design?
Adaptation: How Users Have Influenced Usability
Uncertain Clickability
Links That Aren’t Blue
Scrolling
Registration
Complex URLs
Pull-Down and Cascading Menus
Restraint: How Designers Have Alleviated Usability Problems
Plug-Ins and Bleeding-Edge Technology
3D User Interface
Bloated Design
Splash Pages
Moving Graphics and Scrolling Text
Custom GUI Widgets
Not Disclosing Who’s Behind Information
“About Us” Features Don’t Say Enough
Made-Up Words
Outdated Content
Inconsistency Within a Web Site
Premature Requests for Personal Information
Multiple Sites
Orphan Pages
Assessing the Fate of the Early Findings
More Information
How Severe Is the Problem?
Chapter 4. Prioritizing Your Usability Problems
What Makes Problems Severe
Scoring Severity
Hospital Usability: In Critical Condition
The Scale of Misery
Tip: The First Law of E-Commerce
Why Users Fail
Five Biggest Causes of User Failure
Is It Enough to Focus on the Worst Problems?
Chapter 5. Search
The State of Search
Tip: How to Know If You Need Search
Three Simple Steps to Better Search
How Search Should Work
The Three Things Users Expect from Search
Tip: When Is a Search Not Search?
Search Interface
Tip: Don’t Try to Be a Search Engine
Query Length and Search Box Width
Search Box Tip: Go Wide
Advanced Search
Search Engine Results Pages
Target Practice
Tip: SERP Dating Conventions
Tip: Help Bad Spellers
Best Bets
Four Ways to Build Best Bets
Maintaining Best Bets
Sorting the SERP
No Results Found
One Result Found
Search Engine Optimization
Black-Hat SEO Tricks
Naming Names
Tip: The Beauty of Using Text-Only Ads
Tip: Tracking the Value of Search Ads
Linguistic SEO
The Top Linguistic SEO Guideline
Tip: Keyword Overuse Backfires
Tip: Think Phrases, Not Keywords
Architectural SEO
Reputation SEO
How Search Engines Determine a Site’s Reputation
Chapter 6. Navigation and Information Architecture
Am I There Yet?
Match the Site Structure to User Expectations
Recommended Reading About IA
Intranet IA
Navigation: Be Consistent
Navigation: Beware the Coolness Factor
Kids Like Minesweeping
Reduce Clutter and Avoid Redundancy
Don’t Be Duped by Duplicates
Links and Label Names: Be Specific
Vertical Dropdown Menus: Short Is Sweet
Multilevel Menus: Less Is More
Can I Click on It?
Affordances
Direct Access from the Homepage
More Information
Tip: The Downside of Dummy Type
Four Top Guidelines for Type
Chapter 7. Typography: Readability & Legibility
Body Text: The Ten-Point Rule
Recommended Text Sizes
Tip: Avoid Anti-Aliasing
Age Is Not the Issue
Tip: When the Same Size Appears Smaller
Planning for Differences in Hardware
Common Screen Resolutions
Accessibility Affects All of Us
Relative Specifications
The Rule of Relative Size
Designing for Vision-Impaired Users
Choosing Fonts
Common Fonts and Their Families
When in Doubt, Use Verdana
Characteristics of Common Fonts
When Will Screens Read as Well as Print?
Mixing Fonts and Colors
The Case Against Caps
Text and Background Contrast
Readability Level of Different Color Combinations
Common Color Blindness
Two Ways to Make Colors Pop
Text Images
Moving Text
More Information
Chapter 8. Writing for the Web
How Poor Writing Makes Web Sites Fail
Understanding How Web Users Read
Tip: Hire a Web Writer
Why Users Scan
Writing for Your Reader
Tip: Know Your Audience
Use Simple Language
Three Guidelines for Better Web Writing
Meeting Low Literacy Needs
Tone Down Marketing Hype
Tip: When and Where to Toot Your Horn
Writing Samples: Before and After
Summarize Key Points and Pare Down
Tip: The Two-Sentence Test
Keeping It Short and Sweet
Tip: Writing Descriptive Labels
Formatting Text for Readability
Making Usability Skyrocket
Highlight Keywords
Use Concise and Descriptive Titles and Headings
Three Guidelines for Heading Hierarchy
Use Bulleted and Numbered Lists
Top Seven Guidelines for Presenting Lists
Tip: Parallel Phrasing Is Important
Keep Paragraphs Short
More Information
Chapter 9. Providing Good Product Information
Show Me the Money
Tip: Where To Display Prices
No Excuses
Tip: Approximate Prices Are Better Than None
Disclose Extra Fees
Win Customer Confidence
Describe the Product
Provide Pictures and Product Illustrations
Test Driving an Auto Site
Five Big Illustration Errors
Layer Product Pages
Display Bona Fides
Support Comparison Shopping
Refine and Sort
Support Sales with Quality Content
Four Reasons for Informational Articles
They Don’t Have Products, Do They?
More Information
When the “Three-Click Rule” Wreaks Havoc
Chapter 10. Presenting Page Elements
Should You Design for Scrolling?
Four Rules of Scrolling
Guiding Users, Step by Step
Tip: Beware of Magic Numbers
Keep Like with Like
Sloppy Formatting of Forms
Satisfy Your Users’ Expectations
Look at Me!
Using White Space
Flashback to 2000: A Note from Jakob Nielsen
Chapter 11. Balancing Technology with People’s Needs
Use Multimedia When It Benefits Your Audience
Overcoming Barriers to Multimedia
Accommodate Low-Tech Users
Tip: Providing Alternative Accessibility
Sites for Kids: Keep It Real
Design for Your Audience’s Connection Speed
Provide a Simple and Accurate Loading-Status Indicator
Underestimate Your Users’ Technical Knowledge
Watch Your Language
Detect Users’ Bandwidth
Stick to Familiar Interface Conventions
Tip: Pop-Ups Usually Strike Out
Tip: Scroll Bars Should Be Standard
Avoid Multimedia Excesses
Tip: Rich vs. Poor Media
Turn Down the Volume
How Do You Turn This Thing Off?
Make Videos for the Web
Tip: When to Take a Commercial Break
The Practice of Simplicity
Improving Your Site: Sooner or Later?
Three Tips: Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.
Toward a More Elegant Design
More Information
Chapter 12. Final Thoughts: Design That Works
Test Your Assumptions
Index
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