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Human Computer Interaction :: Computers
Style and Design :: Authoring
Information Architecture :: Knowledge Management

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.

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.

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.
Meta Description: [ Explains the most common maladies of business website design and how to heal them. Problems 'treated' include business clarity, image size, 640 x 480 monitor standard, frames problems, background recommendations, too many buttons, and navigation inadequacies. ]

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.

A List Apart - The Perfect 404 - Ian Lloyd gives strategies for building custom 404 error pages that enhance usability.
Meta Description: [ Strategies for building custom 404 error pages that enhance usability. ]

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.
Meta Description: [ A User Experience design and consulting firm that unites theory and practice to advance the art of user experience design while helping clients make better business decisions. Located in San Francisco, California, USA. ]

AgeLight Institute - Guidelines written for webmasters, communicators and marketers to assist with website design for maximum usability for seniors and older internet users.

Alertbox - Jakob Nielsen's bi-weekly column on current issues in Web usability, focusing on simple and minimalist design based on real user needs.
Meta Description: [ Design guidelines for Web and intranet usability, user research summarized, Top-10 mistakes of Web design, how to write for the Web, response time limits, small sites as Web's killer apps, Web project management ]

All Things Web: The Usable Web - Tips and techniques for building reader-friendly Web pages.
Meta Description: [ The ATW Usable Web Index ]

alt tags - Muddling Through - 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.

AnyBrowser.com - Web page viewer presents a site as it might be seen by visitors with different browsers.
Meta Description: [ Improve your web site, check your HTML, browser compatibility & check for dead links. Improve ranking on search engines, increase hits & traffic ]

Art and the Zen of Web Sites - Suggestions and guidelines for putting together a usable and attractive web site.
Meta Description: [ TLC Systems is a management consulting firm, specializing in the architecture, design, and implementation of systems involving computers and people. ]

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.
Meta Description: [ Web designers are not on the same wavelength as surfers when it comes to creating sites, says a US study. ]

Bohmann Usability - News weblog covering web usability in Europe.
Meta Description: [ News on high-quality user experiences by Kristoffer Bohmann. ]

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.
Meta Description: [ This document describes the many business and technical benefits that you will realise by applying the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to Web applications. ]

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.
Meta Description: [ Study: Design lacking in e-tail sites | Some of the leading online stores are mediocre at best when it comes to design, according to a Jakob Nielsen study. | June 3, 2002, 3:30 PM PT | Troy Wolverton ]

CNN.com - Analysis: 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.
Meta Description: [ 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. ]

Comparison of Usability Evaluation Methods - A listing of the most popular methods for determining usability, including the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Meta Description: [ Information pertaining to usability and technology design - editorials, definitions and reference material. ]

404 Conference on Usability Tools and Techniques - A summary from the conference sponsored by ATT Labs. The goal is to develop software tools and techniques for evaluating the usability of web sites.

Croc O' Lyle - Weblog by a practicing User Experience Architect. Usually about usability, design information architecture and e-business.
Meta Description: [ Daily commentary on web usability, web design, information architecture and other related topics. ]

404 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.
Meta Description: [ Dey Alexander: Web Bloopers: GUI design bloopers on the Web. ]

Designing a More Usable World - Trace Research and Development Center at the University of Wisconsin. Excellent guidelines for universal web design.
Meta Description: [ Links to information about Trace Center projects and programs, including current and past work. ]

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.

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.

eShopability - Provides design and usability information and advice on how to convert browsers into buyers and keep them, analysis and trends. Free fortnightly newsletter.
Meta Description: [ eShopability web usability that sells homepages ]

Eyetools Research - Greg Edwards on design and content optimization through eyetrack testing: measuring what people read, look at, skip, and ignore on webpages.
Meta Description: [ Design and content optimization through eye tracking
— Interesting viewing data and rules-of-thumb from measuring what people read, look at, skip, and ignore on webpages ]

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.

500 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.

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.

404 GVU: The Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center - Development of new technologies in graphics, usability and visualization.
Meta Description: [ Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech, Research, Graphics, Visualization, Usability, GVU Center ]

Hot Text: Web Writing That Works - Articles from trainer-writer team Jonathan and Lisa Price. Ideas and services for web writers, editors, and content managers.

HTML Authoring Tools - Provides free services to assist web authors who wish to make their information available to the largest audience.

