What’s the difference between usability and user experience? For me, user experience is the experience someone has when using a design. Usability is the extent to which the design provides a good user experience. Usability is often misunderstood to mean ‘ease of use’. It’s much more than this though. User experience design I was reading [...]
The usability of a website is relative to the audience that it was designed for. A website that is designed well for its primary audience will not necessarily provide a great user experience for everyone that tries to use it. It’s important to identify your target user if you’re going to make a site that [...]
You never really know how well something works until people try to use it. Even the most logical seeming processes can have problems when they are tested with users. The problems you find in usability testing, often appear totally obvious with hindsight. But until you see them, they are not obvious at all. A real [...]
Tags: Usability testing
The world is facing a massive financial downturn, so doing business over the internet makes more sense now than it ever did. In order to succeed, retail businesses should pay more attention to the usability of their websites. Why the increased focus on e-commerce? It’s cheaper for customers We’re likely to be buying on the [...]
When you’ve spent lots of time planning a website, it’s easy to forget that most of the people who arrive at it for the first time, will never have heard of it. You need to make the proposition obvious on the homepage. Rather than pointing out sites that get it wrong, I’m going to provide [...]
We use the Back button all the time, often without noticing. As soon as we realise we’ve taken a wrong turn, we reach for the Back button. However the Back button has long been regarded by web designers as the user’s crutch. As though it is only used to help them get out situations caused [...]
Tags: navigation
You should never need to write ‘click here’ on your links. This post explains the reasons why. Your links should be obvious In a previous post I advised you to let your hyperlinks shine. This is because your links should be obviously visible on the page. When we’re looking at a web page, we shouldn’t [...]
Tags: navigation, trigger words, web writing
Using 1,2,3 links is often a result of lazy web design. In many cases, it’s the web equivalent of asking your users to rake through bargain bins. They don’t know what’s in each bin, they have to rummage through them in order to find out. Often however, 1,2,3 links are the most appropriate option. I [...]
Tags: iPlayer, navigation, search, trigger words
When you’re writing for the web, try to keep your sentences under 20 words in length. Your content will be easier to read this way. This is because it’s easier to read a few short sentences than it is to read one big one. Write a long sentence first It’s often quicker and easier to [...]
Tags: quick tips, web writing
In web design, we often automatically think of blind users when we talk about web accessibility. But a lot of disabled users are not blind. Some people will use a keyboard to navigate your site despite being able to see the screen. Unfortunately browsers aren’t that great at highlighting the link that is in focus. [...]
Tags: navigation, quick tips
I think that the commonly used expanding left hand menu is innapropriate for most of the sites it’s used on. In this article I explain why and propose an alternative.
Tags: navigation
There’s a few quick tips here but they’re all on site search so I’ve kept them together. Provide a box not a link If you want people to see your site search then don’t provide a ‘search’ link on every page. Instead provide the search box itself. Your users are more likely to notice it, [...]
Tags: quick tips, search
When you include numbers on your website, use numerics rather than spelling out the word. It’s quicker for your user to digest. It also works better when the number is the main thing your user is looking for. Try it out for yourself. Go to the Wikipedia page on Tigers and find the approximate number [...]
Tags: quick tips, web writing
Hyperlinks are what holds the web together. Without links, the web would not be a web. An important part of good web site design is the visual treatment of your hyperlinks. You’ll be doing your users a favour by making your hyperlinks instantly noticeable. Allow your users to quickly understand what their options are on [...]
Tags: navigation, trigger words
In today’s financial climate, organisations are trying to cut costs. This has led to lots of new and innovative cost-cutting usability techniques springing up. Some of them are ingenious, but not every cost saving measure is a good idea. One technique that is becoming popular with some is focus group usability testing. I recommend that [...]
I'm a freelance usability consultant.
I'm based in Scotland, in between Edinburgh and Glasgow. But I work all over the place.