404 HTML Style Issues - Alan Flavell discusses HTML usability and provides links to many style and usability sites.

404 Human Behavior and the Web Research Center - Research center with useful information on the interface between human behavior and new technology, especially the web.
Meta Description: [ Leadership resources to help you become the best leader you can be. ]

Human Factors International - Web Usability Tips - These tips are provided to help you improve the interaction between humans and computers in your web design.
Meta Description: [ 10 Web design tips from Human Factors International to help guide you through the usability design maze. ]

404 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.
Meta Description: [ The page you requested cannot be displayed (HTTP response code 403) ]

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.
Meta Description: [ The Web development section on the developerWorks Web site is your resource for information on how to build e-business and e-commerce Web sites. ]

IBM Ease of Use Site - Provides downloads, articles, resources, tips on usability and user centered design.
Meta Description: [ IBM Ease of Use is a great resource for new innovations, user-centered design, guidelines, technologies, and much more to address the challenge of creating great user experiences through the discipline of User Engineering for your products and services. ]

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.
Meta Description: [ Improving Web site usability and appeal ]

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.
Meta Description: [ An independently produced and operated webspace offering Internet community and web development assistance. Laugh a little, learn a lot. ]

Java Software Human Interface - Essential information about human interface design and usability for applications and applets written in the Java programming language.
Meta Description: [ Welcome to the Java Software Human Interface pages. Here you will find information on the Java look and feel, papers, guidelines, an invitation to participate in our Usability Studies and other topics related to Human Interface. ]

JavaScript and Web Site Usability - An Interview with JavaScript Guru, Mr. Danny Goodman on how JavaScript can make a web site easier to use.

Jef Raskin - A site by and about Jef Raskin, interactive systems design expert.

Jeffrey Veen: The Usability of Subscribing to Feeds - RSS feeds are surprisingly difficult for the average user to use.

Klariti Guide to Usability and Information Architecture - Directory contains over 500 links, mainly to scholarly articles.
Meta Description: [ Information Architecture - the art of expressing a model or concept for information ]

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.

Macromedia - Flash : Usability - Usability tips, examples, test case, quotes, related articles and a Flash forum for site developers.

Millennial Living - Articles on web usability, e-government, government performance, and technology tips for small businesses, nonprofits, and government.

Missinfom - Resources and links on web design and usability.

Morville, Peter: Building a Synonymous Search Index - Help users find the documents they're looking for by incorporating a 'thesaurus-like' hierarchy for your site.
Meta Description: [ Building a Synonymous Search Index ]

Morville, Peter: Virtual Documents: The Challenges of Chunking - Advice for determining a level of granularity in breaking up documents for online viewing.
Meta Description: [ Virtual Documents ]

Navigation 101 - A simple, understandable navigation scheme is a critical aspect of site design and has a direct effect on the bottom line.
Meta Description: [ The Web Developer's Virtual Library is a resource for web development, including a JavaScript tutorial, html tag info, JavaScript events, html special characters, paint shop pro, database normalization, PHP and more. ]

Nielsen Norman Group - Reports and columns on usability and human interface design by Jakob Nielsen, Don Norman, and Bruce 'Tog' Tognazzini.
Meta Description: [ Reports and columns on usability and human interface design by Jakob Nielsen, Don Norman, and Bruce 'Tog' Tognazzini. ]

404 Norman, Don: Human Centred Design - Don Norman discusses the approach to usability when building his own website. This includes links to related content by Jakob Nielsen
Meta Description: [ books by Don Norman, personal web page for Don Norman, of the Nielsen Norman Group and UNext, champion of human-centered design. Publications, papers, sample chapters and writings, list of students. ]

Pointafter.com - 20 Do's and Don'ts of Web Usability - Tips from George Prociuk.
Meta Description: [ Designing a usable website doesn't have to be a complex process. Often times, it's the little things that make the biggest impact on a site's usability. However, because websites are often a form of self expression, we have a natural tendency to create the most impressive presentation we can. ]

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.
Meta Description: [ A mathematics educator's view of web design. Encourages speed, accessibility, validity, and navigability. Discusses difficulties of math typesetting onthe web. ]

Publish.com - Five Usability Principles For Web Design - Ilise Benun elaborates on the principles of consistency, interaction, instruction, choices and control.
Meta Description: [ Five usability principles for Web design from Publish in Array provided free by LookSmart Find Articles. ]

Publish.com - Flash and Usability - Guidelines for usable Flash, By Ilise Benun.
Meta Description: [ Publish, the definitive authority on Web 2.0, online media and grapa buyer'shics tools, provides information resources about all aspects of Web publishing, including Web design, content management, search engine optimization and e-commerce through a variety of resources, such as news, tips, opini... ]

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.
Meta Description: [ Considering user experience goes a long way toward completed transactions and site success. ]

500 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.

Roger C. Parker - Eleven Common Web Page Design Frustrations and How To Cure Them - How to keep web page design from interfering with communication to visitors.

Rosenfeld, Lou: Is Less Really More? - When it comes to the usability factor of tables of contents, is less really more?
Meta Description: [ Is Less Really More? ]

Rosenfeld, Lou: Yahoo! is Dead. Long Live Yahoo! - Discussion on the inevitable collapse of Yahoo directory due to its size and complexity. He Predicts mini-yahoo sites within corporate intranets.
Meta Description: [ Yahoo! is Dead. Long Live Yahoo! ]

Royal National Institute for the Blind: Web Access Centre - Web accessibility resources.

Schaffer, Eric: How to Develop a Corporate Intranet Standard -- PDF File - From the consultants of Human Factors International (www.humanfactors.com). Requires Acrobat Reader.

Schaffer, Eric: How to Develop an Effective GUI Standard -- PDF file - From the consultants of Human Factors International (www.humanfactors.com). Requires Acrobat Reader.

Schroeder, Will: Testing Web Sites with Eye-Tracking - Describes an experiment carried out to monitor the eye movements of visitors to a prototype web site.

Scottberkun.com - Expert columns on web usability, interaction and web design.

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.
Meta Description: [ seattletimes.com: Northwest news and information from the Seattle Times. Daily local news, sports, arts and entertainment, and classified ads. ]

Section 508 Accessibility - Extreme Cross-Browser Compatible Menu and Navbar System - Section 508 Accessible Menu and navbar system for those wanting compatibility with the widest group of browsers. Uses Dreamweaver MX and above.
Meta Description: [ Web Software Tools and Products for Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, Microsoft ASP.NET, C#, VB.NET and SQL Server ]

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.

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.
Meta Description: [ ACM SIGCHI is the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction. ]

Some Simple Techniques In Making Your Website Accessible - Tutorial by Andrew Pae, Technical Coordinator at the ADAPTS Office at Georgia Tech. General design principles plus resources for additional information.
Meta Description: [ The Georgia Tech Disability Services ]

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.
Meta Description: [ WebDeveloper.com Forums, Where Web Developers and Designers Learn How to Build Web Sites, Program in Java and JavaScript and More! ]

500 Spool, Jared: Hard Evidence from Research - Spool uncovers the lessons his research has taught him about how best to design a site so that users don't end up thwarted
Meta Description: [ Software tools and techniques for global software development. Dr. Dobb's features articles, source code, blogs,forums,video tutorials, and audio podcasts, as well as articles from Dr. Dobb's Journal, BYTE.com, C/C++ Users Journal, and Software Development magazine. ]

Spool, Jared: Web Graphic Design Is Not What You Think, A Usability Perspective - The number one activity on the Web is information retrieval. In part of his tutorial, Spool explained his findings on graphic design and users' success.
Meta Description: [ It's Not What You Think ]

Starling Access Services - Interesting definition of Accessible Web Design. For use by anyone, any web browsing technology and any site

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.

Stevesdomain.net - Focuses on furthering the education of web related topics, including web design and navigation tips, advice and techniques.

Szuc, Daniel: Usability in Hong Kong - Interview detailing the approach to web usability in Hong Kong.

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.
Meta Description: [ The Scent of Information ]

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.
Meta Description: [ The Web Developer's Virtual Library is a resource for web development, including a JavaScript tutorial, html tag info, JavaScript events, html special characters, paint shop pro, database normalization, PHP and more. ]

Theory - A weekly column by Adam Baker that discusses web usability, interface, and interaction design. Includes previous columns for review.
Meta Description: [ theory is a weekly column by Adam Baker, which explores issues in web design, interface design, and product design. ]

Tognazzini, Bruce: First Principles - Bruce Tognazzini discusses basic prinicples of usability for both traditional applications and web services.

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.
Meta Description: [ 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. ]

404 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.
Meta Description: [ Developing a Model of Trust for Electronic Commerce: How do trust-building processes operate in electronic commerce? How can Human Factors (HF), Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Information Architecture (IA) address the problem of trust in e-commerce user interface design? ]

Usability Engineering - Designing for Ease Use, Article written by Corporate Solutions Consulting (UK)on usability engineering.
Meta Description: [ Corporate Solutions specialises in usability. Our aim is to deliver business benefits ]

Usability First - Diamond Bullet Design offers their experience and knowledge on website and software usability.
Meta Description: [ Usability resources: a glossary of usability-related terms, usability methods, best practices, humor, and more. A free service of Foraker Design ]

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.

Usability Must Die - Examines what's wrong with the usability movement, with some humour, and experiences from the coal face of software design.
Meta Description: [ Your period of waiting is over. The usability backlash has started, and its here to stay. The self proclaimed experts arent in charge, we are. So lets act like it and take control. ]

Usability Professionals' Association - The UPA's purpose is to promote usability concepts and techniques worldwide.
Meta Description: [ The UPA is a membership organization of professionals in usability, user experience and related fields. ]

404 Usability Testing of Advanced Web Concepts - Case study of usability. A sidebar to Jakob Nielsen's article on Sun's new Web design.

Usability Watch India - Blog on usability of software and websites through the eyes of Suman kumar.

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.

Usable Web - Collection of links and accompanying information about human factors, user interface issues, and usable design specific to the World Wide Web.
Meta Description: [ Usable Web is a collection of 786 links and accompanying information about human factors, user interface issues, and usable design specific to the World Wide Web. ]

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.

Usefo.com - Web design resources, Usableword newsletter, and web usability guidelines to make web sites faster, more educational, and usable.
Meta Description: [ Usable information design for faster, more educational, and better designed websites. ]

Useit.com - Jakob Nielsen shares his thoughts on usability.
Meta Description: [ Alertbox column, Web usability, usability engineering, and Jakob's minimalist approach to Web design; Jakob's biography. Conferences and training events. ]

User Interface Design - Software Design Smorgasbord - A comprehensive resource page on UI Design, maintained by Craig Marion, the webmaster of Chester County Internet Services.
Meta Description: [ Examine the methods, techniques, perspectives, and accomplishments of leading software designers., Examine the methods, techniques, perspectives, and accomplishments of leading software designers. ]

404 User Interface Engineering -- Web Site Usability Book - Spool, Jared. Excerpted from book, Web Site Usability: A Designer's Guide. Useful links, articles and resources.

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.
Meta Description: [ With PC Purchases for Those Over 55 Increasing 150 Percent in the Last Year, Microsoft Hopes Its Research Will Help the Industry Better Serve Seniors ]

Various: WebWord Interviews with the Experts - Site includes usability articles written by John S. Rhodes. This page is a good starting point.

Vaspers the Grate - Insights into web writing, user-focused web design, and web credibility enhancement.
Meta Description: [ Vaspers the Grate is your guide to web usability, effective blogging, ecommerce, IT, and social media ]

Vaspers the Grate: Web Credibility Destroyers - List of design issues that pollute an overall impression of trustworthiness and dependability.
Meta Description: [ Vaspers the Grate is your guide to web usability, effective blogging, ecommerce, IT, and social media ]

WDVL: Usability Testing in Practice - Reveals one company's usability testing practices and procesures.
Meta Description: [ If you're interested in Web site usability then it's likely that you've come across the concept of professional usability testing. It's also likely that the practicalities of testing have remained a mystery, because very little has been published about it on the Web - until now. ]

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 - W3 Consortium publication.

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.
Meta Description: [ This web summarizes the complete life cycle methodology for web development: planning, analysis, design, implementation, promotion, and innovation. Key practices and online resources are given for each process. ]

Web Pages That Suck - Learn good web page design by looking at bad web pages.
Meta Description: [ Web Pages That Suck -- learn good web design by looking at bad web design ]

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

Web Usability Articles - Several years of usability-related articles from Digital Web Magazine.
Meta Description: [ Digital Web Magazine - Articles by Topic - Usability ]

Web Usability Findings - Compilation of surveys of web usability engineering and test results.

WEBehavior - A behavioral research, usability testing, and customer experience evaluation firm.

Webmaster's Corner - A commentary on web usability, design, and direction aimed at the beginning web developer.
Meta Description: [ NewRamp Web Hosting offers 99.99% uptime, dedicated support, and Webmasters' Corner, a biweekly column of tips and points for webmasters. ]

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).

WeBreakStuff - Weblog reports on the latest news on technology, design, usability and interaction.

WebWord Usability Consulting - Usability and human factors for the Internet. Including book list, expert articles articles and interviews, recommended Web sites.
Meta Description: [ The web site of John S. Rhodes dedicated to usability and related topics. ]

Human Behavior and the Web Research Center - Research center with useful information on the interface between human behavior and new technology, especially the web.
Meta Description: [ Leadership resources to help you become the best leader you can be. ]